The number of US broadband subscribers is likely to treble in the next five years, according to a study by the Leichtman Research Group. Analysts estimate that 12.5 million US households had high-speed access to the internet at the end of the first quarter of 2001. This is set to increase to 37.3 million by… Continue reading Broadband In Half Of Online Homes By 2007, Says Leichtman

The latest round of US newspaper publishers financial results show that advertising revenues are continuing to be weak, particularly in the national advertising sector (see US Papers Continue To Suffer Ad Declines). Now almost all US newspaper companies have published their results, analysts at Merrill Lynch are estimating that the overall July revenues were flat… Continue reading ‘Muted And Uneven’ US Press Recovery Predicted By Merrill Lynch

Germany’s solitary pay-TV service Premiere World has been put up for auction and is believed to have attracted interest from twenty potential buyers. Premiere has 2.4 million subscribers but has been losing money since launch and contributed in no small way to the collapse of its parent company, Kirch Gruppe. Possible bidders are thought to… Continue reading Struggling Premiere Goes Under The Hammer

UK cable operator, Telewest Communications, today moved closer to what seems to be its inevitable financial restructure as the company’s bank group agreed to permit it to enter discussions with bondholders and other relevant parties. The discussions will see Telewest formulating a plan to restructure its balance sheet in order to relieve the group of… Continue reading Telewest Gains Bank’s Consent For Restructure

Internet penetration in Ireland has now reached 38% of adults, or 1.1 million adult users, representing a 5% increase on the second quarter of 2001. Data from Amárach Consulting also forecast that penetration will reach 46% by Q2 2004, although the rate of growth is continuing to slow. By way of comparison, Ireland’s internet penetration… Continue reading Ireland’s Net Penetration Hits 38%, But Growth Is Slowing

Imaging-enabled mobiles and personal digital assistants (PDAs) may be the mobile telecom industry’s much needed tonic, with shipments of such devices set to reach 151 million units by 2006, according to a new report from IDC. The report, Moving Pictures: The Future of Mobile Devices and Imaging, points toward the improvements that the much-touted 2.5G… Continue reading Image-Enabled Mobiles May Help Ailing Telecoms Market, Say IDC Forecasts

There were 96.7 million mobile phone shipments in the second quarter worldwide, representing a plateau in replacement rates by consumers, according to a new report from Strategy Analytics. The group is forecasting that there will be 417 million wireless handset shipments for the full year 2002. “Replacement rates have steadily fallen over the past 18… Continue reading Global Mobile Replacement Rates Decline Stabilises

European online trade revenues are expected to multiply in the next few years and will account for more than a fifth of all business trade by 2006, according to a new study by Forrester Research. The Future Of Europe’s Online B2B Trade reported on thirteen different industries in fifteen European countries and predicts that electrical… Continue reading EU Online Trade To Exceed €2 Trillion In 2006, Says Forrester

Liberty Media is set to make a second bid for Deutsche Telekom’s cable television assets, after its previous attempt was thwarted by the German Federal Cartel Office earlier in the year (see German Regulators Block Liberty Cable Deal). According to a report in today’s Financial Times, Liberty has forged an alliance with private equity investment… Continue reading Liberty Media Puts Together Second Deutsche Telekom Bid

According to a report in today’s Financial Times, Vivendi Universal is examining the possibility of selling its Express-Expansion magazine division as it looks to reduce a debt burden of E19 billion. Express-Expansion publishes sixteen titles including the French current affairs magazine, L’Express and potential buyers include the Dassault arms group which owns the centre-right newspaper,… Continue reading Vivendi Considers Sale Of Magazine Business