John Deere. Canon. Mercedes. Samsung. Hyundai. Sony. Honda. Peterbilt. 

Each one and all eight see these two highlighted things in their future. As does the entire global — but especially the Unites States’ — health industry. 

At CES 2023 (the Consumer Electronics Show just passed) nearly every press conference, booth visit, conference session and even most one-on-one meetings involved at least an unspoken element of both the below items. I did not travel far, and long hours, expecting these two. But I sure found them in spades.

One was data. Indeed, data appears to be part of nearly every future business. While 10 years ago I looked and found few data applications, today it’s a surprise when I don’t see them. 

This leads to No. 2: delivery. Data has far less capability if it cannot be properly distributed to other devices, small or large, nearby or far away. 

This suggests two things for most future businesses: first, get deeper into data, including data management and enhancement; and second, the foundational forms of data distribution — such as fiber, and via spectrum services, i.e., wireless and satellite — are worth keeping and enhancing, in lockstep with data collection.

In two long days at CES 2023 last week in Las Vegas, the snapshots below — especially the future of the U.S. health care session — tell a story of future fascination, and of ubiquitous broadband connectivity.

The "fog" in the title above represents the new industry moniker, representing all the interchange of data signals and the transport of that data between devices. This “fog” is expected to get so much thicker in the years and decades ahead (see Fog Computing). 

This list below is a peek into the plans and planning of some of the biggest names in consumer electronics (and related businesses). They include a glimpse of how each one will carry the torch of distributing data between devices, to enhance just about every part of — and item within — each part of their product and service ecosystems.

Canon

The Japanese electronics giant touted its celebrity director-turned-spokesman M. Night Shyamalan. The Hollywood legend cheered Canon’s new virtual reality (VR) headsets under the MReal brand name (together with the Canon software called Kokomo). Additionally, a panel of sports and entertainment executives highlighted low-latency data delivery and collection, to enhance not just the consumer consumption of sports content, but also uses such as improving player and team performances (see Canon at CES 2023). Data distribution was embedded in the entire presentation.

Mercedes

From only a broadband connectivity POV, the titan German vehicle creator, Mercedes-Benz, focused its enhancement of what it calls its in-vehicle “holistic” use and entertainment experience. Key to that, a spokesman explained, is enhancing the simplicity of a customer’s “simple connectivity.” He offered further, beginning in the U.S. this year, customers will be able to “just start a new Mercedes app and immediately get directly into the vehicle’s connectivity.” (See The Standout Cars and Tech of CES 2023.)

Samsung

Samsung is the other huge South Korean conglomerate I visited at CES 2023, and like its fellow Asian electronics entity, Hyundai, Samsung avoided a focus on its main lines, instead pumping messages tied to its lesser-known products. In this case, the Samsung tagline was “Bringing Calm to our Connected World,” the highlight of the “connected” feature being Samsung’s claim of 14 billion connected devices in the world today. Home, car and workplace were the three centers of that connectivity message, championing Samsung’s “SmartThings” application, and a Samsung-estimated 80 million connected devices, themed around … you guessed it, “sustainability.” Broadband connectivity of all that data is paramount.

Hyundai

Hyundai, best recognized in the U.S. for its automobile expertise, spent most of its press conference block highlighting its global shipping, notably ships at sea. Ocean mobility and energy collection were themes, both also immersed in data and data delivery. Hyundai claimed that 40% of the world’s population lives within 40 miles of a coastline, emphasizing the relevance of actions aimed at the world’s oceans. “Hyundai leads the era of smart mobility by providing a platform that combines software and associated hardware, called Mobis,” extolled an online press announcement.

Sony + Honda

Saving its biggest and newest news for last, one of the oldest and largest of the pioneer Japanese consumer electronics concerns, Sony, began predictably illustrating its own latest gaming and VR developments. This was focused on its Gran Turismo product and service. A new Sony camera, labeled “Venice,” coupled with an app called Leonardo, both focusing remarkably on the disabled, and those folks’ abilities to also thrive in a gaming environment. The last 15 minutes of the Sony conference drove home its alliance with its country partner and giant vehicle manufacturer, Honda, to create a new mid-sized road sedan, branded “Afeela.” Needless to say, with 45 total cameras, 16 of which are inside the Afeela car, the importance of data collection, transfer, management, and seamless transfer back and forth will be paramount to its success — inside and outside the car. Further technology foci were autonomous driving and in-car entertainment. Sony’s spokesman used the phrase, “Everyone and everything intelligently connected” (See Electric Pickup Trucks, Flying Cars and More at CES 2023).

Toyota

The MX221 model of Toyota transport features an autonomous, self-driving taxi service, planned for delivery into global markets by 2030. An amazing set of service and entertainment features operate — again, like so much in the consumer technology world today — only because of data and interconnectivity. But one single example, is the spectrum needed to send a drone that drops lunches through the sunroof while the vehicle moves. In-car safety and health monitors, and maintenance and repair, are centered, too, around fog-type interchanges of properly delivered and distributed data. This innovation, too, homes in, like the Sony-Honda vehicle, on capabilities for the disabled.

Peterbilt

The giant U.S. long-haul truck company brand from Denton, Texas, mixed at CES 2023 with partner truck makers and truck ecosystem supporters, PACCAR, Kenworth, and DAF. Working hand-in-hand with mobile-cellular applications aimed at different functions dependent upon whether moving or not, fixed wireless is the other side of the wireless coin that makes these newest machines work, and work better and better, it seems (See, Peterbilt Showcases Advanced Truck Technology at CES). Peterbilt’s focus on autonomous vehicles will necessarily involve both mobile and fixed wireless applications.

John Deere

A huge, fully autonomous, self-driving tractor. How could that possibly exist without reliable broadband connectivity of the highest order? The challenge then becomes getting the best signal for the best value to these rural- and agricultural-based users. After all, how much sense does it make to try and install a wire into a moving combine? The answer is obvious: wireless connectivity is necessary and likely will be a huge part of the foreseeable future. While moving in the open fields, that signal would likely be mobile-cellular based; yet, while parked overnight in the rural barn or warehouse, the software updates in more cases than most would be best delivered via fixed wireless (in large part because installing fiber to singular remote farms and ranches is most likely remaining impractical for a long time to come!) (See, John Deere; and see, John Deere Keeps Revolutionizing Farming).

And a Bonus CES 2023 Presentation: The U.S. Health Industry

A last session of day two delivered the ultimate and perhaps most important and impactful version of the CES 2023 “Ubiquitous Connectivity” message. At the end of the hour-long session, each on-stage session participant was asked: What was the key takeaway for the audience vis-à-vis medicine and technology heading into 2023? To a doctor (there were five on the stage), digital health technology will change medicine primarily in the form of “data,” each opined. This meant not only data creation, but data management, and their closest sibling, distribution of that data.

In Sum

The obvious common CES 2023 thread: broadband connectivity.

The bottom line: If you can, hang onto your fixed wireless and/or hybrid fiber wireless business. Or, if you are not yet in it, consider becoming so, in some related fashion (See, e.g., Big Ambitions: Oregon Co-ops Buy Majority Stake in Data Center). The data fixed wireless and related businesses will soon distribute is moving toward the center of more and more broadband connectivity. Why? Because every business is morphing to data; and most data only makes sense if it can be efficiently and affordably exchanged; in more and more instances, wireless will be the only way to exchange that data; and not all of that will be mobile/cellular wireless; fog will pervade — frequently involving fixed wireless and hybrid fiber wireless combinations, and eventually change the way we do just about everything. The future of data will never be limited to just wires or satellites. ■

Some industry stakeholders were quick to weigh in with praise for the Republican deregulatory broadband agenda unveiled Tuesday (Feb. 16), which would make it easier to build out cable, wireless and telecom infrastructure.

Also Read: Stakeholder Weigh in on Broadband Fund

The Boosting Broadband Connectivity Agenda comprises 28 bills, most of them dealing with easing various environmental or historical reviews of infrastructure siting, including on federal lands.

“We commend Ranking Member [Cathy] McMorris Rodgers, Ranking Member [Bob] Latta (R-Ohio) and their colleagues on the House Energy and Commerce Committee for their support of smart policies to encourage swift buildout of 5G nationwide, which is essential as we rebuild the U.S. economy and work to close the digital divide. According to a recent study by Boston Consulting Group, the deployment of next-generation wireless networks will contribute $1.5 trillion to the U.S. GDP and create 4.5 million jobs in the next decade.”

"With so many people forced to work, study, play and just communicate from home because of the pandemic, we are seeing first-hand the critical importance of improving connectivity and expanding broadband," said Jim Goldwater, director of legislative and regulatory affairs for NATE, the Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association. "Additionally, NATE member companies and their technician workers are on the front lines of deployment on a daily basis and have directly experienced the regulatory hurdles and permitting bottlenecks that hinder their work. NATE supports this comprehensive legislative package that will ultimately streamline regulatory processes and address these urgent deployment issues while helping to close the digital divide."

Also weighing in was FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington, who spoke at a Free State Foundation virtual event Tuesday (Feb. 16) about the importance of economical broadband buildouts.

“This legislation would create the environment necessary to speedily expand access to broadband for the Americans who need it most," he said. "I applaud Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers and her colleagues for their leadership."

FCC chairman Ajit Pai continues to make it clear that, as he reads the law, the FCC cannot use E-Rate subsidies for school and library connectivity for home broadband for distance learning.

E-Rate is the Universal Service Fund advanced telecommunications subsidy for high-speed broadband access for schools and libraries. 

Related: FCC Working with DOE to Promote Ed Tech Funding Availability

He spelled out his position in a letter to Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) the FCC has released. 

Pai said he recognizes that schools have had to change the way they teach due to the pandemic and that "it is critical that parents and students stay connected so that they can participate in online learning from home during this crisis."  

But he remains adamant that the language of the statute is clear. 

"[W]e face a major barrier: The Communications Act, which the FCC is duty-bound to administer. He said the Act "expressly limits the FCC's use of E-Rate program funding to broadband and other services delivered to school 'classrooms' and libraries. Connectivity and devices supplied to students at home unfortunately do not qualify for E-Rate support under the law." 

Related: Educators Say Distance Learning Dollars, Equity, Are Keys to Reopening Schools

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) suggested to Pai during an FCC oversight hearing that his reading was too narrow and Congress was OK with him interpreting classroom to mean the new home classroom necessitated by COVID-19, but Pai didn't budge. But he has told Congress he would be happy to spend the E-Rate money on distance learning if Congress changes the statutory language. 

Related: Senate Dems introduce $4 Billion E-Rate Bill 

Pai pointed out to Klobuchar, as he has to others, that there is $16 billion in CARES Act COVID-19 aid funding that states and localities can tap for home connectivity if they choose. He said there is also $3 billion in emergency grants in the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Funds that could be used for remote learning.

He said the FCC has been working with the Department of Education to educate schools on the availability of that local funding.

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) expressed concerns about whether and how Congress could compensate internet service providers for their contribution to COVID-19 relief--in the form of investment in and payment relief for their customers via the Keep Americans Connected pledge. 

That came in a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on FCC spectrum auction oversight.  

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the FCC would be happy to work with Congress on a way to compensate ISPs, particularly smaller, rural carriers, for the lost revenue due to their pledge not to pull the plug on nonpaying customers during the pandemic. 

The FCC adopted its connectivity pledge March 12, then extended it to June 30. Virtually all the major ISPs and many of the smaller ones--over 750 in all--signed on to that pledge. 

Specifically, they pledged to: 

(1) "not terminate service to any residential or small business customers because of their inability to pay their bills due to the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic;   

(2) "waive any late fees that any residential or small business customers incur because of their economic circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic; and  

(3) "open WiFi hot spots to any American who needs them." 

Moran asked what the cost to ISPs had been of waived late fees and payments, and whether there was any plan for them to recoup that money, particularly the smaller ISPs, essentially small businesses, who were also suffering economic issues during the pandemic.

Pai said he had had conversations with companies and associations that the pledge "can be a hardship." He said he did not have numbers for lost revenues, but would be happy to work with Congress to find a funding vehicle, though he suggested that could be for "continuing" those connectivity commitments. 

He said he would defer to Congress on the appropriate amount and vehicle for such compensation, but offered his FCC team to work on it with them. 

Moran asked if the FCC had anticipated this would just be a payment "pause," after which customers would be expected to pay when they could? 

Pai agreed it was a "pause," but what the companies did afterwards would be up to them. He said the FCC's focus was in keeping connectivity.

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) expressed concerns about whether and how Congress could compensate internet service providers for their contribution to COVID-19 relief--in the form of investment in and payment relief for their customers via the Keep Americans Connected pledge. 

That came in a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on FCC spectrum auction oversight, at which FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.  

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the FCC would be happy to work with Congress on a way to compensate ISPs, particualrly smaller, rural carriers, for the lost revenue due to their pledge not to pull the plug on nonpaying customers during the pandemic. 

The FCC adopted its connectivity pledge March 12, then extended it to June 30. Virtually all the major ISPs and many of the smaller ones--over 750 in all--signed on to that pledge. 

Specifically, they pledged to: 

(1) "not terminate service to any residential or small business customers because of their inability to pay their bills due to the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic;   

(2) "waive any late fees that any residential or small business customers incur because of their economic circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic; and  

(3) "open WiFi hot spots to any American who needs them." 

Moran asked what the cost to ISPs had been of waived late fees and payments, and whether there was any plan for them to recoup that money, particularly the smaller ISPS, essentially small businesses, who were also suffering economic issues during the pandemic.   

Pai said he had had conversations with companies and associations that the pledge "can be a hardship." He said he did not have numbers for lost revenues, but would be happy to work with Congress to find a funding vehicle, though he suggested that could be for "continuing" those connectivity commitments. 

He said he would defer to Congress on the appropriate amount and vehicle for such compensation, but offered his FCC team to work on it with them. 

Moran asked if the FCC had anticipated this would just be a payment "pause," after which customers would be expected to pay when they could? 

Pai agreed it was a "pause," but what the companies did afterwards would be up to them. He said the FCC's focus was in keeping connectivity. 

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai ran a fairly gentle gauntlet of COVID-19-related questions during a bipartisan teleconference with members of the House Communications Subcommittee Tuesday (May 19) seeking an update on what the FCC was doing to keep Americans connected during the pandemic. 

With only one dropped call--though it was Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-Pa.)-- some crosstalk and at least one unmuted line for a brief time, all part of the new normal of life on teleconference, the briefing went fairly smoothly. 

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), chairman of the parent Energy & Commerce Committee, broke in briefly to remind the legislators, all weighing in remotely, that some members of the press and public were on the call, which was also being recorded and made available on the website, adding: "I keep forgetting myself." 

The queries lacked the usual divisions of Democrats hammering Pai and Republicans defending, with everybody pretty much agreeing that getting or keeping broadband was vital during the pandemic and that the FCC was working to try to make that happen. "We're all in this together" was one comment that summed up the general tone. 

Democrats focused slightly more on the deficits the pandemic had exposed, while Republicans focused more on what the FCC was doing to help out given the current state of broadband, however it was characterized. But both sides praised Pai's Keep Americans Connected pledge and the 750-plus ISPs who had signed on to it, then re-upped for the extended version. 

Here are some of the key takeaways from the hour-and-a-half session: 

E-Rate: Pai told House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) that the FCC did not have the authority to use E-rate schools and libraries broadband subsidy money to fund home broadband for students or devices like tablets and computers, but that the FCC had pushed for that authority from Congress in a distance learning initiative similar to the FCC COVID-19 telehealth program Congress authorized in the CARES Act. Pallone said he welcomed FCC input on how regulations could be cleared away to make telehealth more widely available. 

Telehealth: While the FCC has approved $33 million in telehealth funding, it has only received one certified invoice--so virtually none of the $200 million authorized in the program has made it out the door yet. Pai said FCC staffers were ready to process such applications for reimbursement when they come in. 

Complaint Department: While Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.) praised the chairman's pledge, and ISPs' response, he asked how many COVID-19 connectivity complaints the FCC had received and what the FCC did to respond to them.  

Related: FCC Is Monitoring Compliance with Connectivity Pledge 

Pai said that, to date, the FCC had received 2,200 complaints, 1,400 of which had been responded to by carriers--the FCC serves such complaints it receives to ISPs, who are supposed to respond within 30 days. He said of those complaints, about 500 were about the pledge and most of those had been resolved by the carriers to ensure that people remained connected. The others were about billing or network issues or about access to broadband in general. He also pointed out he had been on the phone to carriers and their trade associations emphasizing the need to keep people connected to the pandemic, which was one reason he extended the pledge to June 30.  

Information Please (and thank you): Pallone praised Pai for keeping the committee apprised of the different ways ISPs had been keeping Americans connected--lower prices, no service cut-offs--saying he found that info very useful and had been sharing it with Democratic colleagues. 

RDOF: The chairman was asked by Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), about the accuracy of a number of challenges by carriers to the FCC's preliminary list of census blocks where there is no broadband and thus eligible for some of the $16 billion in the FCC's reverse auction of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) money for rural broadband buildouts.  

Johnson asked what steps the FCC was taking to determine the actual status of the census blocks the FCC says are unserved and carriers say are served, citing one carrier who claimed that providing 10 Mbps/1 Mbps service qualified as served. Johnson said anyone knows that is substandard service and was worried there might be other such "bogus" challenges.  

Pai responded that FCC staffers were carefully reviewing those challenges for areas that should be included or excluded from the preliminary list. He said he was aware about the concerns, that he doesn't want unserved areas taken out of the auction due to inaccurate challenges, and that a claim that 10/1 meant a census block was served was not valid, signaling it would need to be 25 Mbps or better.  

Ligado: Rep. John Shimkus signed on to a letter this week backing the FCC's decision to approve the Ligado petition to launch a 5G broadband service using spectrum adjacent to GPS. He said the FCC had done a great job with the item, creating guard bands and a cut-off switch if there were any GPS interference, and limiting Ligado's power. He said 5G was the only way some of his rural residents would be connecting to broadband. 

Related: House E&C Republicans Say Ligado is Done Deal, Move On

Pai thanked him for the show of support--the Defense Department, GPS interests, and most of the Senate Armed Services Committee are pushing back on the decision over GPS interference concerns. He said the FCC had had to think creatively to, with the help of its engineers, navigate a path toward more spectrum for 5G and IoT, while protecting GPS, which he said the item had done with strict conditions outlined in a lengthy order with 400-plus footnotes. He called the engineering "very sound." 

CenturyLink has joined the growing list of major ISPs extending their connectivity pledge from mid-May to June 30, and said it was also suspending residential data usage limits due to the pandemic. 

Related: T-Mobile Extends Connectivity Pledge

More than 700 ISPs signed on to pledge, pushed by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, that they would: 

(1) "not terminate service to any residential or small business customers because of their inability to pay their bills due to the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic;  

(2) "waive any late fees that any residential or small business customers incur because of their economic circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic; and  

(3) "open its WiFi hotspots to any American who needs them."  

"Today, we recommitted to the FCC’s ‘Keep Americans Connected Pledge,’" said the company. 

Other big names re-upping until June 30 include Comcast, T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon.  

The FCC has declined to comment on whether the chairman urged ISPs to extend that pledge.  

Comcast, perhaps the most video-focused cable company over the past several decades, continued its shift toward a more broadband-centric model  in the second quarter, including putting more emphasis on broadband-only services.

The move comes after Comcast reported its best Q2 broadband growth in 10 years, as video subscriber losses increased four-fold.

On a conference call with analysts to discuss Q2 results, chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said many of those video losses were due to increased competition from virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (vMVPDs), adding that Comcast has adjusted accordingly.

Related: Despite Video Losses, Comcast Has a Strong Q1

“We remained focused on segments that we can serve profitably as part of a broader relationship with the customer centered on a whole-home experience,” Roberts said.

“As more people rely on faster and faster broadband and more capacity, that gave us a marvelous opportunity to make investments to take the innovation machinery our engineering and technology teams have built and repurpose them partially to focus on innovation around broadband with our XFi products and our XFi brand,” he continued. “The whole company understands that connectivity.”

Comcast chief financial officer Michael Cavanaugh said the broadband gains – 260,000 net additions compared to 175,000 in the prior year – was in part due to Comcast proactively promoting broadband-only packages.

The company also said it added 204,000 new customer lines for its XFinity Mobile wireless service, ending the period with 780,000 customer lines.

Related: Comcast Adds 197K XFinity Mobile Customer Lines in Q1 

“We have been very focused on broadband and the connectivity side both residential and commercial for some time,” Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson said, adding that the company has increased broadband speeds every year for 17 years. “Our focus is delivering speed, coverage and control all under the XFi brand.”

Broadband customers have outnumbered video customers at Comcast since 2015 as the company, and the rest of the industry, has focused more on higher-margin high-speed internet customers.

Comcast has long recognized the shift toward streaming video. Roberts said last year that broadband was becoming the “epicenter” of the business. 

Cavanaugh said that customer data usage has soared – median monthly data usage now exceeds 150 Gigabytes per customer and the average home connects 11 devices to the network.

Roberts said driving that usage is video.

“One of our strategies is to have diversification in such a way as new technologies comes, it’s not all or nothing and we’re benefitting more than I think we’re losing from additional competition,” Roberts said. “Broadband is growing faster than in recent years. Why is that? Because video over the internet is more reliable, there are more devices and more bits per consumer and more bits per home. All of those are great trends for us.”

Roberts added the shift also could help its NBC Universal programming unit, giving it more opportunities to sell its content to new packagers.

“This is a dynamic time, and we’re uniquely positioned as a company to benefit from these changes,” Roberts said.

Investors appeared to be pleased with the shift – Comcast stock was up nearly 5% in early trading to $35.02 per share. The stock slipped slightly in later trading, priced at $34.38 (up 3%) at 10:14 a.m. on July 26. 

Connectivity has become cable’s No. 1 product, Cablevision Systems CEO James Dolan said at an industry conference Tuesday, adding that as video margins dwindle, providing a speedy and reliable pipe to access content and other services will become essential to cable company survival.

Doan said that data service outperforms video at his company by a 7-to-1 margin, and as high-speed Internet customers surpass video subscribers, operators have to shift the way they approach the business.

“Connectivity has really become our No.1 product. It’s no longer video. …That actually is a significant change to the model,” Dolan said. “We recognize that the connectivity experience we offer is going to be crucial to being able to keep the customer and be able to maintain margins and monetize.”

Dolan pointed to Cablevision’s WiFi service, currently available through more than 100,000 public hotspots in its service territory and more than 1.2 million when residential routers are included. He added that customers regularly use the WiFi service to cut down on data usage on their cell phone plans, a benefit that Dolan said the industry needs to better communicate to customers.

“The trick is to get the customer to recognize that,” Dolan said.

At Cablevision, which was a pioneer in rolling out WiFi service, the usage numbers are growing. Dolan said monthly data usage is up 123% from last year, average monthly customer usage is up by 121% and WiFi usage is up 60%. Cablevision already has rolled out one specific product to take advantage of its WiFi superiority – the WiFi only mobile phone and data service Freewheel and others will likely follow.

That focus on data and connectivity also led Cablevision to introduce its cord-cutter packages earlier this year, essentially a digital antenna and high-speed data service ranging in speed form 5 Mbps to 50 Mbps.

Dolan said that initially he and the Cablevision team didn’t think there was enough over-the-top content to encourage a sizeable number of people to cut the cord, but that changed after offerings began to surface from CBS, ESPN and others. Now he believes that the traditional programming bundle will begin to unravel as more and more content companies go over the top.

 “The one thing that we see as being inevitable, is a reduction in the number of customers that take the big bundle,” Dolan said. “That is going to have an impact on the programmers. How much of an impact? My own personal guess is somewhere around 20% to 25% over the next five years.”

Dolan said as more networks go over the top, it will likely impact smaller content companies that have relied on being part of the larger programming bundle for survival.

“You have a new generation coming in that likes watching on their computer,” Dolan said. “The remote isn’t quite as cool to them. As that all evolves, you’re going to see some degradation of the bundle for the programmers.”
Dolan said that some will thrive, especially those that have highly viewed original and scripted content, like Game of Thrones and Mad Men.

“If you’re a channel that is not highly viewed, that is extremely niche, you are going to have a hard time because you’ve been living off the ecosystem where everybody takes the bundle,” Dolan added. “If you don’t have a corresponding audience that goes along with that, then you’re not essential anymore.”    

Cablevision System reported mixed results in the first quarter, shedding 28,000 basic video customers and adding about 7,000 high-speed data subscribers, as it continues to move forward with its strategy to focus on connectivity via WiFi and its wireline broadband service.

Cablevision lost about 28,000 basic video customers in the period and high speed data subscribers rose by 7,000, compared to a loss of 14,000 video customers and a gain of 8,000 HSD subscribers in the same period last year. Voice customers declined by 14,000, compared to a gain of 8,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2014.

Overall revenue was up 2.5% to $1.6 billion and adjusted operating cash flow increased 1% to $446.6 million.

Recently, Cablevision has made several moves to build ont the connectivity strategy that CEO James Dolan first talked about in 2014, capitalizing on its robust WiFi network – it has more than 1 million hotspots throughout its footprint. In February, Cablevision rolled out its WiFi-only phone service Freewheel and was the first cable operator to launch Home Box Office’s standalone broadband product, HBO  NOW.  Late last month it introduced “Cord-Cutter” packages of high-speed data and a digital over-the-air antenna, and was the first cable operator to ink a distribution deal with Hulu.

"Cablevision had a solid start to 2015 with growth in net revenue, AOCF and revenue per customer," Dolan said in a statement. “As we move through the year, we will continue to address evolving consumer demand by expanding our product offerings to provide greater value and flexibility. Connectivity is the wave of the future, and we plan to leverage our industry-leading position to be the preferred choice for consumers in our market."

Like you, we’re privileged to live and work in an amazing era. Today, the tap of a button brings stories to life over objects we hold in our hands. We interact with friends in distant places as if they were right next door. A gesture into thin air and, like that, images and sounds appear in stunning resolution in our living rooms.

These amazing feats spring from an almost incomprehensible collaboration of people, ideas, energy and invention. They draw from the widest of possible worlds, borrowing from a technology here, a breakthrough there, blending the known with the new to create and extend the realm of the possible.

It’s this interplay of invention and creativity that will be showcased live at the inaugural edition of The Internet & Television Expo (INTX), May 5-7 at Chicago’s McCormick Place West.

What used to be known as The Cable Show is being transformed into something entirely new: a live event where companies and individuals across every conceivable media and communications domain come together. A highly entertaining animated video you can watch here tells the story nicely.

At INTX, you’ll find collaborators and competitors, friends and frenemies, united by a common vision in the promise and power of a networked digital economy. From Internet media to wireless broadband, every category that matters to this emerging world is represented at INTX.

This wide-open, anything’s-game philosophy is reflected in the list of media industry and public policy leaders you’ll hear from at INTX, including Comcast’s Brian Roberts, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, Vimeo’s Kerry Trainor, Nancy Dubuc of A+E Networks, Michael Kassan of MediaLink and many more.

The same philosophy also is behind some of the unique experiences that will be served up at INTX, including live General Session content produced by journalists Peter Kafka and Kara Swisher from Re/code; the INTXHACK live app development competition; and special INTX Intersections – dedicated pavilions that provide deep-dive immersion into subjects like the Internet of Things, TV content navigation, TV Everywhere and more.

Our world has changed. We’ve transcended old boundaries and entered promising new domains. The Internet & Television Expo reflects this reality. Connectivity, interactivity and a multi-dimensional media product suite are the ingredients that now unite a vast ecosystem made richer by its many participants.

As co-chairs of INTX 2015, we’re extremely enthused about the possibilities to express this wide, wide world in a unique live event setting. It’s an exciting time. It deserves an exciting show.

By Alfred Liggins, chairman and CEO, TV One and CEO and president, Radio One; and Jerry Kent, chairman and CEO of Suddenlink Communications, co-chairs of INTX 2015

Global Eagle Entertainment, a provider of content and digital media to airlines, said it has joined the Air China WiFi Alliance.

In addition, the company said its CEO Dave Davis has been appointed as a “Member of Council” in the alliance.

Air China is one of the largest carriers in Asia with more than 300 planes in service and is driving an innovative approach to connectivity with its partners, using the alliance to provide a seamless WiFi experience to passengers.

"It is a great honor for GEE to contribute to the accomplishment of Air China's inflight connectivity goals," Davis said in a statement. "The airline is leading the way in China with the deployment of inflight WiFi and the introduction of other new innovations that enhance the passenger experience. We are working closely with Air China to deploy inflight connectivity in the region."

Founded by Air China, the Air China WiFi Alliance (ACWA) is a committee of experts in the aviation, connectivity and passenger experience markets whose goal is to promote the development of China's inflight connectivity and passenger experience sector.

"We are very excited about the opportunities that our WiFi services will bring to our passengers as we constantly strive to improve our service offerings," said Cheng Fan, Vice President and Party Secretary of Air China, in a statement.