Advanced Television

Broadband

Liberty Global terminates Sunrise discussions

Liberty Global has confirmed that it has terminated discussions regarding the combination of UPC Switzerland and Sunrise Communications, and that a turnaround plan is on track. “We wish Sunrise well but we are moving on,” confirmed Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global. “Despite our willingness to show significant flexibility on terms, it’s clear to us […]

December 17, 2019

Spain: Euskaltel set to take Virgin brand

Euskaltel, the fifth largest telco operator in Spain, is reportedly finalising an agreement with the UK’s Virgin Media to operate under its brand throughout Spain within its national expansion plans. It follows on the heels of Euskaltel signing a deal with Orange to use its FTTH networks in the country. Under the deal with Virgin, […]

December 17, 2019From David Del Valle in Madrid

China wants OneWeb rival

China wants to launch a global competitor to the satellite mega-constellations proposed by OneWeb and Elon Musk’s Starlink system. The Hongyan system now calls for 864 satellites as part of what could be an even-larger national satellite Internet scheme. The satellites are intended to orbit at 1175 kms high and carry in total a potential […]

December 17, 2019By Chris Forrester

IDC: EU connected device data revenue opportunity of $10.5bn by 2022

International Data Corporation (IDC) has revealed its European predictions for 2020 and beyond. The predictions were presented in a live webinar hosted by Thomas Meyer (GM and group VP) and Phil Carter (chief analyst). The future enterprise was the theme of the webinar: tech-everywhere, platform-based, ecosystem-centric with innovation as the norm. IDC explained the decisions […]

December 17, 2019

Success for SpaceX

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket performed a textbook launch from Florida on December 16th carrying a Boeing-built ‘condominium’ satellite serving Japanese and Pacific islands clients. In what is now very much a routine event, the rocket landed on a floating barge, Of Course I Still Love You, after the launch. Lift-off was at 7.10 pm […]

December 17, 2019By Chris Forrester

CBA and FCC: “Let’s get moving”

The FCC held a meeting last week part of the agenda was the planned auction of C-band spectrum over the US and offered up by four satellite operators; Intelsat, SES, Telesat and Eutelsat. Some of the FCC all-important Commissioners have now been quoted favourably supporting prompt action on getting the auction up and running. Commissioner […]

December 17, 2019

BT sells Spanish ICT services

BT has reached an agreement for the sale of its Spanish managed ICT services business including its domestic network infrastructure to funds managed by Portobello Capital. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete in the first half of 2020. The sale is part of BT’s ongoing transformation of its Global […]

December 16, 2019

Starlink revenue plans questioned

Elon Musk’s plans for a potential mega-constellation of 42,000 broadband satellites have been called into question. There are already more than 120 Starlink satellites in orbit, and another 60 will be orbited later in December. But there are concerns. Tim Farrar, an analyst at TMF Associates, questions the vague business plans for Musk’s system and […]

December 16, 2019

SpaceX readies JCSAT-18/Kacific-1 for launch

Weather permitting, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will orbit a ‘condominium’ satellite this afternoon (December 16th). The Boeing-built satellite is part JCSAT-18 for SkyPerfect JSAT and the other portion is Kacific 1. Timetable for launch from Cape Canaveral is at 19.10 pm Florida-time (0010 GMT December 17th). The rocket itself was test-fired on December 13th […]

December 16, 2019By Chris Forrester

Euskaltel, Orange agree expansion deal

Basque-Country-based telco operator Euskaltel, owned by UK’s Zegona, has signed an agreement with Orange Spain to use its mobile and FTTH networks to cover the whole territory. With this move Euskaltel takes a major step in its national expansion since it will enable the telco to offer its convergent services across Spain, covering Orange’s 14 […]

December 13, 2019From David Del Valle in Madrid