The International Telecommunications Satellite Organization Assembly of Parties hasn't made any decision regarding ITSO's future, so Intelsat's requested revision to some satellite authorizations doesn't represent support from ITSO AP member states, ITSO AP Chairman and South African Minister-Communications and Digital Technologies Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams told the FCC in a docket 20-417 letter Tuesday. It responded to an Intelsat filing asking for updated conditions to some of its satellite licenses on termination of the ITSO agreement or starting March 31, 2022, whichever is first. The core principles for Intelsat and ITSO supervision expire this year (see 2011180061).

Accenture is buying German engineering and testing company umlaut. Accenture said Monday the move is aimed at increasing engineering capabilities in areas including 5G, cloud and artificial intelligence. Accenture said it’s picking up more than 4,200 umlaut engineers and consultants in 17 countries.

NBCUniversal’s announcement it will beam prime-time coverage of the Tokyo Olympics in 4K HDR with Dolby Atmos in “certain markets” wasn't the first time NBC discussed deploying Ultra HD for major live sports. The network was “investigating” plans to carry the 2018 Super Bowl in 4K, then-NBC Broadcasting and Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus told the October 2017 NAB Show New York, listing the abundant logistics and cost challenges involved in pulling it off (see 1710180023). The 4K telecast never happened. NBCUniversal will beam the Tokyo Olympics in 4K HDR to its U.S. “distribution partners,” it said Thursday. They will “individually choose how to make the content available to their customers,” said the network, without disclosing which HDR format it will use. The games open July 23 for a two-week run.

China urges the U.S. to “earnestly respect market economy principles and international economic and trade rules” and to stop “abusing state power to groundlessly suppress Chinese tech companies,” said a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Thursday. He was asked about President Joe Biden’s revocation Wednesday of ex-President Donald Trump’s bans on U.S. transactions with TikTok and other major Chinese apps (see 2106090076). The Chinese government “will continue to resolutely safeguard legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies,” said the spokesperson. The White House didn’t comment.

The satellite TV distribution business suffers from continuous price pressures and a seemingly irreversible and continuous erosion of revenue, blogged Northern Sky Research analyst Carlos Placido. Video distribution and direct-to-home video are a sizable business but "no longer look as the future bread-and-butter business of satellite operators," he said Tuesday.

The U.S. and EU should stop squabbling over tech issues or risk having China or another authoritarian government step into the gap, speakers told a Tuesday Information Technology and Innovation Foundation webinar. High on President Joe Biden's agenda for the summit in Brussels next week is discussion of the relationship, including whether the EU should stop attacking America's tech sector and Biden should refrain from giving away too much to make amends to Europe for the previous administration's attitude, said ITI President Robert Atkinson. He accused Europe of deploying a range of tools to hobble U.S. tech giants, such as the Digital Services Act and limits on cross-border data flows, and urged Biden to aggressively defend America while seeking stronger trans-Atlantic ties. The EU and U.S. are at an uneven point, said Atlantic Council Distinguished Fellow Frances Burwell: Europe is active on these issues while it's unclear where Biden or Congress wants to go. The U.S. must pick its battles with the EU and be clear about what it wants, Burwell said. The summit is a great opportunity to reset the EU-U.S. relationship, said President Paul Hofheinz of think tank The Lisbon Council. There are two different forms of government in the world -- democracies and one-party states -- and no one is thinking hard enough about how to regulate the neutral technology that sits between them, he said. The discussion should focus on China, said Center for European Policy Analysis President Alina Polyakova. This year will be important for seeing where and who sets normalization rules for technology, she said. Creating a level playing field for European companies is a top priority for the EU, but that will come from stimulating innovation, not regulation, she said. The "big gorilla in the room" is the Digital Markets Act, which attacks U.S. companies, she said. She urged the EU to rethink its digital agenda, including Privacy Shield and the DMA, and both sides to cooperate more. They potentially can meet in some areas, such as on facial recognition technology and the need for a U.S. federal privacy law, said Hofheinz: "We need to talk to each other humbly, respectfully and honestly." One problem with the U.S. approach is that no official "owns" this issue, which is spread across various agencies, said Polyakova. On the other hand, Europe is more thoughtful, strategic and sophisticated about policy, said Atkinson.

The Sonos Radio HD streaming service expanded to Austria, Canada, France, Germany and the Netherlands, the company said Tuesday.

Google will pay 220 million euros ($268 million) and change how its advertising services work, under a settlement with the French Competition Authority, said the agency Monday. This arose from complaints from News Corp., Le Figaro1 group and Rossel La Voix group about Google's DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) ad service and AdX listing platform. The authority said Google abused its dominant market position by giving preferential treatment to proprietary technologies offered under the Ad Manager brand with regard to the operation of the DFP ad server -- which allows publishers of websites and mobile applications to sell advertising space -- and sell-side platform (SSP) AdX, which organizes auctions by which publishers sell ads. Google penalized its rivals on the SSP market and publishers hard-hit by falling newspaper subscriptions and drop in associated revenue, the FCA said. The decision is the first in the world "to look into complex algorithmic auctions processes through which online display advertising works," said FCA President Isabelle de Silva. Google didn't dispute the facts and offered commitments the authority accepted, including giving publishers better access to data on ad space auctions and making Ad Manager more flexible by letting publishers mix and match technology platforms, blogged Google France Legal Director Maria Gomri. Modifications will be tested in coming months before being rolled out more broadly, including globally, she said.

China is “firmly opposed” to the executive order President Joe Biden signed Thursday, bolstering prohibitions on U.S. investments in China’s military-industrial complex, said a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Friday. “The U.S. government uses the catch-all concept of national security and abuses state power to suppress and restrict Chinese enterprises in all possible means,” he said. Presidential EOs have “harmed not only the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, but also the interests of global investors, including U.S. investors,” said the spokesperson. The White House didn’t comment. Biden’s EO prohibits U.S. “persons” from trading in the securities of 59 Chinese entities, effective Aug. 2 at 12:01 a.m. EDT.

An EU-U.S. trade and technology council could help Europeans learn from the U.S. about issues like 5G network deployment, said Thibaut Kleiner, European Commission policy strategy and international affairs director. EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Wednesday she hopes to announce such a council in mid-June, when President Joe Biden visits Brussels. The council could be a “good tool for delivery,” not just be a “talk shop,” Kleiner said during a German Marshall Fund livestream Thursday. The two sides will likely prioritize existential issues like climate change over marketplace issues, said ex-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, now a Brookings Institution visiting fellow.