Advanced Television

Policy

Morocco: ACE shuts down major sports piracy ring

On the eve of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the coalition dedicated to protecting the dynamic legal ecosystem for creative content, confirmed the successful shutdown of a major sports piracy operation in Morocco. Before they were shut down November 11th, the streaming websites carried live football matches […]

November 21, 2022By Colin Mann

ITU denies Ovzon extension request

The ITU’s powerful Radio Regulations Board (RRB) has refused Sweden’s Ovzon AB request to extend the timetable for the satellite operator’s ‘bringing into use’ (BIU) obligations for its Ovzon-3 satellite. Ovzon-3 was licensed by Cyprus and, like many other satellite operators, has suffered delays in manufacturing caused by the pandemic, and had asked the ITU’s […]

November 21, 2022

Canal+ to buy OCS?

French broadcaster Canal+ Group is reported to be in exclusive negotiations to acquire the film and pay-TV operations of French multiplay telco Orange. The deal is understood to cover Orange Studio and OCS, the film, television, and pay-TV units of Orange. OCS is France’s second largest pay-TV service after Canal+. Any such deal would need […]

November 18, 2022By Colin Mann

EU approves €6bn independent LEO fleet

The EU has given the go-ahead for an independent European Low Earth Orbiting fleet of broadband and satellite navigation craft. The name for the project is IRIS2. An EU ministerial conference approved the spend of €6 billion Internet system in order to ensure Europe’s security by reducing its reliance on foreign – that is non-European […]

November 18, 2022By Chris Forrester

AudioUK calls for more government action for audio sector

Trade body AudioUK has set out a raft of measures it says are needed to put audio production on to the same footing as other creative media content production, such as TV, film, games and animation. Speaking at a Westminster Media Forum event on the future of the radio and audio industries, Chloe Straw, Managing […]

November 18, 2022By Colin Mann

FCC seeks better broadband comparison labelling

The US Federal Communications Commission has unveiled new rules that will for the first time require broadband providers to display easy-to-understand labels to allow consumers to comparison shop for broadband services. The Report and Order approved by the Commission creates rules that require broadband providers to display, at the point of sale, labels that show […]

November 18, 2022By Colin Mann

Spanish police in major piracy takedown

Agents from Spain’s Policía Nacional (National Police), in a joint operation with Europol, have dismantled a criminal network that allegedly distributed audiovisual content illegally to more than 500,000 users in several European countries. The four individuals arrested operated from Malaga and used various web pages to advertise subscription packages made up of more than 2,600 […]

November 17, 2022By Colin Mann

Ofcom study raises news ‘gatekeeper’ concerns

In a study of choice in news, UK comms regulator Ofcom has identified concerns around the impact of online news ‘gatekeepers’ – particularly social media, such as Facebook, but also search engines and news apps such as Apple News and Google News. Ofcom’s report, Media plurality and online news, highlights how far these companies – […]

November 16, 2022By Colin Mann

BlueWalker3 aggravates ITU

AST Space Mobile – which says it is building “the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by standard mobile phones” – successfully deployed its huge communications array aboard its BlueWalker3 (BW3) satellite on November 14th. But the operator has a problem with the ITU’s regulator. “The successful unfolding of BlueWalker3 is a […]

November 16, 2022

Australian telcos fined for misleading public

Three major Australian telcos have been fined by the Australian Federal Court over misrepresenting the download speeds their systems offer and obligations to test such speeds to users. On their websites and in emails to existing and potential clients the three – namly Telstra, Optus Internet and TPG Internet – have been found guilty of […]

November 15, 2022By Chris Forrester