The head of Australia’s second-largest telco says the proposed merger of pay-TV services Austar and Foxtel could raise competition concerns regarding content. According to Optus chief executive Paul O’Sullivan, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) needs to look carefully at the proposed deal, announced May 26 . “Optus is a company that is frequently […]
Telecom New Zealand and Sky, the country’s leading pay-TV operator, have struck a new commercial agreement that will enable Telecom to sell all of Sky’s television services to its customers alongside their home line, mobile and broadband products. Alan Gourdie, Chief Executive of Telecom Retail, said the new agreement with Sky would further strengthen the […]
Eutelsat Communications has announced the commercial entry into service of its KA-Sat High Throughput Satellite, marking the official launch of its new-generation Tooway broadband service. Eutelsat’s high-capacity all Ka-band system, combining satellite and on-ground infrastructure, opens a new chapter in the market for satellite-based IP services. As a powerful new platform for delivering high-bandwidth services […]
Cukurova Holding’s owner Mehmet Emin Karamehmet has received an additional 500 million Turkish Lira tax fine for his cable and satellite TV broadcasting company DigiTurk. This latest event in a long-running saga brings his total tax obligations in Turkey to 2.2 billion liras, say local reports. The latest claim covers a period from 2005-2009 and […]
According to the latest data from Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency, the nation’s DTH subscriber base topped 5.24 million, thus beating cable-connected homes into second place. Cable TV closed the month with 5.12 million users. In April, a net 238,000 new pay-TV clients were added; whereas in the first four months of the year, 888,000 new […]
Global satellite operator SES has joined forces with Kenyan television and broadband operator Wananchi to launch a new Direct-to-Home (DTH) line-up called Zuku TV in East Africa. Zuku TV is East Africa’s newest pay TV offering, set to provide affordable TV options to the mass market in Africa. It is scheduled to launch in July […]
Despite the recent social and political turmoil, rapid conversion to digital TV continues in the Middle East and Africa, according to a new report from Digital TV Research (DTVR). Digital TV penetration for the 18 countries covered in the research firm’s Digital TV Middle East & Africa report is already approaching two-thirds of the total. […]
A possible merger between the USA’s two satellite pay-TV giants DirecTV and Dish Network is a topic that we have already covered earlier this year. Now, however, we have the fresh knowledge that newly appointed Dish Network CEO Joe Clayton also agrees it is a possibility. This is not to say it will happen, of […]
The recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to raise FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) ceiling for DTH, IPTV from 49 per cent to 74 per cent have been “accepted” by the I&B Ministry. The recommendations have been accepted to bring parity between DTH and IPTV operators with other service providers said a Ministry […]
Canada’s giant Telesat 14R craft, launched on May 21st, has a stuck solar panel. The satellite, built by Space Systems/Loral will be severely hampered if ground-based engineers cannot get the array to deploy. Indeed, this is the second significant problem to occur within the satellite industry in almost as many weeks. An Intelsat craft recently […]