CityFibre rolling out in Aberdeen September 3, 2014 WHOLESALE fibre operator CityFibre will begin building out a new fibre network in Aberdeen by Christmas, with the goal of bringing superfast gigabit fibre to the Scottish city. Aberdeen will bring CityFibre’s network – which it resells as an alternative to BT, to councils, businesses and internet providers (ISPs) – to more than 57 towns [...]
RAC drives on with Rake amid flotation boom August 31, 2014 RAC has appointed CBI president Sir Michael Rake as its chairman today, as the major UK roadside breakdown recovery and car insurance firm considers whether to go ahead with a potential float this month, with the possibility of a retail offering. Rake has a wealth of board experience, also currently serving as chairman of major [...]
Netflix poised to scoop another 6m European users in five years August 25, 2014 Europe could bring another six million subscribers to Netflix by the end of 2018, as the online streaming video service prepares to launch in six new European countries next month, according to researcher IHS. Netflix, which has 50m subscribers globally, is not just disrupting distribution – putting traditional players like Sky and BT in the [...]
Sophie Turner is (Sansa) stark choice for Karen Millen’s new campaign August 25, 2014 Having released a teaser video last week, in which viewers follow a mystery red-head as she strides around east London, clothing brand Karen Millen has revealed the face of its autumn/winter campaign to be Game of Thrones’ Sansa Stark (or actress Sophie Turner to be precise). “The London-focused KM campaign is a culmination of a [...]
The game that matters… BT Sport reaches for the Sky – Brand Index August 19, 2014 Following on from my column last week covering the home broadband market, I analyse another area in which BT has expanded in to – live broadcasts of Premier League matches. Clubs are making the most of the massive money they receive from TV in order to bolster their squads. The two main domestic football broadcasters, [...]
Top RAC staff in line for £300m listing windfall August 17, 2014 SENIOR executives at RAC are set to share a windfall of up to £300m if the breakdown recovery service decides to push ahead with its expected float next month. Plans to list on the London Stock Exchange would put the group’s top managers in line to benefit from their combined 15 per cent stake in [...]
More pubs than ever are picking BT Sport over rival Sky Sports August 17, 2014 More pubs now subscribe to BT Sport than Sky Sports, according to the former state monopoly, as its £2bn investment in building a sports TV empire continues. In May, BT said more than 19,000 pubs, clubs and commercial properties had signed up for its sports service, putting BT neck-and-neck with Sky Sports, BT’s consumer division [...]
London Report: FTSE is bolstered by doveish Bank data and thin trading August 13, 2014 THE FTSE yesterday ended slightly higher in thin trade, boosted by a doveish message from the Bank of England. Britain’s leading index closed 24.26 points higher, or 0.4 per cent, at 6,656.68 points after a choppy session marked by low trading activity. Shares in G4S, the world’s biggest security company, led advances, up 5.3 per [...]
Keep burglars at bay with this home security tech August 13, 2014 Thousands of us are preparing to head for the hills for the last few weeks of summer, squeezing in a few precious days of R&R before the long slog towards Christmas. But leaving a home full of laptops and expensive jewellery can be a persistant niggle – and replacing them in the event of a [...]
BT’s student ad series shows broadband rivals Virgin and EE how to switch on – Brand Index August 12, 2014 The battle to dominate the home broadband market continues unabated, with the main industry players going to ever increasing lengths to ensure that they win the hearts and minds of consumers. Here, I assess three of the main protagonists in the sector: EE, Virgin Media, and BT. The market is changing rapidly due to technological [...]