The Competitive Carrier Association’s spring show March 30-31 will be virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the group said Monday. President Steve Berry said, “Panel discussions will cover topics including carrier needs, fixed wireless access, Open [radio access networks], network security and supply chain issues, spectrum access and uses, next generation technologies, closing the digital divide for rural America, and more.”

Pandemic lifestyles enabled consumer tech to generate $14 billion in “additional revenue” in 2020 compared with 2019, said Stephen Baker, NPD vice president-industry adviser, technology, told the virtual Techfluence conference. Big 2020 winners were do-it-yourself PCs, monitors, gaming, PC headsets and home networking equipment, he said Wednesday. Smart home, headphones and wireless power underperformed, he said. “Tech was in the right place at the right time” for lockdown orders, said Baker. It's “a mostly recessionary-proof business.” NPD thinks the consumer tech industry “will continue to see strong volumes for the next three years, regardless of the economic conditions,” he said. NPD estimates the industry finished Q4 with a 14% increase over the 2019 quarter, somewhat of a “slowdown” from Q2 and Q3, when stay-at-home restrictions peaked, said Baker: But the $14 billion in additional industry revenue in 2020 meant “certainly a historic year.”

The FCC Wireline Bureau seeks comment by Jan. 19 in docket 20-89 on how to best administer the second round of COVID-19 telehealth funding, said a public notice said Wednesday. Congress included $249.95 million for the program in a recent stimulus bill (see 2012280052).

Nearly a third of U.S. consumers 65 and older are considering buying an independent living system, reported Parks Associates Tuesday, as 34% own a smart speaker or smart display and 76% use a smartphone. “High levels of interest in particular features, including safety and security functions, indicate demand for a solution designed specifically for senior comfort and control,” said analyst Kristen Hanich. COVID-19 presented new challenges, and senior telehealth usage nearly quadrupled year over year in May to 29%, led by phone calls and video chats; 11% used self-diagnosis apps. The bump in telehealth service usage was driven by changes in Medicare reimbursement and rollout of remote visit functionality among physicians, Hanich said. “Health insurers and telehealth services also quickly moved to support this cohort.” Telehealth companies advanced to support Medicare Part B, with Doctor on Demand rolling out a service soon after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services expanded Medicare telehealth reimbursement, Hanich said.

Representatives of film and TV actors, advertisers and producers agreed to recommend a “temporary hold” on in-person content production in southern California amid surging COVID-19 cases, said the groups Sunday. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of TV and Radio Artists joined the Joint Policy Committee of commercial advertisers and ad agencies and the Producers’ Guild of America to encourage members to pause production “until more hospital beds become available.” It's “not a safe environment for in-person production,” said SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris, whose group was one of four unions publishing June “guidelines” on the “safe return to work” for cast and crew (see 2006120040).

Crow Creek Sioux Tribe asked the FCC for 60-day special temporary authority to use three 2.5 GHz channels for broadband on an emergency basis. “We have a current application in place,” said the South Dakota-based tribe Monday. “It is critical to connect the internet for vital services and information required for the tribe to continue their operations as we work to continue to slow the spread of COVID-19.”

Despite the persistent spike in new COVID-19 cases in much of the U.S., and vaccine availability still unknown, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority lists 23 physical trade shows on the 2021 calendar for the Las Vegas Convention Center, though none before late March. The shows mainly are small, except for the NAB Show, which occupies LVCC Oct. 10-13, about six months later than its usual April run. Not all organizers think it’s safe to return to a physical show at the LVCC so early in 2021. The International Wireless Communications Expo scrapped its customary March dates in favor of a Sept. 27-30 engagement at the LVCC. “We've been watching the world evolve since March 2020, and though we hoped we'd be in a safe position to reunite in person in Las Vegas for IWCE by March 2021, it's apparent that the world isn't quite there yet,” said organizers. LVCVA lists 19 confirmed shows on the LVCC’s 2022 calendar, with CES 2022 the year’s first booking Jan. 5-8.

Online courses are “booming” as a “productive use of otherwise idle time” during COVID-19 lockdowns, reported Class Central Monday. The search-engine company for free online courses estimates enrollments exceeded 180 million this year. Technology-related online offerings, including for computer science and programming, were the most popular before the pandemic, it said. After COVID-19 forced quarantines and lockdowns, interest pivoted to courses in “soft skills and general topics,” such as personal development, art and the humanities, it said. About 20% of the 100 most popular free online courses launched in 2020 are directly related to COVID-19, it said. Johns Hopkins University’s "COVID-19 Contact Tracing" tops that list with more than a million enrollments, it said.

Recipients of COVID-19 telehealth funding must file an invoice by July 31, the FCC Wireline Bureau said in a public notice Friday. Funding recipients need to file a post-program report by Jan. 31, 2022.

Prioritize 911 workers for COVID-19 vaccinations, the National Emergency Number Association said Friday. “Sadly, while the federal government and statehouses across the country have designated 9-1-1 professionals as essential workers throughout the pandemic, many states are not recognizing these public servants as essential when it comes to the distribution of coronavirus vaccines,” NENA CEO Brian Fontes wrote governors.