Dish has inked a 10-year agreement to use AT&T as its primary network provider as part of the company’s transition to becoming a nationwide wireless operator. Effective immediately, the deal replaces T-Mobile as Dish’s principal partner and is a potential forerunner to an eventual DirecTV-Dish merger. Dish will pay AT&T at least $5 billion over the next decade to use the latter’s 4G and 5G networks. Dish founder Charlie Ergen nearly sold his company to AT&T in 2007, but his push for last-minute changes squashed the deal. Read more

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), under the new leadership of chairperson Lina Khan, voted unanimously to enforce Right to Repair legislation. The vote will ensure that U.S. consumers will be able to repair their own electronic and automotive devices. The FTC published a report in May excoriating manufacturers for not adhering to the Right to Repair rules, one of them the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. The Right to Repair movement has been led by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and iFixit, among others. Read more

In Q2, Netflix added 1.5 million new subscribers, slower growth after a peak at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the company isn’t worried, telling investors that it is “mostly competing with ourselves to improve our service as fast as we can.” “If we do that, we’re confident we can maintain our strong position and continue to grow nicely as we have been for the past two-plus decades,” Netflix said, adding that it doesn’t view any particular assets as “must-have,” and that consolidation isn’t impacting its growth. Meanwhile, the company is facing new competitors in the streaming space. Read more

Google is introducing new security solutions for Google Cloud, in addition to expanding availability of its Risk Protection Program. Google Cloud vice president and general manager Sunil Potti explained that the updates are part of a larger vision of “invisible security” within the cloud where silos will “eventually” disappear after all security tech is engineered into it. He added that, “rather than essentially build products that fix problems with other products … you have to hit the reset button and embrace something fundamental.” Read more

The smartphone industry is finally feeling the impact of the semiconductor shortage that has bedeviled the auto, PC and home appliance industries. Samsung Electronics, for example, expects a 20 percent drop in shipments from last quarter, due to problems sourcing key parts. Google’s Pixel 5a 5G device will only be available in the U.S. and Japan, even though last year’s models were given a wider release. China’s Xiaomi, which recently surpassed Apple to capture the No. 2 spot in global shipments, has raised the price of its flagship India device, the Redmi Note 10, to $174 from $161.  Read more