Household ownership of wireless audio, wearables and connected devices saw the largest household ownership gains since 2015, CTA said in a Thursday report that cited survey results from its latest study of consumer tech ownership and market potential trends. The findings “verify that smartphones are now a household staple, with ownership trends beginning to mirror those of televisions, which remain the most pervasive tech product in U.S. households,” CTA said. TVs are now owned in 96 percent of U.S. homes, and there are now nearly as many TVs owned (320 million) as the U.S. population (321 million), CTA said. The number of respondents who say they plan never to buy a TV increased slightly to 22 percent from 18 percent in 2015, it said. That’s “likely due to diffusion of video consumption across multiple device screens,” CTA said. Smartphones are now owned in 74 percent of U.S. homes, up 2 percentage points from 2015, CTA said. “On average, Americans now own 2.4 smartphones per household, and the expected smartphone repeat purchase is 91 percent -- comparable only to television ownership trends.” The IoT “continues to drive growth in emerging tech devices,” CTA said: Wearable fitness activity trackers are owned by 20 percent of U.S. homes, double the number that owned them last year.

Always-on mic-enabled devices have unique privacy implications as compared with those that are manually or speech-activated, the Future of Privacy Forum and Ernst & Young said in a new paper released Thursday. The paper said it is inaccurate to label all such devices with speech recognition or mic-enabled features as being always on. Manually activated devices just require a user to press a button or flip a switch to record and transmit audio to a voice-to-text translation service, the paper said. Speech-activated devices like iPhone 6S or Microsoft Cortana stay in an "inert state of passive processing" and require a "wake phrase" to turn on. These devices are "not really 'listening' to its environment" but use the mic as another sensor. But always-on devices -- such as security cameras, baby monitors, the wristband Kapture or wearable camera OrCam -- "evoke different privacy concerns" from the other two categories, the paper said. Such devices "call for notice and consent frameworks in sync with the more extensive data collection that they enable," it added. The paper also discussed how some laws consider a "voice print" as a biometric or personal record with restrictions on usage. Another issue in the paper focused on consent from parties to be recorded. The paper also described emerging privacy issues such as devices transmitting and storing data in the cloud and user ability to disable functions or recognize when devices are recording. “Our expectations will evolve more quickly in some areas than others, and so the manufacturers of devices that are introducing microphones for the first time -- like televisions and toys -- should go the extra distance to provide additional transparency and in many cases greater levels of control and choice,” FPF Legal and Policy Fellow Stacey Gray said in a news release.

The FCC Public Safety Bureau sought comment Thursday on a proposed CTIA framework aimed at enabling carriers to work together to let customers roam on each other’s networks after a disaster like 2012’s Superstorm Sandy (see 1604270035). Industry and government officials said Thursday that the accord was crafted in the hope that carriers would work out agreements before disaster strikes. AT&T and T-Mobile agreed to allow customers to roam on the other’s networks in the aftermath of Sandy, but that agreement took several days to work out, during which time affected subscribers couldn’t call 911 or otherwise communicate using their cellphones, officials said. The FCC sought comment on a broader resiliency issue in 2013, the bureau said. “Since the Resiliency Notice was issued and the record compiled, the Bureau has engaged in a number of meetings with a variety of stakeholders to understand the data that different segments value in evaluating the overall resiliency of wireless networks and outage impacts, as well as other factors in developing more resilient wireless networks,” the bureau said in Thursday's notice. “We seek comment on the carriers’ ‘Wireless Resiliency Cooperative Framework’ in light of the aims of the Resiliency Notice and the associated record.” The comment deadline is 15 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register.

Global consumer awareness of Bluetooth wireless technology is at 92 percent, said results of a Bluetooth Special Interest Group online survey. Bluetooth SIG hired research firm Lux Insights to canvass nearly 3,000 consumers in seven countries in January. Sixty-two percent of respondents reported a purchasing preference for Bluetooth-enabled products for their reliability and ease of use, Bluetooth SIG said. Other key findings: (1) On average, consumers now own nearly four Bluetooth-enabled products, compared with 2.7 in 2012; (2) Bluetooth usage has increased 32 percent since 2012; (3) of the U.S. consumers canvassed, 64 percent said they bought a Bluetooth device last year, and 62 percent of people familiar with Bluetooth say they prefer an electronic product with Bluetooth or will buy electronic products only with Bluetooth.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology approved special temporary authority for Samsung Electronics America to test 5G technology in the 28 GHz band at various locations. Samsung’s goal is to “demonstrate 5G systems to various customers,” the company said in an application posted by the FCC. “We will be operating at low power and within a very limited area of operation.” Among the locations are Plano, Texas, where Verizon is doing tests; Bellevue, Washington, where T-Mobile is headquartered; and in New York.

The Wi-Fi Alliance and “dozens of industry players made significant progress” toward a test regimen on fair coexistence between Wi-Fi and LTE-unlicensed devices at a coexistence workshop Tuesday, the alliance said. “Since Wi-Fi Alliance released the Alpha version of its draft test plan earlier this month, an industry-wide effort has been underway to validate the draft procedures for feasibility, correctness, and repeatability, and to further refine testing criteria,” the alliance said Wednesday in a statement. “Firm conclusions about device coexistence cannot be drawn until this validation phase is complete and the test plan is finalized.” Attendees of the workshop agreed to a deadline for submission of data to support a decision on neighbor awareness test criteria before the next workshop in June, the alliance said. “Attendees explored other ways to ensure the timely completion of test plan validation and accelerate work wherever possible. The importance of community contributions was a common theme, and Wi-Fi Alliance identified specific work items where contributions are necessary to maintain expected progress.”

Apple shares closed 6.3 percent lower Wednesday at $97.82 after a disappointing Q2 FY 2016 earnings report and Q3 guidance for a second consecutive quarterly revenue decline. Apple had predicted an earnings decline for Q2 (see 1601270033) -- its first quarterly revenue drop since Q1 2003, and the $50.6 billion Q2 revenue was at the low end of guidance, a 13 percent drop year over year. Sales of the iPhone fell 16 percent to 51.2 million over the year-ago quarter, Apple said. Apple’s revenue guidance for Q3 is $41 billion-$43 billion, down from year-ago revenue of $49.6 billion, said Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri. He cited a planned channel inventory reduction worth more than $2 billion -- vs. $800 million a year ago -- that will hit higher-end models. The “tough compare” is also due to a strong year-ago quarter and macroeconomic conditions, he said. Apple CEO Tim Cook outlined the three buyer segments for the iPhone: Customers who upgrade from previous iPhones, switchers from Android and other operating systems, and first-time smartphone buyers. During the first half of this fiscal year, the upgrade rate for the iPhone 6s has been “a lot lower” than that of the iPhone 6 but slightly higher than that of the 5s two years ago, Cook said. Apple continues to see a “very high level” of switchers, adding more in first half FY 2016 than any other six-month period, he said. For first-time buyers, he focused on emerging markets including India, where iPhone sales were up 56 percent in Q2 vs. the year-ago quarter. In Q&A, Cook commented on the “mature” smartphone market, saying the company is optimistic about the opportunity for attracting new customers with the more affordable iPhone SE, and about new products in the pipeline. The SE is attracting customers who want the latest technology in a compact package, and that group is larger than Apple anticipated, causing supply constraints. The SE is also drawing consumers who “aspire to own an iPhone but couldn't quite stretch to the entry price of the iPhone,” said Cook.

High-band spectrum will be “an important complement to low- and mid-band spectrum” and will enable the IoT and 5G technologies, said CTIA and member companies in a series of meetings with staff for FCC commissioners. CTIA urged the agency to move forward on licensing and technical rules for the 28, 37, 39 and 64-71 GHz bands this summer, said a filing on the meeting. “That will provide the certainty needed to encourage investment and foster innovation in these bands,” the group said. “CTIA also urged the Commission to explore additional high-band spectrum for mobile wireless use.” CTIA and major carrier and equipment maker members met with staff for the commissioners, except Ajit Pai, said a filing in docket 14-177.

The FCC established a comment cycle on several proposed buys of 700 MHz spectrum by T-Mobile, which has been working to fill out its low-band footprint. In the transactions, T-Mobile would get 12 MHz of lower 700 MHz A-block spectrum from C Spire in all or parts of 34 cellular market areas. T-Mobile also would acquire 12 MHz of A-block spectrum from Cavalier in all or parts of 103 CMAs and 12 MHz of A-block spectrum from Continuum in all or parts of 55 CMAs. “The Applicants contend that these spectrum-only assignments and transfers of control would allow T-Mobile to expand its Lower 700 MHz footprint, and thus offer improved services to its customers,” the FCC said in a public notice. “The Applicants further claim that through T-Mobile’s increased spectrum holdings, T-Mobile would be able to add capacity and improve data throughput speeds within existing coverage areas, and thereby benefit consumers.” Petitions to deny are due May 18, oppositions May 25 and replies June 2.

The nation’s poorest citizens must not fall even further behind because they're not connected to broadband, FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said Wednesday at a Mobile Future event. At 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies, prospective employees can apply only online, Clyburn said. “The world is changing,” she said. Clyburn noted that 45 states have at least one program for low-income people that requires online application. “That’s why you hear us talk about broadband affordability and adaptability; that’s why it’s so important,” Clyburn said. “Everybody is migrating online.” If low-income people “are not connected they will be left further behind and that, I hope you will agree, is unacceptable,” she said. A nationwide poll of African Americans found a significant gap between their “enthusiastic embrace” of mobile technology as consumers and their “awareness of mobile technology as a tool for economic empowerment,” said a survey released Wednesday by Mobile Future. The telephone poll of 800 African Americans found that 72 percent say they live in households with three or more connected devices and 68 percent report they use their smartphones frequently. But 53 percent saw a lack of skills and low awareness of mobile tech economic opportunities as the biggest barriers to participation in the mobile economy.