Adobe “successfully transitioned” last month’s canceled Adobe Summit in Las Vegas to an “exclusively digital event,” said CEO Shantanu Narayen on a fiscal Q2 call Thursday. Holding the summit virtually “enabled us to engage a far larger audience than an in-person event and set the bar for virtual events,” he said. The conference “engaged” more than a half-million visitors, he said. Though it was difficult pre-pandemic to imagine conducting business only virtually with chief marketing and information officers, “a side benefit of everyone working at home is that we are able to schedule and engage with far more customers across multiple continents,” he said. “In all these discussions with business leaders, it is clear that investments in digital and specifically customer experience are more important than ever.”

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., pressed the FCC Friday for “additional transparency” in the $200 million COVID-19 telehealth program. The FCC said Wednesday it has approved $104.98 million (see 2006100046). “While the FCC has posted weekly updates of funding awards, we are troubled by the lack of transparency regarding the health care providers who have applied but have not yet received an award,” Pallone and Doyle wrote Chairman Ajit Pai. “We have heard reports that many health care providers are facing issues obtaining funds, particularly those serving tribal lands. Similarly, health care providers report they have been unable to receive funding for some important telehealth equipment.” Pallone and Doyle want by June 19 a weekly updated “docket that includes all the applications the Commission has received” plus which applications have been approved and when funding is disbursed. They seek “a summary of any uses or devices that were not approved.” The agency “has been administering this program in a transparent manner,” a spokesperson emailed. “We have been providing weekly announcements of all of the funding applications that have been approved along with the details of those approved telehealth projects provided by the applicants.” The FCC’s “website contains a list of all of the approved applications sorted by state,” the spokesperson said. “Our focus has been and must continue to be on processing all of the applications quickly and carefully, an effort that could be undercut if we turn our attention to creating a new system for posting pending applications.”

With content production still in widespread global lockdown from the COVID-19 pandemic, “strategic” diagnostic testing for the coronavirus “is critical for a safe return to work” for cast and crew, said “guidelines” published Friday by four unions in the film and TV industry. Without testing, “cast and crew would be asked to work each day in an environment of unknown risk,” said the Directors Guild of America, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the Teamsters and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of TV and Radio Artists. They propose that productions set up a system of A, B and C protective “zones.” Zone A is a “bubble encasing closely vetted vulnerable people,” including performers and crew, with no social distancing or masks. Zone B “is everywhere the production has a footprint that is not Zone A,” they said. Zone C is “the outside world,” they said. “No one can be allowed access to Zone A or Zone B for the first time unless they have been tested and cleared within the last 24 hours.”

President Donald Trump said Friday he wants the Republican National Committee to update the party’s platform for the 2020 election campaign, in response to reports the RNC executive committee voted Thursday to leave the GOP’s manifesto unchanged from what it used in 2016, including on tech and telecom. The executive committee passed rules for its planned August convention in Charlotte that limit the number of delegates in attendance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The RNC decided to move other major parts of the convention to Jacksonville after Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper was unable to guarantee high-attendance gatherings could happen amid the pandemic. RNC rules say if the national convention isn’t able to fully convene in the convention city, then only roll call votes for the presidential and vice presidential nominees can occur. That would in effect bar the RNC from updating its platform for 2020. The 2016 one includes language on cybersecurity and privacy issues (see 1607270061). “The Republican Party has not yet voted on a Platform,” Trump tweeted. “No rush. I prefer a new and updated Platform, short form, if possible.” Republicans “intend to advance policies that protect data privacy while fostering innovation and growth and ensuring the free flow of data across borders” and “our agenda includes balanced protections for intellectual property,” the 2016 platform said. “We intend to facilitate access to spectrum by paving the way for high-speed, next-generation broadband deployment and competition on the internet and for internet services. We want government to encourage the sharing economy and on-demand platforms to compete in an open market, and we believe public policies should encourage the innovation and competition that are essential for an Internet of Things to thrive.” That platform criticized President Barack Obama’s administration for doing “little to advance our goal of universal broadband coverage.”

Video streaming service stacking is likely to continue near term, after accelerating during the shelter-at-home period for the coronavirus, said industry executives on a Parks Associates webinar. Five million more broadband households have an over-the-top video service now than in Q3, said Parks' Steve Nason. Broadband households with four or more OTT services is up 8 points since Q3 to 25%; customers were more likely during lockdown to look for the “optimal” combination of services to meet their needs, said the analyst Wednesday. Among developments enabling the OTT market to grow were MPEG Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP, faster broadband speeds to the home and incremental improvements in Wi-Fi, said Bart Spriester, Comcast Technology Solutions general manager-content and streaming provider solutions. The streaming industry has “come a long, long way,” said Tom Griffiths, director-technology of U.K.-based ITV. Live content presents a “fundamental challenge” to OTT video “that will probably never be solved,” said Spriester. With traditional broadcast and streaming video converging more from providers, rights management can be challenging.

Harnessing tech to secure physical and digital worlds “will be more important than ever” post-pandemic, reported Omdia. “Implementation of social distancing and business closures to limit person-to-person contact have significant implications for how and why companies deploy and use security.” The notion that consumers and enterprises “will conduct a growing amount of their lives and businesses online is nothing new,” said Omdia. “With more people necessarily relying on technology to work, shop, and socialize than ever before, the move to adopt next-generation technologies, services and strategies is accelerating at an unprecedented rate.” Qualcomm Technologies is launching an “accelerator program” to help small businesses convert to a post-pandemic “mobile-first work environment,” it said, also Thursday. The initiative has the backing of Microsoft and Verizon, and Best Buy Business will provide tech support services. Citrix, Lenovo, Linksys, Samsung, Sophos and Targus are listed as the initiative’s “ecosystem partners.”

Oregon will temporarily increase state Lifeline discounts by nearly $9 monthly using $3.5 million in federal coronavirus relief allocated by the Oregon Joint Emergency Board, said the Oregon Public Utility Commission Thursday. The discount for about 8,000 low-income households will increase to $21.25 from $12.75 for six months starting July 1, the PUC said. “These additional funds will increase the discount for families, making telephone and broadband service more affordable during these unprecedented times,” said PUC Chair Megan Decker.

The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, State E-rate Coordinators’ Alliance and Funds for Learning unveiled a Remote Learning During COVID-19 Act Thursday. The proposal mirrors SHLB’s April request for $5.25 billion in E-rate funding as part of COVID-19 legislation (see 2004280068). The House-passed Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HR-6800) includes $5 billion for E-rate (see 2005130059). More than 1,900 entities signed a Thursday letter to Capitol Hill leaders supporting including the Remote Learning During COVID-19 Act in future pandemic legislation, including New America’s Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge. The legislation “reflects the new reality that the traditional classroom model has had to shift to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the entities said. They said the proposal would “strengthen” the Emergency Educational Connections Act. HR-6563/S-3690 allocates less for E-rate.

FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly is hopeful performance of telecom technology during the pandemic will hasten trends to allow more work from home, he told USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter Thursday. O'Rielly said he attended the USTelecom conference from his bedroom and addressed commissioners' meeting Tuesday from his children's nursery. O'Rielly said he's spending more traditional work hours on childcare, influencing his decision-making. He applauded industry for making U.S. broadband networks "the envy of the world." In the future, he said, punching a clock won't matter as much: "You'll work when you can fit it in." New technologies and devices will support the shift, he said. "I'm optimistic we're going to grow from this experience."

COVID-19 response technology must be “non-discriminatory, effective, voluntary, secure, accountable, and used exclusively for public health purposes,” more than 80 advocacy groups said Thursday. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and New America’s Open Technology Institute signed a set of principles to “guide employers, policymakers, businesses, and public health authorities” while reopening society. Decision-makers should “be mindful of the risks of overreach and unintended consequences, especially to marginalized communities already suffering disproportionately from the virus and economic hardships,” the groups wrote.