Ofcom: BT charging £1.7m EE bill to Openreach “inappropriate” November 17, 2015 BT has been slammed by Ofcom for trying to let its Openreach division foot part of the bill for its acquisition of rival EE, as the deadline draws near for the telco watchdog’s probe into the UK broadband market. Openreach, which controls the country’s broadband network, has been charged £1.7m for BT’s takeover of EE, [...]
BT Openreach boss Joe Garner steps down to move to Nationwide November 16, 2015 The chief executive of BT Openreach has handed in his notice, after he was offered a job leading high street lender Nationwide. It's not exactly classic timing: BT's local access network division is currently at the centre of a competition row. In a statement today, BT said Joe Garner will step down in the spring of 2016, [...]
EE boss Olaf Swantee: Hacking activity has increased since TalkTalk attack came to light November 12, 2015 It's not just ironing out the details of the coming takeover from British telecom giant BT, scheduled for March next year, that’s keeping EE chief executive Olaf Swantee busy. The mobile operator EE, – created in a 50:50 joint venture between Deutsche Telekom and Orange SA in 2010 – has had to fend off an increased [...]
Cyber attacks rise for EE following TalkTalk hack November 12, 2015 Mobile operator EE has had to fend off an increased number of cyber attacks since TalkTalk revealed it had 15,000 customers financial details stolen. EE chief executive Olaf Swantee told City A.M.: Since the TalkTalk breach we have seen heightened activity from criminals and people who want to access our system. “We have successfully prevented [...]
Telco giants Vodafone, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin and BT reignite broadband battle November 11, 2015 The war of words between the UK’s biggest telecoms giants reached new heights yesterday, as the clock ticks down on Ofcom’s probe into the broadband market and decision on whether to carve out Openreach from BT. With Ofcom due to reveal its verdict in January, Vodafone’s boss accused BT of trying to “re-monopolise” the sector, prompting [...]
BT’s broadband network dominance is bad for customers, innovation and the country November 10, 2015 The frustrations with Openreach expressed by Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao yesterday are shared by millions of customers and businesses as well as Sky. The current structure where one provider, BT, has complete ownership of the national broadband network has led to unacceptable levels of service, reduced competition, and a poverty of ambition in terms [...]
Why the future of the BBC’s sports coverage is made even more uncertain now Sky has renewed its Premier League highlights deal November 10, 2015 Last week Sky announced that it will be making Premier League highlights available on demand next season, after renewing its rights to "near-live highlights", the value of traditional highlights programmes, in particular, the BBC’s flagship football show, Match of the Day, into question and again leads to serious discussions about the future of sport on [...]
Vodafone chief exec Vittorio Colao clashes with BT over “re-monopolisation” of telecoms market November 10, 2015 Vodafone’s chief exec Vittorio Colao has gone head to head with BT, lashing out at the upcoming BT-EE merger, which he attacks as the “re-monopolisation” of the telecoms market. “We see attempts to re-monopolise European markets, and that isn’t good,” said Colao. His attack follows the by the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) provisional approval of the £12.5bn [...]
TalkTalk is set to ditch its dividend following recent cyber security breach November 8, 2015 Crisis hit home broadband company TalkTalk is expected to axe its dividend this week when it reports half year results on Wednesday. The company’s finances are under fierce scrutiny following a cyber security breach which compromised the personal details of over 150,000 customers. "It's more about the signal this sends,” XTB director Joshua Raymond warned on [...]
Sky Sports to offer extended Premier League highlights on demand next season November 6, 2015 Sky will offer football fans the chance to catch up with extended highlights of Premier League games throughout the week with a new on demand package. The broadcaster has secured the rights to "near-live extended highlights" from the Premier League to 2019, having already snapped up the live and online categories. Extended highlights of all 212 [...]