JD Power’s 2024 US Electric Vehicle Experience Public Charging Study identified “signs of improvement,” with overall satisfaction up for a second straight quarter, per a news release. Improving the public charging experience is a key priority as the EV sector aims to boost adoption of plug-in cars. JD Power released data earlier this year indicating that EV purchase consideration was slightly down from last year, in large part because of charging woes.

The new survey, conducted in collaboration with EV research firm PlugShare, polled 9,605 owners of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in the first half of 2024 on 10 factors impacting their charging experience, including ease of charging, payment ease, and charging speed. It examined satisfaction with both Level 2 and DC fast chargers.

• Satisfaction with DC fast chargers rose to 664 on a 1,000-point scale, up 10 points YoY.
• Satisfaction with Level 2 charging dipped to 614 points, three points lower than the same period in 2023.

“While the customer satisfaction scores for public charging continue to prompt concern, the results offer reasons for optimism,” Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at JD Power, said in a statement.

Keep reading here.—JG

The stock market’s changed. Once dominated by a few huge players, a new wave of engaged retail investors has emerged with more influence than ever.

After Earnings is the show that connects the modern investor with the executives and decision-makers shaping the markets. Listen now as Austin Hankwitz and Katie Perry bring the conversations that used to be available only to hedge fund managers to the rest of us.

What if we told you there’s a silver bullet that could make mobile networks safer, more efficient, and more competitive?

While far from a perfect solution, many telecom companies, experts, and government officials have been throwing their weight behind the concept of open radio access networks (ORAN), which hold the promise of addressing a host of issues that currently plague the industry.

With companies from AT&T to Dish Wireless embracing the technology, it’s worth understanding what it entails and where it’s headed.

What is ORAN?

Let’s start with the RAN part of the equation. The radio access network connects consumer devices using mobile connections to the broader telecom ecosystem. Without this link, individual phones, laptops, and other similar devices would operate like islands unto themselves—not very practical.

Telecom networks have traditionally been closed systems supported by a single vendor, many of which are based overseas: Finland’s Nokia, Sweden’s Ericsson, and South Korea’s Samsung, to name a few heavy hitters.

While that’s not necessarily a dealbreaker, this black-box architecture can make it challenging to audit what’s actually in the network stack. Many experts also believe that some vendors, such as China-based Huawei and ZTE, present national security concerns to the US.

ORAN seeks to change the vertically integrated network model by ensuring that all components of the telecom infrastructure chain operate according to a common set of standards, making different vendors’ hardware essentially interchangeable. It also leans heavily on software, as opposed to hardware, which makes components easier to update remotely and doesn’t require physical reinstallation.

Keep reading here.—KG

Business leaders may be letting their guard down when it comes to protecting against AI risks.

A new report from PwC found that 58% of 1,000 US executives surveyed have carried out a preliminary accounting of risks around the use of AI in their companies. Only around one in 10 reported fully implementing 11 capabilities the firm identified as key to responsible AI, though 80% have made some progress.

On top of the dangers of unchecked AI itself, the lack of readiness could cause problems for companies, as new regulations like the EU’s AI Act, President Biden’s executive order, and California’s proposed AI safety bill start to mandate more guardrails. The findings also come as reports show businesses are running into other obstacles, from experimentation with AI to rollout.

What’s holding businesses back from investing in responsible AI?

• The top reason—reported by 29%—was “difficulty quantifying risk mitigation.”
• “Responsible AI not a budgetary priority” and “leadership unclear on value” tied for second, with 15% each.

Ilana Golbin Blumenfeld, responsible AI lead at PwC, said companies also tend to overestimate their own progress on installing responsible AI guardrails. “The numbers that we see from the survey don’t always match our experiences in working with organizations directly,” she told Tech Brew.

Keep reading here.—PK