CES: Acceleration of Technology, Adoption in 5G’s First Year

During this week’s CES 2021, Deloitte Consulting principal Dan Littman led an inquiry into how the 5G rollout fared in 2020, with AT&T Business chief executive Anne Chow and Qualcomm Technologies senior vice president of engineering Alejandro Holcman. “5G is a new-generation wireless technology filled with complexity of technology, ecosystems and government requirements,” said Littman. “And 2020 made everything a little more challenging.” He asked Chow and Holcman to describe how 5G has been challenged and/or accelerated during the year. Continue reading CES: Acceleration of Technology, Adoption in 5G’s First Year

CES: AT&T and Qualcomm Executives Discuss 5G Use Cases

Deloitte Consulting principal Dan Littman, AT&T Business chief executive Anne Chow and Qualcomm Technologies senior vice president of engineering Alejandro Holcman discussed current and future 5G use cases and obstacles to deployment during a CES 2021 session. Chow noted her group is seeing “the smart factory of the future,” especially due to sensitivities over human contact and proximity during COVID-19. “Education is similar,” she said. “We’re still heavily virtual and we won’t go [all the way] back to the way it was.” Continue reading CES: AT&T and Qualcomm Executives Discuss 5G Use Cases

CES: Sessions Examine the Potential of Quantum Computing

Two CES 2021 panels addressed the current state and anticipated advances in quantum computing, which is already being applied to problems in business, academia and government. However, the hardware is not as stable and robust as people would like, and the algorithms are not yet up to the task to solve the problems that many researchers envision for them. This has not stopped entrepreneurs, major corporations and governments from dedicated significant resources in R&D and implementations, nor from VCs and sovereign funds making major bets on who the winners will be. Continue reading CES: Sessions Examine the Potential of Quantum Computing

CES: Samsung, Ice Mobility on Trends in 5G Implementation

At CES 2021 this week, Elemental Content co-founder John Penney moderated a conversation with Samsung Electronics America vice president of product management Drew Blackard and Ice Mobility co-founder and chair Denise Gibson on trends in mobile communications. “The 5G new wireless ecosystem offers a lot of applications in business environments,” Penney noted, asking Blackard and Gibson to describe some of what they think will be the most compelling use cases as 5G continues its rollout of networks and devices. Continue reading CES: Samsung, Ice Mobility on Trends in 5G Implementation

CES 2021 Opens with Predictions on Tech Trends for the Year

At the opening of the all-digital CES 2021 this week, Consumer Technology Association vice president of research Steve Koenig and director of research Lesley Rohrbaugh described their predictions for innovation and technology trends to expect in the coming year, noting that the CTA provides 30 studies a year on its website. Koenig put 2021 in context as following a tough 2020 of COVID-19 and related economic downturn. “As a global community we confronted a lot of those challenges together and saw a myriad of solutions from tech innovation,” he said. Continue reading CES 2021 Opens with Predictions on Tech Trends for the Year

CTA Researchers Discuss Key Tech Trends to Expect at CES

In a live question-and-answer period during CES 2021, Consumer Technology Association vice president of research Steve Koenig and director of research Lesley Rohrbaugh answered questions about technology trends not described in their earlier presentation on predictions for 2021. In answer to a question about what to expect this year from smart glasses, Koenig emphasized that, “this is definitely the year of augmented reality.” But, he added, rather than describing experiences as VR, AR or MR, he said those terms will be replaced by describing “degrees of immersion.” Continue reading CTA Researchers Discuss Key Tech Trends to Expect at CES

CES 2021 Vision: Technology Is a Tool and a Force for Good

Consumer Technology Association (CTA) president and chief executive Gary Shapiro and CTA executive vice president Karen Chupka helped kick off the 54th annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) with an emphasis on how the technology industry has innovated in the face of a worldwide pandemic. “The last 12 months have been a challenge like no other for everyone in the world,” said Shapiro. “But technology has been a stabilizing, unifying force keeping us connected to schools, jobs, doctors, families and friends.” Continue reading CES 2021 Vision: Technology Is a Tool and a Force for Good

All-Virtual CES 2021 Focuses on Innovation Despite Pandemic

The sprawl of CES, typically measured in millions of square feet of exhibit space, multiple venues, and hundreds of thousands of attendees, now spans the globe as the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) sets “the global stage for innovation” in an all-digital format when it opens its four-day run on January 11. However dispersed, CES Week will still be the focal point for the consumer technology sector and trends will emerge, even if news and product announcements will originate from both CES events and individual company presentations. Continue reading All-Virtual CES 2021 Focuses on Innovation Despite Pandemic

Dell Debuts Features for PCs and Laptops Ahead of CES 2021

In advance of CES 2021, Texas-based computer tech company Dell unveiled the latest in its PC and laptop products. Notable are the Latitude 9420 and 9520 laptops with SafeShutter, which Dell says is the first webcam shutter that automatically opens and closes by synching with videoconferencing applications. These laptops, which are upgraded with 11th Gen Intel Core vPro processors, also have secure mic and mute keys. Additionally, Dell reported that the 9420 will have additional enhancements specific to remote working. Continue reading Dell Debuts Features for PCs and Laptops Ahead of CES 2021

Federal 5G Spectrum Auction Raises Nearly $70 Billion So Far

An auction of wireless licenses, which began December 8 and is conducted by the Federal Communications Commission, has thus far reaped $69.8+ billion. The auction shut down during the holidays but recommenced January 4, meaning the total bids will likely increase. The previous record, in 2015, was the $44.9 billion raised by a sale of mid-range cellular licenses to boost 4G coverage. The winning bidders will not be revealed until the auction ends, but AT&T and Verizon are pegged by analysts to be dominant. Continue reading Federal 5G Spectrum Auction Raises Nearly $70 Billion So Far

Cloud Computing Leads to Growth in Data Center Real Estate

Brick-and-mortar real estate has cratered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The single exception is real estate linked to the significant growth in cloud computing: the buildings that house the servers that enable it. Goldman Sachs is investing up to $500 million in data center infrastructure. Private equity companies Blackstone and KKR also plan to invest in data centers, while, according to JLL, real estate investment trusts (REITs) focused on data centers had returns of 19 percent in the first half of 2020. Continue reading Cloud Computing Leads to Growth in Data Center Real Estate

ETC Executive Coffee: Students, Execs Talk Cloud Resources

As part of ETC@USC’s Executive Coffee with… series, M&E leaders connected via Zoom with eight engineering students, three cinema students and one business student on October 29. The topic of discussion was “Production in the Cloud for Media and Entertainment; content and experience creation, distribution, interaction, and analytics.” Students were particularly interested in new advances related to areas such as production workflow, asset management, gaming, remote collaboration for live music, and the impact of analytics on content creation. Continue reading ETC Executive Coffee: Students, Execs Talk Cloud Resources

Apple Begins Working on Its Own Cellular Modem for Devices

Apple has begun building its own cellular modem for smartphones, to replace those now purchased from Qualcomm, according to Apple senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji. He added that it is one of the few wireless chips that Apple designs, along with the W-series in the Apple Watch and U1 Ultra Wideband (UWB) chip in the iPhone. In addition to reducing costs, moving the modem in-house could eventually lead to cellular connectivity becoming a standard feature for the iPad, Apple Watch and other devices. Continue reading Apple Begins Working on Its Own Cellular Modem for Devices

ETC Executive Coffee: A Discussion with Verizon’s Albert Lao

To kick off ETC@USC’s eight-part Executive Coffee with… series, Verizon’s Albert Lao led a Zoom discussion on September 23. “How will advances in network technology over the next 36 months impact the way we watch movies, play video games, and create and produce immersive and engaging experiences?” was the framing question for a wide-ranging discussion. Three students each from the cinema school and the engineering school, plus two students from the business school participated. Lao set up the discussion by showing a brief video explaining 5G and edge computing, and describing how they would impact entertainment creation, distribution and analytics. Continue reading ETC Executive Coffee: A Discussion with Verizon’s Albert Lao

CTA, Experts Predict Factors Impacting 8K Display Adoption

Seventy-five percent of the market for new television displays is for 4K. While the 1080p format loses ground, 8K sales are growing, expected to be the No. 2 most popular TV display format within the next few years. The 8K resolution format is gaining popularity due to its ability to display complex video game graphics and enable glasses-free 3D and volumetric images integrated with UHD. As the format continues its growth, 8K will depend on upconverting existing 4K content; its integration into NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) is still ongoing. Continue reading CTA, Experts Predict Factors Impacting 8K Display Adoption