Wireline news from across the Web:
Worldwide IT spending decreased from 2014 to 2015 by more than $200 billion. What do you see happening in 2016?
— Verizon Enterprise (@VZEnterprise) March 15, 2016
> Los Angeles Council member Bob Blumenfield will participate as a keynote speaker in the Smart Gigabit LA business & technology conference, March 29 and 30 in Los Angeles. Release
> Telstra has appointed Stephen Elop as group executive, Technology, Innovation and Strategy, a newly created role. Bloomberg article
> After several hard-fought years of unsuccessful attempts, the Florida legislature on Friday passed a new bill designed to set the stage for telehealth commercial insurance coverage in the state.National Law Review article
> Verizon Enterprise Solutions and Synnex have partnered in a first-of-its-kind distribution program. Channel Partners article
> The Open Networking Lab offered an update on the progress of its CORD initiative, which promises to merge open-source cloud and virtualization technologies to re-envision the data center. RCR Wireless article
Cable News
> NBCUniversal could pull its broadcast stations and cable channels off Dish Network if a broad-reaching retrans and carriage renewal agreement can't be worked out by Sunday. Article
> Despite all the commotion surrounding full duplex DOCSIS 3.1 since CableLabs announced an initiative to develop it last month, the technology is far from ready for prime time. Article
Installer News
> SCTE and Comcast are partnering with Georgia Tech to recruit and train military veterans for careers as cable techs. Article
Online Video News
> Video compression solutions provider V-Nova is releasing its signature product, Perseus, as a software development kit (SDK) that can be integrated into third-party encoders and video players. Article
Wireless News
> HERE said it is pulling its popular maps and navigation apps from Windows Phone, underscoring yet again the "app gap" that continues to plague Microsoft's mobile efforts. Article
> Verizon inked a direct connection agreement with Cuba's government-run telecommunications carrier Etecsa, Reuters reported, illustrating how eager U.S. carriers are to expand to a market that was off limits until recently. Article
And finally …SDN topped the list of technology investments for 2016. Network Computing article