The European Commission has selected two operators, Inmarsat Ventures Limited and Solaris Mobile Limited, to provide mobile satellite services across Europe. The services, such as high-speed Internet access, mobile television and radio or emergency communications, will be provided over a specifically reserved spectrum. The Commission says both satellite operators demonstrated an advanced level of technical […]
The BBC Trust and the companies behind Project Canvas, the proposed video-on-demand joint venture between the BBC, BT and ITV, have replied to BSkyB’s criticisms of the venture (ATV 13/5/09). Project Canvas said: “The enormous consumer benefits that internet-powered TV can bring should not be restricted to paying customers. An open, standards-based platform that enables […]
From Branislav Pekic in Rome Italy's Communications Authority (AgCom) has initiated an investigation on the number of digital terrestrial TV channels operated by the broadcasters in respect of the quota of 20 per cent per group. According to an initial inquiry, it emerges that commercial broadcaster Mediaset accounts for 14 out of the 42 national […]
BSkyB has heavily criticised the BBC Trust’s decision not to conduct a full market impact review of Project Canvas, the broadband TV joint venture with ITV and BT, and says the Trust needs to demonstrate it is genuinely independent of the service it is meant to regulate. Sky also believes the project, which aims to […]
The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has awarded the digital terrestrial television (DTT) licence that was recently abandoned by Boxer to the One Vision consortium, made up of TV3, Setanta, Arqiva and Eircom. The consortium was the second-placed applicant for the DTT contracts, which were awarded last year. In April it emerged that the Boxer […]
UK Internet service providers have rejected calls for them to police the net and cut off users who repeatedly file-share material unlawfully. The group that represents ISPs said disconnecting users would be a “disproportionate response”. A coalition of UK creative industries wants the online connections of repeat offenders to be slowed or stopped. (See Daily […]
The European Commission's proposed telecoms reforms, which include the three strikes proposals for abusive downloaders, will now have to go into the conciliation process after the European Parliament again refused to discard an amendment that would force governments to get court permission before disconnecting illegal downloaders of copyright material. MEPs in September put forward an […]
The Federal Communications Commission wants US broadcasters to suspend regular programming and instead show a public-service ad about the digital transition for three five-minute periods on May 21st as part of an effort to make sure Americans are ready for the switch. The US was originally scheduled to switch to digital-only TV on February 17th, […]
Google and Apple are being investigated by the US Federal Trade Commission over a possible breach of US anti-trust laws, according to reports. The FTC is scrutinising the working relationship between the two companies, specifically the influence of Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Apple Corporate Director Arthur Levinson, both of whom sit on each other's […]
UK regulator Ofcom has said Project Canvas, the broadband TV joint venture between BBC, ITV and BT, could face a competition investigation. Ofcom, in its submission to the BBC Trust, has warned that the venture could find itself the subject of the same regulatory scrutiny that earlier this year spelled the end for Project Kangaroo. […]