Three calls for cap on mobile spectrum sales September 6, 2016 Mobile carrier Three has called on the telecoms regulator Ofcom to limit how much of wireless spectrum companies can buy. Three – still reeling from its planned merger with O2 being blocked by the European competition watchdog earlier this year – slammed Ofcom for allowing industry heavyweights Vodafone and the recently combined BT and EE [...]
WhatsApp only SIM card comes to the UK September 1, 2016 Telecoms startup FreedomPop has launched the first ever WhatsApp only mobile SIM in the UK. The SIM card gives free, unlimited data when using the popular Facebook-owned messaging app and offers an additional 200 megabytes of general data, as well as 100 voice minutes per month. Earlier this week FreedomPop made headlines when Russian billionaire [...]
Taptica shares soar on rising mobile advertising spend August 31, 2016 Mobile ad firm Taptica shares have rocketed after the firm posted what it called a “record” year. Shares in the company closed up 19 per cent yesterday as revenue leapt by 53 per cent to $51.8m (£39.4m) in the first half. Gross profit almost doubled to $17.8m, up from $9m in the same period last year. [...]
Telecom firms look to watchdog for guidance on mobile ad blocking August 31, 2016 Mobile networks are looking to the communications watchdog Ofcom for guidance over their plans for network-wide ad blocking. Yesterday the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (Berec) published guidelines to clarify rules preventing internet service providers throttling download speeds. Part of the guidelines – which are now left to be interpreted by national regulators [...]
Virgin Media to offer faster broadband for gamers August 31, 2016 Virgin Media is taking a niche approach to growing its broadband subscription base. From tomorrow the internet service provider will offer customers the UK’s first broadband tier designed specifically for online gamers. The extra upload speed – up to 20Mbps – will be an add-on to Virgin Media’s current top broadband package and cost £5 per month. Gamers are increasingly choosing to [...]
Rivals hit back at BT criticism of their campaign August 16, 2016 BT rivals – TalkTalk, Sky, and Vodafone – have hit back following BT boss Gavin Patterson’s complaints over their Fix Britain’s Internet campaign. In a letter signed by Sky chief executive Jeremy Darroch, Jeroen Hoencamp, the outgoing head of Vodafone UK, and TalkTalk CEO Dido Harding, the bosses rail against the level of BT’s spending [...]
Sky plots Spain launch as online TV war escalates August 14, 2016 The battle for control of the growing online streaming market is heating up as Sky prepares to launch Now TV in Spain. It’s understood Sky plans to use Spain as a springboard in to other European markets if the Spanish launch is a success. Now TV will be competing directly with US streaming site Netflix in [...]
Former business minister calls for BT Openreach split August 11, 2016 BT is not doing enough to give customers access to high speed internet and should be split up, according to the former business minister Anna Soubry who has called for "radical action" to deliver super fast broadband across Britain. The telecoms firm last week dodged a bullet when the regulator, which pushed further reforms of Openreach [...]
Perform kicks off live sports streaming service in three European countries August 10, 2016 UK-based media company Perform has launched its live sports video streaming service in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. DAZN – inexplicably pronounced Da Zone – is described by Perform as the world’s first dedicated live sports streaming service and allows subscribers to watch games on demand. Football is expected to be the services' top draw with the English Premier League, Italy's Serie A, Frances' Ligue [...]
Vodafone has ditched separate line rental charges amid regulatory pressure over pricing August 9, 2016 Vodafone – the mobile phone giant that has recently turned its hand to broadband – has said it will scrap line rental charges in a UK industry first. Both new and upgrading home broadband customers in the UK will not be billed the £18 monthly charge if they commit to an 18-month contract. Vodafone came late to the broadband party in the [...]