BT hits back at Ofcom over new broadband rule March 19, 2015 Telecoms giant BT slammed its industry regulator for taking a “lopsided” approach to the UK market. Industry watchdog Ofcom yesterday confirmed it was going ahead with a new pricing rule, coming into effect on 1 April. The rule means BT must maintain a sufficient margin between its wholesale and retail superfast broadband fees, in order [...]
Making global local: Maxus’s Lindsay Pattison talks India, inequality and the long term April 18, 2016 "Media is the fastest growing area of marketing. We are the link now between advertising and sale, and everyone wants a piece of the action,” says Lindsay Pattison, global chief executive of Maxus. The fourth arm of WPP’s Group M – the world’s largest advertising media company, which buys one in every three adverts sold – [...]
BT fined £800,000 by Ofcom for deaf service failure March 17, 2015 British Telecom (BT) has been handed an £800,000 fine from media regulator Ofcom for failing to offer adequate services for hearing-impaired customers for five months. The fine relates to BT’s failure to bring in its Next Generation text relay system from between April and September 2014. The system translates voice-to-text on various devices, including PCs, [...]
Exasperated business bosses want second runway at Gatwick if Heathrow expansion faces further delays February 7, 2016 Senior business figures are demanding that the government grants Gatwick the right to build another runway, if expansion at Heathrow continues to be thwarted by political and legal obstacles. The Airports Commission backed a third runway at Heathrow last July describing the west London site as the “clear and unanimous” option. The government has repeatedly delayed [...]
Vodafone sues KPN for £83m for “anti-competitive” behaviour December 10, 2015 Vodafone has filed a lawsuit against KPN for alleged anti-competitive behaviour, seeking €115m (£83m) in damages from the leading Dutch telco firm. Vodafone claims that its launch of combined TV, broadband and telephone services was delayed for three years, due to the former state monopoly not supplying the necessary technology. Rob Shuter, chief executive of [...]
Cyber attacks rise for EE following TalkTalk hack November 12, 2015 Mobile operator EE has had to fend off an increased number of cyber attacks since TalkTalk revealed it had 15,000 customers financial details stolen. EE chief executive Olaf Swantee told City A.M.: Since the TalkTalk breach we have seen heightened activity from criminals and people who want to access our system. “We have successfully prevented [...]
FTSE 250-listed NCC Group share price soars on rising profits and sales boosted by cybercrime fears January 21, 2016 Cybersecurity firm NCC Group has reported soaring sales and profits as growing cybercrime fears drive its results skyhigh. The figures The FTSE 250-listed cybersecurity firm reported revenue up by 50 per cent to £93.5m in its half-year results to 30 November 2015. Adjusted operating profit was up 26 per cent to £15.7m, from £12.4m during [...]
EU referendum: New YouGov poll finds big companies and startups want to stay in the EU while small businesses more divided January 25, 2016 The majority of bosses at Britain's biggest businesses want the UK to remain in the EU, even if their companies have not publicly stated a view on the issue, according to new research out today from YouGov. YouGov polled leading figures from 11 FTSE 100 organisations, three FTSE 250 firms, and two larger private companies. The executives surveyed included senior management [...]
BT sets date for shareholder vote on EE deal as board member stands down April 1, 2015 The date has been set for BT shareholders to approve the £12.5bn acquisition of mobile network EE. Shareholders are being invited to a general meeting at Old Billingsgate on April 30, at 10am. Circulars are currently being sent out to relevant parties. Proxy forms are due by April 28 for those not attending the [...]
ITV share price falls as Comcast pours cold water on NBCUniversal takeover talks December 22, 2015 US cable company Comcast has poured cold water on speculation it's in talks for its entertainment arm NBCUniversal to takeover the UK's biggest broadcaster, ITV. ITV's share price closed nearly three per cent down on Monday, after a news report suggested the two companies had discussed a potential deal. It lost most of those gains, opening as [...]