BT investor calls for talks over Openreach arm November 6, 2016 A major BT shareholder, Aviva Investors, has called for the telecoms giant to open discussions about a possible sale of its infrastructure arm Openreach. BT has been fighting for control of its network division for the past 18 months, following repeated calls from its rivals that Openreach should be split out of the group. Aviva is [...]
Vodafone sells Dutch broadband operations to T-Mobile November 4, 2016 Shares in Vodafone dipped this morning after the firm announced its Dutch arm had sold its fixed-line operations to T-Mobile Netherlands for an undisclosed sum in an effort to get EU competition authorities onside. The deal means 150,000 customers’ fixed-line broadband will now be handled by T-Mobile’s Dutch subsidiary. Merger master plan The sale is [...]
MPs want mobile phone network roaming in the UK as signal coverage is “unacceptable” October 29, 2016 You might have suspected it; a new report from a group of backbench MPs has confirmed it. Britain's mobile phone users are suffering from an "unacceptable" level of signal coverage. That's despite billions of pounds being spent to improve the network. The British Infrastructure Group (BIG) of cross-party MPs said that British mobile phone signal [...]
BT Group reports 35 per cent hike in revenue but earnings drop 10 per cent October 27, 2016 BT Group said today that while Brexit hasn't had any major impact on the firm, weakness in sterling was hitting its finances, as it reported a 10 per cent drop in earnings but a revenue jump of over one third for the three months to 30 September. The figures Revenue was up 35 per cent [...]
Ofcom fines Vodafone £4.6m for multiple service failings and taking customers’ money without providing a service October 26, 2016 Regulators have slapped Vodafone with a £4.6m fine for "serious and sustained breaches of consumer protection rules" across two key investigations. Ofcom said that the telecoms giant failed to credit over 10,000 customers' accounts after they paid top-ups on pay-as-you-go contracts. Over a 17-month period, Vodafone customers missed out on £150,000 of money that should have been [...]
Ofcom to slap Vodafone with multimillion pound fine October 25, 2016 Vodafone will be slapped with a multimillion pound fine for how it deals with complaints and how it handles its pay-as-you-go service. Ofcom will announce the outcome of two investigations tomorrow. Sky News has reported that the two 18-month probes have both found significant failings in Vodafone's UK business. Read more: Vodafone and Inmarsat team up [...]
BT comes under pressure from digital minister October 19, 2016 The minister for digital policy has said the government is committed to improving competition in the UK broadband market as watchdog Ofcom weighs the case for breaking up BT. Minister of state for digital and culture Matt Hancock said the government wanted to ensure “a fair market in which all providers can compete for business”. The [...]
Editor of Russia’s state broadcaster says UK bank account frozen October 17, 2016 Russia’s state-run broadcaster has had its NatWest bank account frozen, according to its editor-in-chief. Margarita Simonyan tweeted today: “Our accounts in Britain have been blocked. All of them. ‘Decision not to be discussed’. Hail to freedom of speech!” Read more: US ends Syria ceasefire talks with Russia RT, formerly known as Russia Today, reported that NatWest [...]
BBC to cut 300 jobs in its production arm October 13, 2016 The BBC will cut 300 jobs in its production arm as part of a wide-ranging restructuring, it said today. The broadcaster said the number of staff at BBC Studios will be slashed as it continues to cut costs – with most of the job cuts taking place in England. As part of the BBC's cost-cutting drive, it has [...]
Picks of the day: The three stories to read today October 11, 2016 You have probably been working hard all day – looking to take a break to catch up on the latest news? We’ve done the legwork for you, and put together the top stories people are talking about today in bite-sized form, just to make your life that bit easier. Samsung’s Galaxy implodes If you have [...]