FTSE 100 edges higher after Covid sparks sharp sell-off October 29, 2020 The FTSE 100 rose slightly this morning after tumbling three per cent yesterday as investors braced themselves for a tough winter of rising coronavirus cases and new government restrictions. London’s main stock index climbed was last up 0.3 per cent at 5,600 points. Despite the slight gain, the index remained at around a six-month low. [...]
BT profit drops a fifth but telecoms giant boosts guidance October 29, 2020 Telecoms giant BT said that half-year profit had slipped 20 per cent this morning but still boosted its earnings guidance for the full year. Post-tax profit dropped from £1.07bn last year to £856m, while revenue at the FTSE 100 firm fell eight per cent to £10.6bn. The company said that the fall was due to [...]
Full-fibre broadband failings ‘disproportionately’ hit small businesses October 28, 2020 A failure to meet targets of bringing full-fibre broadband to all parts of the UK in the next five years would “disproportionately” impact small businesses, the government has been warned. In a letter to culture secretary Oliver Dowden, a dozen small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) stated that high-speed broadband provisions were “critical” to their [...]
BT taps Ericsson to provide London 5G networks October 28, 2020 BT has chosen Swedish telecoms firm Ericsson to provide 5G radio equipment in London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and other major UK cities. The deal means that when rollout is completed, Ericsson will manage around 50 per cent of BT’s 5G traffic. It comes just months after the government said it would ban Chinese firm Huawei [...]
UK regulator to ban telecom providers from selling ‘locked’ smartphones October 27, 2020 Mobile phone operators across Britain will be banned from selling ‘locked’ handsets, UK telecoms regulator Ofcom announced this morning. Most of Britain’s largest providers, including BT/EE, Tesco Mobile and Vodafone, sell mobile devices that cannot be used on other networks unless they are unlocked, a potentially complicated process which often costs around £10. Ofcom has now [...]
Drop in drama comes at bad time for Premier League’s pay-per-view push October 26, 2020 Who remembers the good old days of a few weeks ago, when the Premier League was all goals and madcap scorelines? Leicester smashing five at Manchester City was soon eclipsed by Tottenham’s six-goal romp at Manchester United and then, giddily, Aston Villa putting seven past champions Liverpool. Gameweek Two had set the tone, ushering in [...]
Nokia named as NASA partner to build mobile network on the moon October 19, 2020 Finland tech infrastructure company Nokia has been selected by Nasa to build the first mobile network on the moon, the company said today.
TalkTalk: Will a go-private deal ring the changes for the troubled telecoms firm? October 8, 2020 TalkTalk announced earlier today it had received a takeover bid from investment management firm Toscafund. The offer paves the way for a go-private deal for the London-based telecoms group. Investors reacted positively to the news, with shares in the company rising more than 19 per cent. The bid came as little surprise to analysts, who [...]
Competition watchdog requests probe into Virgin-O2 merger October 8, 2020 The UK competition watchdog has asked the EU to refer the planned tie-up between O2 and Virgin for a full investigation in Britain. O2’s owner Telefonica in May confirmed plans for a £31bn mega-merger with Virgin Media, owned by Liberty Global. The proposed deal falls under the remit of the European Commission to review, but [...]
Huawei: ‘Clear evidence’ of collusion with Beijing, MPs warn October 8, 2020 There is “clear evidence of collusion” between Chinese tech giant Huawei and authorities in Beijing, top MPs have warned. In a report published today parliament’s defence committee claimed Huawei was “closely linked” to the Chinese state and the Communist Party. It also cited concerns about Huawei’s receipt of state subsidies and Chinese intelligence laws that [...]