Category: Tech

Rising tensions between the U.S. and China extend far beyond trade. A battle over high-tech markets is ramping up as China seeks to lead the world in 5G, the latest version of cellular technology.

China’s 5G strategy increasingly worries U.S. officials, who see Chinese telecom gear as a national security threat that could allow Beijing to spy on communications or help developing nations censor parts of the web, as China does. There’s growing fear that China’s leading companies are poised to out-compete and out-innovate U.S. tech giants. That has riled U.S. lawmakers, who point to years of stolen intellectual property by China and unfair conditions imposed on U.S. firms doing business in the country. Continue reading “China’s High-Tech Ambitions Take On 5G”

Another wave of breakthrough wireless technology is on the horizon. Wireless signals will be used to see in the dark, spot explosives and much more now that the Federal Communications Commission cleared red tape for researchers to experiment on a largely untapped section of airwaves. Continue reading “Gee-Whiz Wireless Tech Gets Real”

Calls are growing louder to split apart Facebook, Alphabet, Amazon and other tech giants. A group of activists and scholars seek to use decades-old antitrust reasoning to regulate or break up today’s largest tech companies. “It’s definitely a new and much greater drumbeat today than it has been,” says Charlotte Slaiman, competition policy counsel at Public Knowledge, a public interest nonprofit based in Washington, D.C.

The rising movement, known as hipster antitrust, “attacks ‘bigness’ per se,” says Joe Kennedy, senior fellow at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. Kennedy points out in a report that a policy shift in that direction could produce more uncertainty, slow innovation and even reduce economic growth. That threat, however unlikely, strikes fear into some of the country’s biggest companies. Continue reading “Big Tech Won’t Be Broken Up, but Big Changes Are Coming”

The scourge of unwanted and often illegal robocalls isn’t going away anytime soon. In fact, in the near term, it might even grow worse. Billions of robocalls are made each month, including fraudsters trying to steal your identity or raid your bank account by impersonating IRS or Social Security officials.

Some relief is on the horizon, though. Federal regulators and industry are beefing up efforts to penalize bad actors and roll out new preventative technologies. Software that blocks unwanted calls or better identifies who’s calling is improving quickly. And businesses are trying new text-based messaging services to reach customers who ignore voice calls. Continue reading “Fight Back Against Time-Wasting Robocalls”

The streaming video wars are heating up. Tens of billions of dollars are being spent on online video content. Companies are battling for the same customers. Technology is rapidly changing. Who wins and who loses from this new tumult in the media industry?

The biggest splash in a long time will be the launch of Disney’s much-anticipated streaming service, leveraging its deep well of films and television shows while spending billions of dollars on new programming, marketing and technology. The move, set to happen this year, marks a new era for the company as it takes a step away from its traditional movie and television business. Continue reading “Who Comes Out on Top in the Streaming Video Wars?”

Have you been hanging onto your smartphone for longer than two years? You’re not alone. More and more folks are holding off on upgrades as new models come with eye-popping price tags and old models last longer. By traditional industry metrics, a phone three to four years old is downright ancient. And if the phone in your pocket is from 2014, you’re giving smart phone executives serious heartburn.

With the market saturated, folks upgrading less frequently, and sales declining in all-important China, vendors can’t count on strong sales growth in coming years. Long after the U.S. and other developed markets had seen sales plateau, China was still going strong with its rising middle class scooping up phones at a rapid clip. Now growth in China has dried up. Quarterly sales in the country have been declining for more than a year. Continue reading “How Apple is Gearing Up for A New Era in the Smartphone Market”

Every December The Kiplinger Letter publishes a Year-End special issue that dives deeply into one topic, ranging from demographic changes to robotic advancements. Last month, we focused on which segments of the economy will do well over the next five years.

For Alerts subscribers, we wanted to share some of that analysis. Below is an overview of 5G’s rise through 2023.

This year marks the start of commercial 5G, the next global standard of cellular communications after 4G. Hype around 5G is already intense. But make no mistake: 5G technology is a real breakthrough.

Over the next five years, the wireless upgrade will add tens of billions of dollars to the economy and create hundreds of thousands of jobs. 5G promises speeds 10 to 100 times faster than today’s networks, the capacity to connect 100 billion things to the internet and far less lag time for applications that require near-instant communications. Continue reading “Breakthrough Cellular Upgrade Sets Up Wireless Sector for Rapid Growth”

Every December The Kiplinger Letter publishes a Year-End special issue that dives deeply into one topic, ranging from demographic changes to robotic advancements. This year, we focus on which segments of the economy are positioned for strong growth over the next five years.

For Alerts subscribers, we wanted to share some of that analysis. Below is the first installment looking at high-tech sectors set to register rapid growth through 2023. Keep an eye out for other tech-focused Alerts that cover high-flying tech sectors.

Drones Will Be Unleashed for an Array of New Business Uses, Including Package Delivery

Look for commercial drones to soar as red tape is cut and technology improves. The fleet of small commercial drones will grow from 111,000 in 2017 to nearly 500,000 in 2022, according to projections by the Federal Aviation Administration. If regulations are updated faster than expected, which is a real possibility, growth will be even stronger. Continue reading “Two High-Tech Sectors Poised for Rapid Growth in the Coming Years”

The internet of things is on the rise, with billions of additional devices, machines and sensors ready to connect to the web around the globe soon. But the pace of growth hinges on how fast the technology industry can overcome some major road blocks.

Security challenges are perhaps the biggest problem, with hackable products flooding the market and giving a bad rep to the potential of connected gear. Reliable wireless connectivity is another issue since businesses won’t enter the fray unless they know critical data can be transmitted without interruption, and at a reasonable price. Continue reading “Promising Trends Emerge for the Internet of Things”

Look past the current privacy debate roiling Capitol Hill set off by Facebook’s huge data leak.  Businesses will have to deal with new rules of the road when it comes to consumer data. It’s only a matter of time before Congress settles on federal legislation, though serious consideration won’t start before 2019 and may take even longer than that.

Coping with more-stringent, and potentially costly, privacy regulations won’t be easy for many firms. New requirements will touch all types of businesses that deal with consumer data, both small and large, tech and non-tech. That means more money and time spent on managing customer data and keeping tabs on upcoming rules. Continue reading “What Privacy Regulations Mean for Your Business and Investment Portfolio”