Britain is to follow France in making ISPs cut access to users who repeatedly download music or films illegally. The government had given the music and film industries a year to come to a voluntary agreement with ISPs over how to tackle illegal file sharing, but that period expired at the end of 2007. In […]

From Colin Mann in Barcelona Digital pay-TV technology solutions NDS has unveiled what it claims is the world's first hybrid rights and business management platform for mobile TV. The hybrid platform, which combines content protection and business management for both the DVB-H IPDC and OMA BCAST broadcast profiles in a single system, will be shown […]

BT saw profits before tax and after exceptional items fall 30 per cent to £447 million (E620m) in the last quarter of 2007. But the group reported strong growth in its broadband and global services divisions, where profitability grew. BT’s retail unit achieved a 35 per cent share of all new broadband connections during the […]

The penetration of digital TV services in Africa will begin to accelerate due to the proliferation of new technologies such as WiMAX. WiMAX has emerged as a serious player in underdeveloped regions where low bandwidth and inadequate infrastructure have limited the growth of broadband and digital TV services. In October 2007 there were an estimated […]

Spanish cable operator ONO improved margins and costs in the last part of 2007, with fourth-quarter core earnings up 7.3 per cent to E162 million. Operating cash flow turned positive over the year thanks to more efficient management, ONO said, coming in at E106 million after an outflow of E32 million euros in 2006. Average […]

Early attempts to bring networked video to television have fallen short of success, but that may change soon with the arrival of new vertically integrated solutions and business models, according to a recent study from ABI Research. Thus far, initial product offerings have been centred on a computing and home networking model; but vendors are […]

Virgin Media has unveiled plans to begin the first part of a major broadband upgrade programme. Customers on Virgin Media’s ‘L’ tier broadband package will be upgraded for free, taking their service from 4Mb to 10Mb. The upgrade will roll out by regions from late February and will give customers more than double the speed […]

Belgian telco Belgacom has filed a complaint with an Antwerp court against the four Flemish cable television companies which have signed a preliminary agreement with cable operator Telenet for the sale of their television activities. The agreement, signed by Telenet, Interelectra, Integan, and Interkabel in November, would transfer the companies 800,000 Flemish customers — one […]

BT won't be forced to invest billions in a national, superfast network, UK ministers have said, as the telco outlines its own tentative acceleration plans. Since recent government criticsim investors had feared BT would be forced to spend £15 billion (E21.4bn) on a fibre network. The Department for Business confirmed: “It is not for government […]

Al Jazeera English has announced a deal with one of Asia's leading cable operators, Hong Kong Cable Limited, for the channel to broadcast in Hong Kong. The agreement is yet another step forward for Al Jazeera English's rapid distribution growth – the channel now reaches over 100 million households worldwide