The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is considering permanently revising international traffic in arms regulations so industry employees involved in ITAR can work remotely, said Wednesday's Federal Register. DDTC said, due to industry requests, it will extend through this year temporary telework measures, which had been set to expire July 31. The agency will use that time to “fully investigate the possibility and ramifications of making this modification, or a variation thereof, a permanent revision,” and may seek comments. DDTC said the extension will “provide regulated entities with staffing flexibilities” during the pandemic and it seems "regulated entities will continue to engage in social distancing measures for the foreseeable future.”

Oklahoma’s USF administrator will extend temporary emergency funding for increased bandwidth at schools, libraries and healthcare facilities through Dec. 31, Oklahoma Corporation Commission Public Utility Division Director Brandy Wreath wrote stakeholders Tuesday. The COVID-19 support was to end Sept. 30.

Congressional Broadcasters Caucus co-Chairs Reps. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., are pressing to include language in the next COVID-19 aid bill to make broadcasters and other local outlets eligible for the Small Business Administration-administered Paycheck Protection Program. The House passed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HR-6800) in May with such a provision (see 2005180056). Proposals Senate Republicans released earlier this week contain no similar language (see 2007280059). Boyle and Emmer noted language from the Local News and Emergency Information Act (HR-6897/S-3718), which mirrors HR-6800 on media PPP eligibility (see 2005130059). The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (Cares) Act enacted in March (see 2003260063) gave “hotels, restaurants, and others … the ability to count their employees for the purpose of the PPP by individual location rather than as part of their ownership groups,” the lawmakers said Tuesday in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and the chambers’ minority leaders. “These are precisely the business partners who have been forced to drop their advertising." Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., led a letter to McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Health Committee leaders urging them to include the Public Health Emergency Privacy Act’s language in the next aid measure.

Imax plans to have 1,400 screens in 70 markets open by August for Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster Tenet, said CEO Rich Gelfond Tuesday on a Q2 call. After three delays due to COVID-19, Warner Bros. said also Tuesday the movie will release in Canada, Europe and Asia Aug. 26 and in limited U.S. theaters Sept. 3. “The rising infection rate in the U.S. and other markets stands in stark contrast to the opening of large international markets, where we derive over 70% of our revenue,” said Gelfond: “The U.S. presents a unique challenge for industry that is accustomed to global releases.” Staggered releases by country are “the next best thing,” he said. “We should expect some temporary setbacks in some markets.” In July, some 624 Imax screens were open, 40% of the company’s global 1,500-theater network; 10% of North America’s 400 Imax theaters are open, primarily in Canada. Masks are “absolutely critical” in theaters, said Gelfond. Social distancing capacity constraints and traffic flow can be managed effectively, show times can be staggered and food prep can be visible or food can be prepackaged, he said. Gelfond predicts the market will move toward premium experiences and blockbusters. On Imax's concern about narrowing theatrical windows -- after AMC's and Universal’s announcement Tuesday giving AMC 17 days of theatrical exclusivity for releases before going to premium VOD -- Gelfond said he sees little impact. With AMC potentially sharing in streaming revenue, “we have to wait to hear what other exhibitors say, what that means,” said Gelfond. Noting Universal doesn’t have a big movie coming out in North America until 2021, “we all have to take a breath,” said the executive. Imax revenue plunged 92% year on year in Q2 to $8.9 million. Shares closed down 10.7% Wednesday at $11.22.

“Size and sophistication” of online attacks “has risen dramatically” with the pandemic’s spike in internet traffic, said Akamai CEO Tom Leighton on a Tuesday investor call: “Threat actors” are taking advantage of the “distraction and vulnerabilities created by employees working remotely.” Malware reports to Akamai jumped nearly fivefold in Q2 from the previous quarter, he said. Nearly half the content on a typical website “originates from third parties,” estimated Leighton. “Attackers are embedding malware in this content to steal users’ credit cards and other personal data.” Theft of login credentials “is another growing problem,” he said. “We blocked more than 53 billion credential abuse attempts last quarter, more than four times the number we saw in Q2 of last year.” Demand for the company's media and security services “more than offset” revenue downturns from the travel and hotel industries and other sectors “hit hardest by the pandemic,” said Leighton: Churn “stayed below 1% of annualized revenue.” Chief Financial Officer Ed McGowan estimated Akamai took a $14 million Q2 hit from COVID-19, mainly through “contract restructurings and elevated bad debt reserves.” A 13% revenue gain and 29% profit increase reflected a “continuation of the high traffic levels” on the internet since the onset of the pandemic, said Leighton. Peak traffic exceeded 100 terabits daily, he said. “That’s a lot of traffic.”

COVID-19 has been a mixed bag for Spotify. Monthly active users in Q2 grew 29% year on year to 299 million, at the top end of guidance, said Wednesday's shareholder letter. Ad revenue fell to $154 million from $194 million. Revenue rose to $2.22 billion vs. $2.17 billion. Quarter to date through May, ad-supported sales fell 25% vs. 2019, said CEO Daniel Ek on a call: “Big declines” were due to the COVID-19 pandemic but improved to 12% lower in June. Pandemic-related softness in April and May, including payment failures by Premium users in Latin America and emerging regions, were offset by strength in North America and other areas. Struggling regions rebounded in June, with increased reactivations and slower churn. Overall listening hours in June returned to previous levels, Spotify said. Consumption trends by platform “are beginning to normalize,” with in-car listening at the end of Q2 less than 10% below pre-COVID-19 levels; they sank as far as 50% year on year in April. Spotify stock has jumped about 70% since the company signed comedian Joe Rogan to an exclusive podcast deal in mid-May, noted Pivotal Research Group's Jeffrey Wlodarczak in a Wednesday investor note. The analyst attributed the spike to “hope that Spotify can eventually become” like Netflix with “exclusive podcast content helping to drive higher subscriber growth, lower subscriber churn, increased engagement, greater ability to move consumers from the free funnel to premium and eventually reverse negative ARPU [average revenue per user] trends.”

Semiconductor supplier Amkor Technology experienced strong Q2 demand in its communications and consumer “end markets,” driving 31% revenue growth year over year, said CEO Giel Rutten on a Monday investors call. Though global smartphone unit shipments are expected to decline in 2020, Amkor had first-half growth in its 4G products, plus “a steady ramp” of its 5G components, including its RF, front-end, modem, sensor and artificial intelligence products, he said. Computing grew 13% sequentially and year over year, exceeding expectations in “all applications,” including PCs and laptops, he said. “While the semiconductor supply chain has responded very well to the coronavirus challenges, we are still dealing with an environment of dynamic forecast changes as customers try to balance limited visibility with inventory levels."

COVID-19 is a good reason to extend Lifeline waivers for recertification, reverification, non-usage and income documentation rules until Dec. 31, TracFone told the FCC. The wireless eligible telecom carrier supports the National Lifeline Association’s July 8 petition, said the letter posted Tuesday in docket 11-42. The company said the FCC should temporarily freeze minimum service standards for mobile broadband service at 3 GB, and the mobile voice-only subsidy at $7.25 monthly.

Contact tracing apps could potentially slow disease transmission, but policymakers need to weigh the pros and cons, GAO reported Tuesday: Decision makers should consider how to build public trust for such apps; legal and privacy safeguards; coordination among local, state and federal agencies; how to expedite test results to maximize the benefits; and how to ensure accuracy of contact identification.

Global TV demand for 2020 is expected to “remain resilient,” said Corning Chief Financial Officer Tony Tripeny on an investor call Tuesday: “In-home entertainment is more important than ever." TV sell-through unit sales increased slightly from the 2019 quarter, he said. Sales were better than in Q1, and “better than the industry anticipated,” he said. “Preliminary retail sell-through data for June and July indicate that demand recovery in China has held and that demand in North America remained robust, while emerging regions remained weak.” The company's display-glass sales declined 11.2% year over year to $753 million, and were about flat with Q1, said the CFO. Q2 display-glass production volume grew by low-single digits from Q1 because Gen 10.5 customers “bought more glass,” he said. The manufacturer long term isn’t “just counting on everybody buying more stuff,” said CEO Wendell Weeks. “We’re putting more Corning into the products people already buy.” Corning’s specialty materials business, which includes Gorilla Glass used in 8 billion devices globally, had a 13.5% sales increase, while the smartphone market declined, said Weeks. Samsung will be the first to use Corning’s “toughest” cover glass yet, Gorilla Glass Victus, on a smartphone “in the near future, he said.