Los Angeles-based avatar technology firm Genies Inc. has secured Bob Iger as an investor and board member, a coup for the five-year-old startup, which crafts celebrity avatars and also allows people to create their own avatars, fashion, worlds and experiences. The move into the metaverse is Iger’s first entertainment play since exiting Disney in December after 15 years as CEO. Genies says Iger will help “navigate its mission to empower humans to create their own avatar ecosystems” in Web3 — including avatars, fashion lines, immersive experiences and virtual worlds.  Read more

Given the messy, eleventh-hour battle with the FAA over 5G deployment, it’s not too early to start planning a rollout for 6G, experts say. While the U.S. trails Asia in 5G availability, it’s still at the front of the pack, with coverage of roughly 80 percent of the population through home or office in mid-2021, says PwC, assessing only about 12 percent of “device penetration,” or subscriptions. Yet 6G is already being touted as being able to take cloud computing and the mobile Internet to unimagined realms of global connectivity and social equity. Read more

Having risen to the position of world’s largest television network largely on the strength of its ad-free programming, there are now predictions that Netflix will over the next few years begin streaming advertisements. Fueled by a perceived softening in tone toward commercials by Netflix CFO Spencer Neumann at a recent investor conference, an analyst at the Variety Intelligence Platform’s “Future of Content” event at SXSW told festival attendees the change would come due to competition from so-called FAST channels — “free ad-supported streaming television.” Read more

Two years of global chip shortages resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have left the semiconductor industry better prepared for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war has created turmoil in two countries that supply neon gas and palladium, essential ingredients to create processors. One estimate puts the countries’ combined output of semiconductor-grade neon at anywhere from one-quarter to half, while positing Russia has in the past originated as much as a third of the metal palladium. Potential shortages of both materials has raised concern in an industry already struggling to meet demand. Read more

Businesses curious as to how 5G may impact operations would do well to look to South Korea, where as of November, 5G subscriptions reached 28 percent or about 20.19 million of total mobile subscriptions, according to RCR Wireless. The country not only has a substantial 5G base, but some of the fastest. Autonomous vehicles are already relying on 5G there, as are smart factories, and the proclivity consumers have shown for new technologies prompts experts to conclude the nation may lead the way in areas such as augmented reality, virtual reality and the metaverse. Read more