Thomas Rabe, CEO/chairman of Bertelsmann, has shared his view that there’s a strong case and a need for consolidation amongst streaming platforms. His comments prompted a note to clients from a couple of investment banks. Exane/BNPP asked: “Does this give RTL the impetus to be the European broadcasting champion?” The bank adds: “As a reminder, […]
Thomas Rabe, chief executive and chairman of Bertelsmann says regulators should allow European media companies to scout mergers and partnerships to enable them to compete with US streaming giants such as Netflix and Disney+. Rabe told the FT that the economic impact of coronavirus on the industry had strengthened his view that it will be […]
Virgin Media abruptly halted eir Sport’s broadcast of its Champions quarter-final between Atletico Madrid vs RB Leipzig on August 13th. Virgin Media, which owns the rights to show Champions League games on Irish television, tweeted: “We have suspended our supply of Virgin Media Sport and Virgin Media Sport Extra to eir Sport because eir has […]
The White House and US Department of Defense (DOD) have revealed that the 3.45-3.55 GHz band will be made available for 5G, a move that has been welcomed by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. The DOD worked closely with the Services, as part of America’s Mid-Band Initiative Team (AMBIT), and leveraged technical work performed by the […]
Almost 500,000 premises across the UK have been connected to gigabit-capable broadband since summer 2018. This is part of a £1 billion (€1.11bn) government funding commitment until the end of 2021, with a further £5 billion for the hardest-to-reach areas to be earmarked soon. It means that, alongside commercial investment, more than 7.5 million premises […]
The US’s Federal Communications Commission has established final application and bidding procedures for the auction of 280 megahertz of mid-band spectrum for 5G and other advanced wireless services. This auction will offer 5,684 new flexible-use overlay licences based on Partial Economic Areas (PEAs) for spectrum in the 3.7–3.98 GHz band. This spectrum holds the potential […]
Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property (DIP), the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) have unveiled a new website blocking provisions for piracy sites which violate section 20 (3) of the Computer Crimes Act (CCA). Under the new provisions, ISPs now have 15 days in which to […]
Flexible, remote working means many office workers are unlikely to heed calls for a return to the office, with new research from multiplay telco O2 revealing that almost half (45 per cent) of Brits believe lockdown will change their company’s approach to flexible working long-term. Commuting tops the reasons why people like working flexibly – […]
UK comms regulator Ofcom has confirmed plans to auction spectrum to help improve mobile broadband and support the rollout of 5G, with bidding set to start in January 2021. According to Ofcom, the auction will increase the total amount of spectrum available for mobile in the UK by nearly a fifth (18 per cent) – bringing […]
Action taken by investigators from UK intellectual property protection organisation FACT as a result of a nationwide crackdown on digital piracy has resulted in the halt of seventeen separate services providing illicit content. Individuals that were providing loaded Illicit Streaming Devices (ISDs) and illegal streams via websites and social media pages including Facebook, Twitter and […]