Oftel has proposed a cut in BT’s wholesale unmetered internet access prices. The 7% cut is based on detailed information on BTÂ’s costs for providing wholesale unmetered Internet access to other operators under the FRIACO arrangements. David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications, said: “Up until now, BTÂ’s FRIACO charges to other operators to provide wholesale… Continue reading Oftel Moves To Cut BT Internet Costs

NTL today announced yesterday that it has signed an agreement with Macquarie Bank to sell its Australian broadcast business for A$850 million in an all cash transaction. NTL Australia covers 98% of the terrestrial broadcast population in Australia from 578 sites located across the country. For the year ended December 31, 2001, NTL AustraliaÂ’s revenues… Continue reading NTL Sells Off Australian Broadcast Business

Europemedia reports that space on the current generation of the internet will run out by around 2005 unless the European Union states speed up plans to roll out a new IP version, according to a recent European Commission report. The report claims that the development of internet protocol version 6 (IP6) would further boost Europe’s… Continue reading Internet Will ‘Run Out Of Space’ In 2005, Says New EC Report

A new report from the Yankee Group comes to unsurprising conclusions regarding the appeal of video-on-demand services, revealing that young men (16-17 years) are most likely to buy movies in this way. 31% of cable and satellite subscribers say that they are ‘very likely’ or ‘somewhat likely’ to order a VOD movie costing $3.95. 16-17… Continue reading VOD Appeal Greatest Amongst Young Men, Says Yankee Group

Cable and Wireless yesterday issued a trading update ahead of its full year results forecasting that the group’s revenues will fall by 10%. Cable & Wireless chief executive, Graham Wallace, said: “Despite a backdrop of continuing difficult market conditions expected to contribute to a 10% decline in Cable & Wireless Global’s revenue, we are achieving… Continue reading Cable & Wireless Warns On Profits Ahead Of Results

The Competition Commission (CC) will now have until 19 April to report on the proposed acquisition by Johnston Press of eight Trinity Mirror newspaper titles, it was announced today. The Commission had previously been due to report on the takeover tomorrow (see Regulator Questions Johnston’s Latest Acquisition). The CC requested an extension to the investigation… Continue reading Commission Considers Trinity’s Acquisition Of Johnston Press Titles

Reed Elsevier released full year results for 2001 today which revealed that heavy internet investment is beginning to pay off. Revenues for 2001 were up 21% to £4,560 million with adjusted pre-tax profits up 23% to £848million. Underlying revenue rose by 3%, overall operating margins were 1% higher at 22%and operating cashflow conversion was strong… Continue reading Reed Delivers Strong Results And Reaffirms Growth Expectations For 2002

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has estimated that for Q4 2001 B2C e-commerce sales were valued at $10 billion and accounted for 1.2% of total US retail sales during the period, according to eMarketer. The $10 billion figure represents a 13.1% rise in e-commerce sales in the US over the Q4 2000 period. Emarketer… Continue reading US Q4 Ecommerce Sales Forecasts Were Mostly Optimistic, Finds eMarketer

Latest figures from the Advertising Association suggest that regional press ad revenue is set to fall by 0.8% this year, compared to the -0.2% decline forecast by the AA in October. AA Regional Press Forecasts, YoY Change (% Growth)    1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  Sep-99  6.8 1.5 3.2     Dec-99  6.8 4.5 5.3… Continue reading Regional Press Forecast Comparisons From The AA

A new video-on-demand distribution service, formed by MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal Studios and Warner Bros is due to launch in the US soon. The service, Movielink, will create an open access IP based system for content delivery. Users will be able to download movies from the site and it is thought that the studios are… Continue reading MGM To Offer Downloadable Movies On The Net