An upcoming National Electrical Manufacturers Association standard could accelerate deployment of connected vehicle roadside infrastructure technology, said the association at an Intelligent Transportation Society of Georgia (ITSGA) meeting Monday. NEMA TS 10, commissioned by the NEMA Transportation Management Systems Section, is a harmonized technical specification for traffic signals, crosswalk signs, flashing school zone safety beacons, ramp meters and other electronic traffic control equipment, it said. A vital component of the connected vehicle ecosystem is the ability for vehicles and the infrastructure to communicate with each other regardless of the type of device or underlying technology, NEMA said, saying with the standard, dedicated short-range communications and cellular vehicle to everything can work together in the same spectrum via a dual-mode or dual active roadside connected vehicle device. “NEMA TS 10 will enable user agencies to have confidence in procuring roadside infrastructure equipment that will not become obsolete as communication technology advances,” said Steve Griffith, NEMA transportation industry director. A technical committee is drafting the standard, expected to be completed by year-end.

CTA formed a 40-member “diversity and inclusion” working group to “create greater access and mobility for traditionally underrepresented communities,” said the association Thursday. The working group’s mission statement includes positioning the consumer tech industry “as a leading contributor in creating a diverse and inclusive tech ecosystem,” said CTA. Two venture firms, Rethink Impact and Founders First Capital Partners, will receive undisclosed money from CTA’s $10 million diversity and inclusion war chest for their track records of investing in women, ethnic minorities, veterans and other underserved demographics, said the association.

Smartphone users don't see 5G value over their current subscriptions, with 13 percent saying they’re willing to pay more for 5G, said Parks Associates' Craig Leslie Tuesday. Over half of U.S. broadband households are unfamiliar with 5G, he said: Limited availability means it won’t replace 4G LTE or fixed services “anytime soon.” Carriers need to communicate benefits and uses of 5G more effectively to convince customers to upgrade, said the analyst. Still, it's a “significant influencer” in carrier selection, Leslie said, “even if consumers are unwilling to pay more” -- 31 percent of U.S. broadband households consider 5G availability very important when choosing a new provider. U.S. broadband households buying a smartphone fell 40 percent from Q1 2016 to this Q1.

The potential of 5G gives Best Buy confidence to “continue to try different vectors” of new businesses, in addition to the healthcare services offering for seniors it began last year with its $800 million GreatCall buy (see 1808150071), CEO Corie Barry told her company’s investor day conference last week (see 1909260030). “You can’t always see what’s coming next,” she said. “Everyone conventionally” thinks about 5G as a “mobile phone technology,” said Barry. It “will actually increase the pipe that goes into your home,” creating a “whole new suite of products that will serve that particular source,” she said. “We’ll continue to try some of the different product areas.” Under “past” thinking, “we may have simply looked at the core retail technology products aimed at seniors and quantified that as the addressable market,” said Barry. “If we expanded that definition to include the services more geared around health and safety,” the market “more than doubles,” she said. “Think urgent response, fall detection, concierge help.” Best Buy Health President Asheesh Saksena said the goal is to reach 5 million seniors through remote monitoring and other services by the fiscal year ending February 2025, vs. 1 million now. It aims to “bring technology” into the home "at scale,” said Saksena.

Best Buy “has a proven history of commercializing all new technologies” but won’t “size” the five-year financial opportunity from 5G, Chief Operating Officer Mike Mohan its analyst day conference Wednesday. Best Buy’s target is to grow revenue to $50 billion in the fiscal year ending February 2025 from the current FY 2020 guidance of $43.1 billion to $43.6 billion, and to do so with $1 billion of additional cost reductions and efficiencies, said the company. CEO Corie Barry said the goals were “aggressive but attainable.” The retailer will work with carriers on 5G to fashion “the best ways to leverage what they would like to get done with our ability to know how to do it,” said Mohan. “The one thing we do know about 5G, it is going to be a market-by-market rollout.” Best Buy knows 5G “is coming, and it’s going to require a different type of sales model to get the best out of it,” he said. “As 4G starts to reach its maximum benefit to consumers and the industry, 5G appears just over the horizon.”

Total U.S. shipments of “personal devices,” including desktop PCs, laptops, tablets and mobile phones, will rise at only 0.2 percent compound annual growth rate the next few years, reaching 278.6 million units in 2023, reported the Daniel Research Group Tuesday. “Standard” phones will have the biggest CAGR decline through 2023 at 34.8 percent, while smartphones increase at a 1.8 percent CAGR through the period, it said. Total tablets will have an 8.2 percent CAGR decline, it said. The forecasts assume no U.S. recession and that Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods increase prices by 10 to 25 percent, depending on the product, it said.

The global market for smart home devices is expected to grow 23.5 percent in 2019, reaching nearly 815 million unit shipments, said IDC Monday. It forecasts shipments exceeding 1.39 billion in 2023, based on a 14.4 percent five-year compound annual growth rate, it said. Competitive price reductions, rising consumer awareness of smart home and the rapid adoption of smart assistants will drive the increases, said IDC. The U.S. will have the “lion's share” of unit shipments each year, rising at a 9.5 percent CAGR to reach more than 560 million devices in 2023, it said. China will be second to the U.S. in global volume but have the world’s highest CAGR at 22.6 percent, it said. "Content and services are going be at the forefront for the smart home market as video entertainment products such as the Fire TV or Chromecast will serve as an on-ramp for consumers entering the world of connected home products," said IDC. Smart TVs will have a nearly 30 percent share of all smart home device shipments in 2023, it said. Falling prices and advanced functionality, such as 8K, higher refresh rates, HDR and integration with smart assistants and streaming platforms, will spur many consumers to upgrade their sets, it said. IDC expects growth in smart speakers and displays to slow to “single digits in the next few years,” it said. The installed base of smart speakers will approach “saturation,” and consumers “will look to other form factors to access smart assistants in the home,” such as thermostats, appliances and TVs, it said.

Homeowners’ self-installation of smart door locks is growing, reaching 59 percent of all installations at the end of 2018, a 20-point increase from just two years earlier, said Parks Associates Monday. “As manufacturers launch new and second-generation products, they are trying to balance security with convenience, customization, and expanding use cases, such as voice control and security notifications,” said Parks. Since door locks at their core have a security function, manufacturers have been reluctant to enable voice control to unlock doors “due to challenges with fully authenticating users,” it said. The development of facial and fingerprint authentication “allows device manufacturers to create additional convenience while still maintaining a high level of security,” it said, but “current far-field voice recognition technology is not yet up to the security challenge.".

Mobile communications were among products headlining Pepcom’s Holiday Spectacular Thursday in New York, as manufacturers geared up for the Q4 selling season. Motorola's 5G Moto Mod brings 5G capability to the company’s z2 Force and later phones. It will be available at Verizon stores when the carrier launches 5G service in New York Thursday, a Motorola spokesperson told us. Moxee showed a mobile personal safety device that will sell exclusively on the T-Mobile network, beginning Monday, before rolling out to other carriers next year, a spokesperson said. The pager-size device, without a display, lets users press a button to indicate status: a single button shares their location with contacts; two presses sends an alert to contacts, with location; and three presses sends an alert to contacts and a professional monitoring service, he said. Gabb Wireless positioned itself as a kind of anti-smartphone for kids, launching a phone and nationwide wireless network Thursday with no access to the internet or external apps. The company’s message is that kids are exposed to too much technology too early, leading to anxiety and depression, so despite having the form of smartphones, the devices are used for calls and messages. One is made by ZTE.

5G awareness is under 50 percent of U.S. broadband households, blogged Parks Associates Wednesday, but interest is high when consumers are presented with potential benefits. Broader service availability and marketing will raise awareness over the next few years, said analyst Craig Leslie, saying nearly half of broadband households surveyed expressed interest in replacing their fixed-line internet service with 5G home services. But most U.S. consumers won’t subscribe to 5G services soon due to limited availability, currently at 30 cities, with fewer than 50 projected by the end of 2020. To maximize the short reach of high-band frequencies, carriers are limiting coverage to specific locations in high-density urban areas and are likely to continue doing so in future launches, delaying arrival of residential services in larger metropolitan areas, said Leslie. Service costs could also be prohibitive, with carriers reserving 5G for higher-priced plans; Verizon, for instance, is adding a $10 fee, he said. Parks research shows “few consumers are willing to pay a premium in order to upgrade to 5G,” said the analyst. Hardware availability and pricing are also inhibitors to adoption; Apple isn't offering 5G phones this year, and those on the market are priced $200-$300 above equivalent non-5G models. Carriers are adopting their own standards, limiting devices to one carrier’s network, he said.