Starry Internet eyes expansion in 2018: After a couple of years testing its unique wireless broadband service in the Boston area, Starry Internet is set to expand coverage to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. in the near future, with plans for more than a dozen other major market additions over the course of the year.
The company's service uses base stations mounted on rooftops that deliver Internet connections via high-frequency millimeter waves. Devices placed at and inside subscribers' homes capture the signals, convert them to lower frequencies and create a wifi network. Starry says it can offer 200MB broadband for $50 a month, a claim that has drawn its share of skepticism.
Company CEO Chet Kanojia is known for his previous startup, Aereo, which used antennas to capture and stream local TV channels. The company failed when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled its business model was in violation of the law.
POV: The notion of ultra-fast, affordable wireless Internet is a tantalizing one, particularly in light of the recent FCC vote overturning net neutrality laws. In fact, Starry has made net neutrality a centerpiece of its marketing efforts, saying it will never throttle customer data or block any websites.
But there are serious challenges standing in its way. Any wireless network is at heart a real estate play; it's not trivial to site and build a cellular tower, particularly in expensive urban areas. Starry's infrastructure has a much smaller footprint, but its use of millimeter waves has drawbacks, namely a much shorter range than other technologies. If Starry is going to offer broadband at scale it will need to blanket urban areas with base stations, and each will require negotiations with building owners.
Then there is the question of how entrenched carriers will respond. If Starry's plans work out, they will not stand idly by. To that end, millimeter waves are hardly new or exclusive to Starry. While it has had a couple of years to develop special hardware and run limited beta tests, players with bigger resources pose a clear threat.
Ultimately, innovation in wireless broadband is a good thing, however. It will be interesting to see how the year unfolds for Starry.
Macy's digital drive still work in progress: Venerable department store chain Macy's reported that sales for the November-December holiday period rose 1.1 percent year-over-year, but at the same time announced plans to close 11 more stores, including one in downtown Miami. Four of the stores, including one in Los Angeles, had already been disclosed as slated for closure.
Macy's announced plans to close 100 locations in August 2016 and with the latest batch, will have completed 81 of of them. In total, the chain has shuttered 124 stores since 2015.
There are multiple store brands among Macy's holdings, including Bloomingdale's and Blue Mercury. Holiday sales were spurred by strong performance in areas such as fine jewelry, men's tailored clothing and high-end cosmetics.
Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette said in a statement that the company's store closings are all part of a bigger plan:
“Our primary focus in 2017 has been to continue the strong growth of digital and mobile, stabilize our brick & mortar business and set the foundation for future growth. We’ve made good progress on each, including encouraging trend improvements in our brick & mortar business. A healthy store base combined with robust digital capabilities is Macy’s recipe for success."
POV: Macy's results announcement doesn't mention it, but strong holiday sales on higher-ticket items was likely driven by the chain's Star Rewards loyalty program, which it overhauled prior to the holiday season. Macy's derives half of its annual revenue from the 10 percent of customers who spend at least $1,200 per year there. Those shoppers are now enrolled in the program's Platinum tier, which gives them 5 percent back plus free shipping. It's the brainchild of Gennette, who has been tasked with improving Macy's omnichannel strategy. This element, at least, seems to be working.
Still, Macy's has work yet to do. "They are not doing well with their digital strategy," says Constellation VP and principal analyst Cindy Zhou. "The emails are unfocused and it's challenging to find associates to help in-store. They need to focus more on personalized customer engagement and how to improve their digital-to-in-store experience."
California's marijuana-tracking system has yet to fire up: The Golden State is unfortunately notorious for a long string of wildly expensive, poorly executed government IT projects. The latest could end up being a system that is supposed to track recreational marijuana sales, now that the drug was legalized for that use on Jan. 1. Here are the key details from an Associated Press report:
California’s legal pot economy was supposed to operate under the umbrella of a vast computerized system to track marijuana from seed to storefronts, ensuring that plants are followed throughout the supply chain and don’t drift into the black market.
But recreational cannabis sales began this week without the computer system in use for pot businesses. Instead, they are being asked to document sales and transfers of pot manually, using paper invoices or shipping manifests. That raises the potential that an unknown amount of weed will continue slipping into the illicit market, as it has for years.
For the moment, “you are looking at pieces of paper and self-reporting. A lot of these regulations are not being enforced right now,” said Jerred Kiloh, a Los Angeles dispensary owner who heads the United Cannabis Business Association, an industry group.
POV: State officials say the system has been "implemented," but it's not clear when the necessary training dispensaries need on it will be complete, or when its use will be firmly mandated. Overall, the project has a number of moving pieces, a factor that can often lead to delays and overruns.
The voter referendum legalizing recreational marijuania in November 2016 also dictated that the state begin issuing licenses for it by Jan. 1. Several state agencies are involved in the regulatory process, and the licensing system will actually consist of two software platforms, one from Accela and another from Pegasystems. There are also multiple systems integrators working on the project. Finally, there is a track-and-trace system component, which hadn't even been procured as of last June.
California is banking on recreational marijuana generating substantial tax revenue, so getting the system up and running soon is paramount. But rushing its completion may only lead to more problems; this may be a case when mellowing out a bit is the best option for state officials.