Advanced Television

Funding

Viasat questions FCC Starlink subsidy

California-based satellite broadband supplier Viasat has filed an objection to the FCC’s granting of $885 million to SpaceX and its Starlink satellite service. The FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) awarded the sum to SpaceX’s Starlink satellite service in December 2021. The award was part of a massive $9.2 billion granted to successful applicants, and […]

June 3, 2021By Chris Forrester

Germany to subsidise Starlink subs

Germany says it is prepared to help its citizens living in rural areas to access better Internet services with subsidies. The government’s Transport Ministry says it will subsidise the purchase of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite dishes and similar providers of wireless Internet connections with grants to households worth €500, business daily Handelsblatt reported. The €500 on […]

June 2, 2021By Chris Forrester

Openreach plans 3m more Full Fibre premises

UK digital infrastructure provider Openreach has outlined plans to build ultrafast, ultra-reliable Full Fibre broadband to at least three million more homes and businesses in some of the nation’s hardest-to-serve communities – meaning fewer homes and businesses will require taxpayer subsidies to upgrade. The company’s updated build plan will be fundamental to the UK Government […]

May 28, 2021By Colin Mann

‘Game On’ for African gaming sector

While Afrobeats and Nollywood have garnered international attention, Africa’s burgeoning gaming industry is frequently overlooked. The sector has had to overcome key barriers – such as affordability and low penetration of smartphones – but is now poised for unprecedented growth. The industry isn’t just taking internationally-produced games and republishing them in Africa, but is nurturing […]

May 27, 2021by Angharad Rhiannon

AnyClip nets $47m funding round

AnyClip, fuelled by the closing of a new $47 million (€38.3m) investment led by JVP, is positioning itself as The Visual Intelligence Company. The company is introducing the expanded AnyClip platform, saying it is “ushering in a new era in video analytics with the goal of providing businesses the next generation AI tools necessary to […]

May 25, 2021

UK companies to build beam-hopping satellite

A group of UK space tech companies are developing a new beam-hopping satellite designed to allow satellites to switch which part of the world they cover, managing real-time surges in commercial demand or responding to emergencies such as natural disasters, thanks to Government funding. Led by LEO satellite communications network OneWeb, the industrial partners have […]

May 24, 2021

UK creatives call for transparent PSB discussions

Some 120 public figures, including many from the UK film and TV industries, have written an open letter to Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, complaining that a government panel on the future of public service broadcasting meets in secret, with no undertaking to publish its final report. In the […]

May 21, 2021By Colin Mann

MPs criticise BBC’s financial planning

The Public Accounts Committee of the UK’s House of Commons, in a report – BBC strategic financial management – has expressed concerns that the BBC, “at a critical juncture” in its history, appears “complacent and unconcerned” in the face of a series of commercial and financial challenges: the time people spend using its services is declining it recently lost […]

May 21, 2021By Colin Mann

BAFTA increases creative future investment

UK film and television body BAFTA has announced plans to expand the work it does to find and support new talent in the UK and globally. In 2022, the charity plans to relaunch its year-round learning and talent development programme, engaging over 10 million learners online and equipping 80,000 people a year with the tools […]

May 20, 2021By Colin Mann

Dowden: ‘C4 could be privatised by 2024’

UK culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, told the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee that privatisation of Channel 4 was “on the table”  as an option to “provide a sustainable future for the broadcaster”. He said that th “rapidly changing broadcasting landscape”, and the growth of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, meant sweeping changes were […]

May 14, 2021