Sky appeal on sports upheld August 8, 2012 SKY could be free to charge its rivals higher prices for its sports channels after winning a competition appeal against Ofcom yesterday. The competition appeals tribunal found the regulator’s concerns over Sky’s dominance to be “unfounded”, paving the way for rules to be lifted on the amount Virgin Media and BT pay for Sky Sports [...]
Government has no strategy on broadband rollout, Lords claim July 30, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT lacks a clear vision on bringing high speed internet connections to the country, a damning Lords committee says today, despite the coalition having promised to make the UK’s broadband infrastructure a national priority. According to the House of Lords communications committee, the government’s broadband plans could end up being “a tremendous missed opportunity” [...]
Income drops at Everything Everywhere July 25, 2012 BRITAIN’S biggest mobile operator Everything Everywhere saw income fall in the first half of the year as the Orange and T-Mobile owner invested in retaining customers and upgrading networks. Adjusted earnings decreased slightly to £673m, as revenues from calls and other services fell 1.8 per cent to £2.99bn due to an Ofcom-ordered cap on charges. [...]
4G high-speed mobile data to hit UK in 2013 July 24, 2012 TELECOMS regulator Ofcom yesterday said that the auction of licences to run fast 4G mobile networks will be held before the end of this year, enabling services to be rolled out by the middle of 2013. Countries such as the United States already have 4G networks offering high-speed mobile broadband connections capable of data-hungry tasks such [...]
Ofcom unveils 4G auction July 24, 2012 Telecoms regulator Ofcom has said that the auction of spectrum for 4G services will get under way by the end of the year, laying the path for the next-generation mobile services to be rolled out in 2013. The plans should see 4G services, which offer high-speed data speeds for mobile internet, reach at least 98 [...]
Currie to head antitrust body … July 17, 2012 FORMER Ofcom boss Lord Currie has been chosen as the first chair of the Competition and Markets Authority – the UK’s new antitrust regulator. Currie will earn £185,000 a year for the three-day a week commitment, serving as chair of the body for a four-year term beginning this summer. The CMA is part of the government’s [...]
Ofcom moves to cap BT’s wholesale prices July 5, 2012 TELECOMS giant BT could see its revenues suffer following yesterday’s proposal by Ofcom of price caps on its wholesale charges. The telecoms regulator wants to cap the fees BT charges for the lease of its telecom lines, which provide high-speed links for businesses, broadband providers and mobile services. The proposals follow a review by Ofcom, [...]
George Entwistle named the fifteenth BBC director general July 4, 2012 THE BBC yesterday appointed an insider as its new director general who will take the helm when Mark Thompson retires from the job later this year. George Entwistle, 49, pipped other front-runners Caroline Thomson, BBC chief operating officer, and Ed Richards, boss of Ofcom, to the post. Head since last year of BBC Vision, where [...]
Entwhistle named as new BBC director general July 4, 2012 The BBC named George Entwistle, currently director of vision, as its new director general on Wednesday. Entwistle will take up his new role in August from outgoing director general Mark Thompson but at a lower salary – 450,000 pounds a year as opposed to Thompson’s 671,000. Entwistle beat his BBC colleague and the corporation’s chief [...]
TalkTalk tops telco complaints table June 27, 2012 TALKTALK is again the most complained about telecoms provider, according to data published yesterday by Ofcom. The regulator said it is sent over 300 grumbles a day about telecoms services, which it publishes in a bid to promote competition and assist customers in choosing the right provider. In the first quarter of 2012, TalkTalk generated [...]