Advanced Television

ISP

BT ordered to block file-sharing website Newzbin2

Hollywood film studios can claim a significant win in their ongoing fight against online piracy, after the UK High Court ruled that dominant telco and leading ISP BT must block access to an illegal file-sharing website. BT users will no longer be able to download illegally films and TV shows for free from Newzbin2. The […]

July 28, 2011By Colin Mann

eircom plans €100m fibre rollout and IPTV launch

Irish telco eircom has announced Phase 1 of a plan to upgrade significantly Ireland’s telecommunications infrastructure by rolling out fibre-based access technologies delivering superfast broadband to customers. Separately, the company also announced it will launch television services in 2012. The company intends to serve 100,000 premises by summer 2012 in Phase 1 of a planned […]

July 28, 2011By Colin Mann

Foxtel considers ACCC legal action

Australian pay-TV operator Foxtel will consider taking legal action against the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) if it is unsuccessful in overturning the regulator’s preliminary view that its A$1.9 billion acquisition of regional pay-TV group Austar is anti-competitive (see ‘Regulator raises Foxtel Austar bid concerns’, July 22). Foxtel chief executive Kim Williams contends that […]

July 25, 2011By Colin Mann

Triple-play subscriptions to quadruple

More than a quarter of the world’s TV households will subscribe to triple-play services of TV, broadband and telephony by 2016, according to Digital TV Research (DTVR). The Triple-Play Forecasts report, which covers 73 countries, estimates that this is up from only 7.1 per cent penetration at end-2010. Report author Simon Murray said that the […]

July 18, 2011

Gogo launches in-air multimedia platform

Airline Internet access specialist Gogo is to launch a new, in-air multimedia platform that will extend the company beyond Internet connectivity to offer passengers exclusive access to online services that include real-time travel information, destination content, news and information, exclusive shopping deals and social network integration. The platform will also give airlines the opportunity to […]

July 18, 2011By Sanjeev Bhavnani

Europeans prefer triple-play packages

Four out of ten Europeans households are buying ‘bundled’ Internet, phone and TV services from a single provider, a Eurobarometer survey shows. The survey also found that 65 per cent of people limit their mobile phone calls because of cost and that calls over the Internet are becoming increasingly popular. The E-Communications Household Survey was […]

July 13, 2011

Minister: ISPs are obstructive. Virgin: this isn’t the only way

Ed Vaizey, the UK Minister for Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries, has criticised the continued legal action by ISPs BT and TalkTalk in respect of implementing aspects of the Digital Economy Act. Vaizey, in a keynote speech at the Intellect Consumer Electronics Conference in London, noted that in cross-industry discussions his department had facilitated […]

July 5, 2011By Colin Mann

Industry actions can boost video uptake

Although soon-to-be-released figures suggest that video consumption has slipped into third place in terms of consumer spend behind cable and satellite subscriptions and ISP subscriptions, Lavinia Carey, Director General of the British Video Association contends that with appropriate actions, the sector’s position can be restored. Participating in the Industry Leadership Debate on ‘Owning a slice […]

July 5, 2011By Colin Mann

EU challenges Belgium access proposals

The European Commission has expressed a number of concerns on proposals by Belgian broadcasting and broadband regulators. In particular, the Commission is asking the Belgian regulators to take full account of market developments in both markets and to further substantiate and justify its reasoning with regard to the broadcasting market. The Commission believes Belgium hasn’t […]

June 22, 2011

Telstra unveils Foxtel T-Box switch

Australian telco Telstra has unveiled the first stage of its anticipated Foxtel on T-Box service. From Sunday 26th June, T-Box customers will have access to up to 30 Foxtel channels and a selection of catch-up TV channels including FOX8, Discovery and Movie One. The basic starter service, with 11 channels, will cost A$19.50 (€14.43) per […]

June 20, 2011