The Federal Communication Commission has voted to launch a proceeding to explore new avenues for enabling innovative unlicensed wireless devices to communicate directly with satellites. According to the FCC, unlocking the 200 megahertz of unlicensed spectrum for direct-to-device (D2D) uses promises to support new services that seamlessly integrate devices across terrestrial and satellite platforms, giving […]

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has cleared the anticipated acquisition by Paramount Skydance Corporation of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) – a deal valued at $110 billion (€95.2bn). The full text of the decision will be published in due course. On June 30th, Lisa Nandy, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport […]

A coalition of media businesses, including broadcasters, audio producers and news publishers, is asking the UK government to rule out “damaging” proposals that would allow the BBC to run advertising on its podcasts and audio content in the UK for the first time. The plans were set out originally in the BBC Charter Review Green […]

SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh has told analysts the financial structure of the agreement with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the clearing and subsequent compensation of the Upper C-band is an improvement for SES when compared to the structure for clearing the lower C-band. He said that the reimbursement scheme is better than the first […]

Ofcom has launched a consultation on its provisional views on a set of commercial offers that Openreach intends to introduce. “As Openreach has significant market power, it must give Ofcom and the wider industry advance notice before introducing certain types of commercial offers,” noted the media regulator. In June, Openreach notified Ofcom of its intention […]

SES will receive $5.6 billion (€4.9bn) in compensation for freeing up its ‘Upper tier’ C-band frequencies for auction by the FCC, and Eutelsat will receive $504 million for repurposing its frequencies. The US Federal Communications Commission approval of its Upper C-band Report & Order which makes 160 MHz of the Upper C-band available in the […]

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition by Paramount Skydance Corporation of Warner Bros Discovery. The approval is conditional upon full compliance with the commitments offered by Paramount. Paramount and Warner are both active in the production and distribution of theatrical and audiovisual entertainment content, such as films and […]

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is seeking views on the anticipated acquisition of ITV by Sky. The CMA is issuing this ‘invitation to comment’ to allow interested parties to submit to the CMA any initial views on the impact that the transaction could have on competition in the UK. The CMA has not […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has, as expected, approved the establishmemnt of a new super-fast satellite licensing scheme which is designed to help non-geostationary satellite applications. It has also confirmed it will go ahead with a C-Band auction of spectrum in 2027. The FCC will adopt a new Part 100 licensing framework to replace the […]

Anti-piracy coalition the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), has welcomed what it describes as a “landmark” judgment issued by the Cairo Economic Court against two operators of the illegal streaming service StreamEast, marking one of the most significant criminal piracy rulings in Egypt and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The court […]