Advanced Television

Regulation

Digital UK hires key staff

Freeview platform operator Digital UK says it will be able to call on a management team with significant added firepower in 2020, a year that it says is likely to determine the future of public service broadcasting in Britain. With viewing behaviour increasingly fragmenting and the rise in global competition only growing more invasive, the […]

January 30, 2020

Ofcom boost for service upgrades

UK comms regulator Ofcom has made changes to its regulations that will help broadband companies upgrade customers to faster broadband more efficiently, and support digital infrastructure provider Openreach’s trials in Salisbury and Mildenhall. Openreach’s trials in Salisbury and Mildenhall will test the processes for moving customers off older broadband and telephone services, as part of […]

January 29, 2020By Colin Mann

US C-Band spectrum valuation: $43-$77bn

Last week, Eutelsat, in a submission to the FCC, argued that any auction proceeds from the upcoming sale of C-band satellite spectrum should be limited to a total of $7 billion (€6.36bn). Now, with two independent valuations, the C-Band Alliance (of Intelsat, SES and Telesat) has told the FCC  that while the actual valuation cannot […]

January 29, 2020By Chris Forrester

EU greenlights Huawei 5G

The EU has followed the UK’s example, allowing members to decide what part Huawei can play in their 5G networks, resisting pressure from Washington for an outright ban. EU members can either restrict or exclude high-risk 5G vendors like Huawei from core parts of their telecoms networks, according to the new guidelines, which seek to […]

January 29, 2020

Verizon & T-Mobile support CBA incentives

Two US cellular giants are supporting the C-Band Alliance’s request for incentive payments to be made and thus speedily free up spectrum for 5G deployment for the US. Investment bank Exane/BNPP, in a note to clients, said that their valuation model for C-band remains unchanged. “According to Verizon the FCC’s broad spectrum management authority and […]

January 29, 2020By Chris Forrester

Huawei to have “limited role” in UK 5G

Huawei’s 5G networks will be allowed to remain in the UK but with restrictions, despite pressure from the US to block the firm. The Chinese firm will be banned from supplying kit to “sensitive parts” of the network core. In addition, it will only be allowed to account for 35 per cent of the kit […]

January 28, 2020

Huawei did it come to this?

There has been a week-long drum roll here in the UK leading up to today’s announcement about vendor inclusion in 5G roll out. When the ‘ta da’ moment came it was, of course, a completely predictable political fudge: Huawei (whose name wasn’t mentioned in the statement) will be allowed in, just not in the really […]

January 28, 2020

FCC OKs 3.5 GHZ band for 5G

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has confirmed that the agency has certified four Spectrum Access System (SAS) Administrators, paving the way for full commercial operations in the 3.5 GHz band n the US. The FCC approved these SAS Administrators for initial commercial deployments in 2019. The initiative allows for full commercial use of this […]

January 28, 2020

Lineker: “Make licence fee voluntary”

BBC TV presenter and former footballer Gary Lineker says the BBC licence fee should become a voluntary charge. Lineker, the highest-paid BBC presenter with earnings of £1.75 million (€2m) in 2018-19, told The Guardian that the licence fee was the broadcaster’s “fundamental problem” and in need of reform. “You’re forced to pay it if you […]

January 28, 2020

Bank provides CBA/Washington update

Sami Kassab, a media analyst at investment bank Exane/BNPP last week held a variety of meetings in Washington DC in connection with the C-Band Alliance’s plan for the auction of satellite spectrum over the US for re-use by the 5G industry. Kassab met with a couple of opponents to the scheme as well as key […]

January 28, 2020