4G bidders to be outed as hopes rise for windfall December 17, 2012 OFCOM is this week expected to reveal the bidders for an auction of 4G spectrum, in the next step of a process that could earn the Treasury far more than originally expected. George Osborne pencilled in a sum of £3.5bn in his Autumn Statement, but recent auctions in other countries have beaten forecasts, as the [...]
As more Christmas shoppers choose to buy online, can the British high street survive? December 16, 2012 YES Rob Myers Regardless of how the internet evolves, you can’t try on a pair of the latest shoes or feel the quality of a gift for a loved one. Our research has shown that, far from killing the high street, the internet is lending itself as a valuable tool in the retailer’s armoury. The [...]
EE extends headstart by rolling out 4G service in 17 more cities December 13, 2012 THE UK’S biggest mobile network operator, EE, will double the number of cities that its 4G service covers next spring. The move will extend the company’s headstart on Vodafone and O2, which will not be able to launch their own high-speed mobile internet services until early summer. EE said yesterday it would bring 4G to an [...]
UK leads global internet TV use December 12, 2012 BRITAIN has become a nation of online shoppers and internet television addicts, dedicating more time and money to those activities than any other nation. Research released today from Ofcom, the communications regulator, will reveal that UK citizens spend more than £1,000 a year online – hundreds more than other countries – and that a greater proportion [...]
What the other papers say this Morning December 11, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Call for cleaner succession strategies Companies must improve their succession planning and make sure they have strong candidates ready to take the helm as chief executive, or risk undermining shareholder value and damaging market performance. The Association of British Insurers (ABI), which represents some of the UK’s biggest investors, gave the warning as [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching jobs December 9, 2012 Old Burlington Investments Noreen Kelly has been appointed business development manager at the investment business. She was previously a relationship manager at Octopus Investment Management. In her new role, Kelly will market Old Burlington’s funds to financial advisers. Sainsbury’s Angie Risley has been appointed group human resources director at the supermarket. She was most recently [...]
Newspaper bosses find accord on regulation without the state December 5, 2012 NEWSPAPER editors yesterday reached a broad agreement over new systems of press regulation, agreeing to many of Lord Justice Leveson’s proposals but ruling out any state interference. At a breakfast meeting in central London yesterday, Fleet Street bosses signed up to the majority of the Leveson report’s recommendations, including a revamped system of complaints and [...]
Treasury expecting £3.5bn 4G auction windfall December 5, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT expects to raise £3.5bn from next year’s auction of the mobile airwaves needed to run high-speed 4G services, George Osborne said yesterday. The windfall will boost the Treasury’s coffers, and will flatter this year’s deficit figure, but will be far less than the £22.5bn raised in 2000’s 3G auction. In fact, the £3.5bn [...]
Sky comes out on top in survey December 4, 2012 Sky has come ahead of rivals BT and Virgin Media in a consumer satisfaction survey conducted by Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator. The company was voted best in the landline, broadband, and pay-TV categories. In a survey of mobile networks, O2 came far ahead of the competition, followed by Three and T-Mobile, then Orange. Vodafone was [...]
Happy Bday SMS! Txts turn 20 2day but less msgs being sent December 2, 2012 TWENTY years ago today the first text message – “Merry Christmas” – was sent. The greeting was sent by Neil Papworth, an engineer working for Sema Group in the UK and a member of a team developing SMS software for Vodafone. Today, upwards of seven trillion text messages are sent every year, more than 200,000 [...]