Ofcom announces proposals for white space mobile broadband November 22, 2012 CITY-WIDE Wi-Fi networks could be launched by the end of next year, the communications regulator said yesterday, as it published proposals to free up unused parts of the airwaves for internet signals. Ofcom said that it was opening a consultation on “white spaces” – the gaps in between bands of spectrum used to broadcast TV. [...]
Tablets that don’t cost the earth November 21, 2012 AMAZON KINDLE FIRE HD Amazon.co.uk, £129 (seven inch) The Kindle Fire was hailed as the first serious challenger to Apple’s domination of the tablet market – a colour e-reader with access to the web that seamlessly integrated with your Amazon account. In reality it was too heavy and too ugly to ever set the tablet [...]
After years of setbacks it is time for YouView to face up to its rivals November 18, 2012 RICHARD Halton has not had an easy couple of years. Having taken the reins at YouView in September 2010 – the same year the internet-connected TV box was originally pencilled in to go on sale – he has had to deal with questions about project delays, criticism over the price of the hardware, and, last [...]
BT buys legal tech firm Tikit in biggest acquisition for years November 14, 2012 BT yesterday announced its biggest acquisition in more than four years, agreeing to buy legal IT services firm Tikit for £64.2m in cash. The deal, made through the telecoms giant’s retail division, will allow BT to sell its own IT communications services to Tikit’s clients, which include more than 90 of the UK’s top 100 [...]
TalkTalk gains despite falls November 13, 2012 TELECOMS operator TalkTalk said yesterday it expected to reverse a decline in revenue growth in this financial year as it expands its product range and adds more customers onto its own network. Although the company said first-half revenue slipped two per cent to £828m and its broadband customer base fell slightly in the second quarter [...]
Universal movie deal keeps Sky in the front row November 5, 2012 BSKYB has signed an exclusivity deal with the company behind Hollywood giant Universal Studios, maintaining its lead in movie channels as it fends off increasing competition from the likes of Netflix and BT. The renewed agreement with NBCUniversal (NBCU), due to be announced today, allows Sky’s movie channels to screen films including recent hits Anna [...]
BT savings plan offsets blows from recession November 1, 2012 A COST-CUTTING drive boosted BT’s profits in its second quarter, despite regulation and the economic downturn hitting sales. The telecoms giant put the fall in turnover down to “regulation, recession and rain” after a wet summer meant more engineers repairing infrastructure instead of rolling out new services. It also booked an £85m payment due to [...]
Strong corporate results cause the sharpest FTSE jump for four weeks November 1, 2012 B RITAIN’S blue-chip index made its biggest single session gain in four weeks yesterday as a number of firms posted solid results and investors took on fresh bets at the start of a new month. The FTSE 100 index closed up 79.22 points at 5,861.92, a rise of 1.4 per cent, the biggest gain since [...]
FTSE 100 up on earnings boost November 1, 2012 The leading share index was higher in early deals this morning, buoyed by upmarket manufacturing data from China and blue chip earnings. Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Dutch Shell, BT Group, BSkyB and Legal & General all flattered the FTSE 100 in early trading. On the FTSE All-Share, credit card insurer CPP Group continued its rise [...]
Correction October 29, 2012 In our edition on 29 October, City A.M. wrote that ESPN had sold the British TV rights to football leagues including the Italian Serie A, the American MLS and the French Ligue 1 to BT ahead of the launch of BT’s new sports channel. What we should have said is that BT has purchased the [...]