Mark Kleinman: Vodafone pressure, steel woes and a new business boss October 6, 2022 Mark Kleinman is the man the City reads – and in his fortnightly column for City A.M., he shares his insight and analysis. Vodafone boss hopes deal eases the pressure At last, an engaged tone. Two months after I wrote in this column that Nick Read, the Vodafone chief executive, was looking nervously over his [...]
Connecting? Vodafone confirms merger talks with Three UK October 3, 2022 Vodafone confirmed it was in merger talks with Three UK this morning, setting the scene to become the largest mobile telecoms supplier in Britain. The FTSE 100 firm said it was in discussions with CK Hutchison, Three’s Hong-Kong parent company, with the view of combining the two UK arms, with Vodafone owning 51 per cent [...]
Broadband giants told to do more as eight million homes struggle to pay bills September 29, 2022 The media regulator has called on broadband firms to do more to help struggling households, as more than eight million homes struggle to pay their bills. According to a new Ofcom study, nearly a third (29 per cent) of customers are having problems paying for their phone, broadband, pay-TV and streaming bills, doubling since 2021 to the highest figure [...]
Ofcom widens net for Big Tech probe September 22, 2022 Ofcom will be widening the scope of its probe into Big Tech, digging into competition concerns surrounding the cloud services space. The media regulator said this morning that it would launch a market study into the sector to ensure that markets are working well for people and businesses in the UK. Cloud services have exploded [...]
Online safety rules for tech firms must encourage – not restrict – future growth August 31, 2022 Making ends meet will be a challenge for everyone and will be weighing heavily on the minds of families, businesses and policymakers right now. Immediate help must be the priority. But as the UK enters a period of stagflation those charged with the stewardship of the UK economy must also take a long-term view delivering [...]
Ofcom gives merged BBC News channel the nod but calls for quality UK content August 26, 2022 Ofcom have called on the BBC to guarantee that the newly merged BBC News Channel will continue to provide high quality UK news.
Artificial intelligence is the new frontier of ethical tests August 22, 2022 WITHOUT a doubt, there is vast potential for advancement and benefit to society arising out of the application of artificial intelligence. Around half of businesses plan to use AI or advanced machine learning in some capacity in the next three years. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said self-driving cars could be on our roads as [...]
Our kids are getting their news from TikTok – and Putin is using it against us August 17, 2022 Every year, telecoms regulator Ofcom releases a survey on how people consume the news. This year’s winner was TikTok, the fastest growing news source between 2020 and 2022. In the UK, the Chinese-owned app was as popular for news as Sky News’ website and app. Among teenagers in particular – those between 12 and 15 [...]
Young watching seven times less broadcast TV than over 65s August 17, 2022 Young adults are watching seven times less broadcast TV than those aged 65+, according to new figures published today, as they continue to bypass traditional broadcasters and enjoy streaming services. While those aged 65 and over spend almost six hours a day enjoying broadcast TV, the average for people aged 16-24 is less than an [...]
The race for Tory leader is out of step with our social media news addiction July 27, 2022 REALISTICALLY, whenever I have the time and can be bothered, I will always turn to traditional news sources instead of simply people on Twitter. But it would be misleading to say this does not require a concerted effort. My incentive to go on social media is instinctively stronger. It’s full of my peers, friends, people [...]