UK’s Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has proposed a tax on firms such as Facebook, Google and Netflix, to subsidise the BBC licence fee. He declared a “few tech giants and unaccountable billionaires will control huge swathes of our public space and debate” and that intervention is now required. In a speech at the Edinburgh […]
Jeffrey Katzenberg has successfully raised funding to create a ‘next-generation’ HBO or Netflix — with bite-size original programming designed for smartphones. WndrCo, the holding company Katzenberg co-founded, announced that it has secured a $1 billion seed-funding round for ‘NewTV.’ Backers include: Disney, 21st Century Fox, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Viacom, AT&T’s WarnerMedia, Lionsgate, MGM, ITV […]
UK gigabit broadband provider Hyperoptic has completed a debt raise of one quarter of a billion pounds (€280m) from eight leading international banks to extend its full fibre optic network to 50 towns and cities across the country by 2019. It claims this is the largest single investment in the UK for a full fibre […]
Intelsat is talking about raising an extra $250 million in fresh borrowing, over and above the $1 billion announced last week. The cash raised is in the form of 2023 Senior Notes, priced at 9.5 percent. Intelsat says it expects to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Notes and other available cash […]
Rodolph Belmer, CEO at Eutelsat, in an interview with French financial daily Les Echos, says that he does not see the threat from OTT players putting significant pressures on its customer base. He adds that for every hour of OTT viewing, TV consumption only declines by 10 minutes. Moreover, while broadcasters will inevitably attempt to […]
Back in March 2018, an India satellite (GSAT-6A) suffered a catastrophic loss of power. The power system loss caused a major rethink on the launch of GSAT-11, which had been shipped to French Guiana ready for launch in May. That launch was scrubbed and the GSAT-11 satellite sent back to India for examination and modifications […]
Intelsat says that its delayed launch of the I-38/Azerspace-2 so-called ‘condominium’ satellite, will now take place in September on an Arianespace rocket. The launch had been delayed since May 2018 because India removed its GSAT-11 as a co-passenger on the Intelsat launch, for re-inspection. Intelsat has decided to launch another of its condo-sat craft, a […]
Hi-tech innovation in sport and digital media must help broadcasters exploit the rights for which they have paid out ever inflating amounts. In a session including broadcasters and tech innovators it was pointed out that while ESPN had paid a 180 per cent increase for NFL rights over the next nine-year period, there was no […]
UK telecoms regulator Ofcom has outlined a package of proposed measures to support long-term investment in full-fibre networks. According to Ofcom, consistent, predictable regulation over the coming years can help companies build on recent full fibre commitments, and support the Government’s ambition for 15 million homes to have access to full-fibre broadband by 2025 – […]
Following publication by the UK Government of its long-term strategy for UK telecommunications, a number of industry players and trade bodies have voiced their opinion on forging a full fibre broadband and 5G future for all. ITSPA, the trade body for the next generation communications industry, has welcomed the announcement of the Future Telecoms Infrastructure […]