Bharti Global has invested an extra $500 million (€420.5m) into satellite constellation OneWeb. It means that the business is fully funded at $2.4 billion. The extra cash from Bharti means that it now owns 38.6 per cent of the business. The other key investors, Eutelsat, the UK government and Softbank, are each holding 19.3 per […]
Channel 4’s Indie Growth Fund has taken a minority stake in the Manchester-based indie Salamanda Media. Salamanda Media, which specialises in factual entertainment, talent-led factual and formats, is run by Sally Evans and Amanda De Freitas, who between them have more than 30 years’ experience in the industry, and a track record in developing and […]
Digital Catapult, the UK’s leading agency for the early adoption of advanced digital technologies, is joining forces with comms regulator Ofcom to launch a new high-tech lab to speed up the development of 5G communication kit and help Britain diversify its supply chains. The government-backed £1 million (€0.84m) SONIC Labs will help accelerate the adoption […]
The Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) has unanimously approved $80.7 million (€71.2m) in financing for Spanish satellite operator Hispasat. This transaction will finance launch services and also launch and initial in-orbit insurance of Amazonas Nexus, scheduled for launch in 2022 on a SpaceX rocket. The transaction is the […]
Satellite operator SES has borrowed €150 million by way of new 1.625 per cent Notes. While the sum involved is modest by usual standards, CFO Sandeep Jalan says it further strengthens the operator’s liquidity and “at the lowest yield ever achieved by SES. The successful conclusion of this bond offering reflects the market’s view of […]
Videon, a specialist in edge computing for video, has raised $7.3 million (€6.1m) in Series A funding, led by Voyager Capital. Videon says the funding will allow it to expand its senior leadership, engineering, marketing, and sales teams, enabling it to bring its unique video compute platform to more customers worldwide. Additionally, Rob Green in […]
The UK parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee is to address the future of commercial PSB Channel 4 following the confirmation that privatisation is an option being considered by the Government. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden told the Committee in May 2021 that its privatisation was under examination in a review of public service broadcasting. […]
The UK’s ability to capitalise on the roll-out of next-generation gigabit broadband is at risk because too few consumers are aware of the technology and its benefits, according to a new report from the Gigabit Take-up Advisory Group, led by consumer advocacy body Which?. The roll-out of gigabit-capable broadband, with the fastest speeds and most […]
Live-streaming and VoD specialist Simplestream has secured a £1 million (€1.16m) loan from the alternative lender BOOST&Co to build on a strong period of growth. The company has grown swiftly over the past 12 months, completing projects including the launch of a movie SVoD service for Sony in Africa, the creation of a multi-platform children’s […]
Sir Richard Branson managed to handle a reverse take-over of his Virgin Galactic space tourism business by a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) and a stock market listing in October 2019. Now he is reportedly trying a similar scheme with Virgin Orbit. Branson is looking for another SPAC, this time targeting NextGeneration Acquisition II, which […]