There was a 9% rise in the number of internet subscriptions in the UK between November 2001 and November 2002, according to the Office of National Statistics. The latest monthly update to the survey of ISPs revealed that total subscriptions increased by 0.4% in the space of a month and the index of internet connectivity… Continue reading Broadband Stimulates UK Internet Market

Oftel’s director general of telecommunications, David Edmonds, today confirmed the Competition Commission’s ruling that the UK’s four mobile phone operators will be have to dramatically reduce their call charges. The move, which has prompted a number of telephone companies to threaten a judicial review over prices, will require Vodafone, Orange, O2 and T-Mobile to cut… Continue reading Mobile Phone Operators Ordered To Cut Prices

Graham Wallace, the man largely blamed for the recent travails of Cable & Wireless, is to step down following pressure from shareholders. Wallace has been at the telecoms group for five years and became chief executive in February 1999. He was in the forefront of attempts to establish C&W as a leading carrier of internet… Continue reading Beleaguered C&W Chief To Exit The Fray

Didier Bellens, chief executive of pan-European broadcaster, RTL Group, yesterday painted a fairly flat picture of the European broadcasting marketing, saying that conditions remain tough and that there is little visibility on future advertising trends. In the trading statement covering the year to 31 December 2002, ahead of the group’s results in March, Bellens also… Continue reading No ‘Sustained Recovery’ In European Broadcasting Markets, Says RTL

The Bellwether report, issued today by the IPA, has dampened hopes for a recovery with one in four of the UK’s leading companies revising their budgets downwards during the final quarter of 2003. According to the report, total current marketing budgets were revised down for the second consecutive quarter. However, the drop was not as… Continue reading IPA Bellwether Report: Down But Not Out

The health of the advertising economy is closely related to corporate profitability and consumer spending. A number of industry observers have noted that during the recent advertising downturn, corporate profitability has been the weak factor in the economy, whilst consumer spending has been resilient. However, in a pan-European outlook for 2003, Merrill Lynch analysts say… Continue reading European Advertising Will Grow Despite Likely Consumer Spending Slip

US consumers are expected to spend $14.8 billion online during the first quarter of this year, a marginal increase on the same period in 2002, according to the latest figures from the Yahoo!/ACNielsen Internet Confidence Index. The spending forecast, whilst up 1.4% on Q1 2002, is down by 4.5% on the $15.5 billion spent by… Continue reading US Online Retail Spend To Nudge Up 1.4% In Q1, Finds Survey

In May this year, the UK Government is set to auction licences for wireless services that will allow broadband content delivery at speeds of up to 2Mbits/sec, at distances of up to 10km. It is hoped that these services – which can deliver multimedia content – will help to build the multi-platform ‘broadband Britain’ envisaged… Continue reading UK Government To Auction Wireless Broadband Licences

More than 300,000 digital adapters have been sold in the two months since the launch of free-to-air digital terrestrial TV service, Freeview, it was announced today. The figures, compiled from measured data and feedback from retailers and manufacturers, show that sales per week since launch average more than 33,000. Over the same period, almost two… Continue reading Freeview Shifts 300,000 Adapters In First Two Months

The number of subscribers to BSkyB’s digital satellite service is set to grow by 14.3% year on year in the second quarter of 2003, according to operating forecasts by Merrill Lynch analysts. Sky’s financial results are due for release on 14 February and the broker predicts that the total number of direct-to-home (DTH) customers will… Continue reading BSkyB Subs To Grow 14% In Q2, Say Merrill Lynch Forecasts