Wireless news from across the Web.
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> Ericsson said that it will take a $303 million charge in the second quarter due to restructuring. Reuters article
> Akamai released its first-quarter "State of the Internet" report. Akamai release
> Google is working on a medical-grade fitness tracking wristband. Bloomberg article
> Qualcomm struck a deal to help China's biggest semiconductor foundry upgrade its technology. Wall Street Journal article
> Google launched a free version of its music streaming service ahead of the debut of Apple's rival service next week. Reuters article
> An update to the Qi wireless charging standard supports the ability to deliver up to 15 watts of power to a charging phone wirelessly, which the Wireless Power Consortium said should help users charge their devices up to 60 percent in about 30 minutes. TechnoBuffalo article
> Only 20 percent of surveyed consumers in the United Kingdom, United States and China are actually using wireless charging technology, even though awareness of the technology jumped to 76 percent, according to the IHS Wireless Charging Consumer Insights Report. TelecomLead article
> Canadian bank CIBC became the first of the country's major banks to participate in suretap, a mobile payments system backed by wireless carriers Bell, Rogers, Telus, Koodo and Virgin. CBC article
> General Motors committed to adding Android Auto and CarPlay to even more of its cars and trucks. PhoneScoop article
> Facebook will offer customers of Cell C access to its free application Internet.org in South Africa as the social-networking service seeks to add users in the continent's most developed economy. Bloomberg article
Online Video News
> Video platform developer Qwilt, which helps pay-TV operators and other Internet service providers to deliver OTT video content to their subscribers, has received $25 million in Series D funding. The round was led by Disrupt-ive, and brings the company's total funding to $65 million. Article
> Hulu is continuing its bid to be a one-stop service for exclusive TV series and movies by announcing a content partnership with Showtime that will enable Hulu subscribers to sign up for the premium network's online service for considerably less than Showtime's standalone monthly rate. The move could be the first big cannon shot in a potential SVOD price war. Article
Cable News
> The FCC announced that it has begun a review of Charter's proposed purchases of both Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. Article
> While 18 percent of pay-TV subscribers are using TV Everywhere services monthly, average TVE consumption--outside of major sports events like March Madness--"doesn't look mainstream yet," noted Hardie Tankersley, senior VP of Innovation for Fox Broadcasting, speaking rather critically of the initiative on a TV of Tomorrow conference panel in San Francisco titled "TV Everywhere: Maintaining the Momentum." Article
Telecom News
> According to the 2015 IHS Infonetics Optical Network Hardware Vendor scorecard, which profiles the top vendors in this space, Ciena, Cisco and Infinera have the strongest market presence and momentum. Article
> Frontier is looking to drive more customers to higher broadband speeds by bundling the Nest Learning Thermostat with their service. Article
European Wireless News
> Bouygues Group rejected Altice's unsolicited offer for its telecoms unit, asserting that Bouygues Telecom is "well-positioned" to take advantage of future growth in the telecoms market and can revive profits on its own. Article
> Telenor and TeliaSonera shrugged off a European Commission statement of objections to a planned combination of their respective Danish businesses as nothing more than an "ordinary event" in such a merger process. Article
And finally... T-Mobile cast CEO John Legere as a comic book superhero in a battle against AT&T and Verizon. Article