International News 15th March

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France Telecom, Vivendi in cable merger talks?

France Telecom and Vivendi Universal are in talks about merging their cable assets in a move that could create France's biggest cable firm, and threaten Liberty's French ambitions, says the Wall St Journal. The US paper said the two companies have not yet struck a deal but that the talks could be concluded in the next few weeks.

France's largest cable operator remains Noos (see above story).

France Telecom Cable ranks second with 847,00 clients and NC Numericable, part of Vivendi via its Canal Plus unit, is number three with 798,000 clients.



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Digital mobile satellite


SK Telecom of Korea and Toshiba have launched the first satellite that can transmit digital TV to cellphones and moving cars. The $327 million mobile TV project is centred on a Lockheed Martin-made satellite which can beam more than 100 channels to specially-equipped in-car TV sets and mobile phones in South Korea and Japan at three times the current speed of broadband transmissions, and with clearer images, according to SK Telecom.

Korean clients will start using the service from July and the venture has an aggressive plan to build users posting a plan to generate 2.2 million users, revenue of $237 million and profitability by July 2006. More than 200 companies are backing the project, including Korea's Samsung, the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, and Japan's Toyota carmaker.



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Ulster TV joins break-up bid for SMG

Ulster TV has teamed up with venture capitalist 3i and Scottish Radio Holdings to make a £400 million (E579 million) break-up bid for its competitor SMG.

Sources say the move follows SMG's decision to rebuff an approach from Ulster TV for its TV assets just before Christmas. Ulster TV and SMG own the only regional television licences not swallowed up in the recent £5.8 billion Carlton and Granada takeover.

SMG's TV assets, which generate almost two thirds of sales, include a 25pc stake in GMTV as well as the Grampian and Scottish TV franchises. SMG has been touted in the City as a possible break-up target ever since it was forced to sell the Herald newspaper and its 29pc interest in Scottish Radio Holdings to trim its debts following an expensive expansion drive.

In spite of a 27 per cent fall in full-year operating profits, SMG last week sounded an upbeat note on its future sounding particularly bullish on a recovery in the advertising industry.



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Microsoft antitrust offences to trigger sanctions

Microsoft is guilty of breaking European antitrust law and should face sanctions, according to a draft decision reached by European Union regulators.

The draft, which is expected to win support from an advisory committee of 15 EU states today, requires the world's biggest software maker to share proprietary information with rival server makers and to provide computer manufacturers with a second version of Windows, without its built-in audiovisual software.

The ruling is designed to enforce changes within the company following unsuccessful settlement talks and conclusions from EU regulators that the company has refused to halt its violations. The advisory panel is also expected to endorse a fine of hundreds of millions of Euros against Microsoft.



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PCCW and Hutchison criticised for adult content


Facing a backlash from community and education groups in Hong Kong, PCCW and Hutchison Whampoa are confront a protest for pornographic content. According to South Morning China Post report, a spokesman for the Anti-pornographic and Violence Media Campaign, Lam Keung, criticised Hutchison Whampoa yesterday for providing pornographic downloads on its 3G mobile phone network. It is also being demanded that PCCW should cancel all pornographic content on its broadband channels.

The groups have also criticised the government for failing to monitor the corporations. The controversy was first stirred by the recently aired news report, which featured Chan Long, 18, reading over a five-minute period while slowly undressing until she was naked. While the twice-weekly Cantonese Fire/Ice News was taken off from PCCW's broadband NOW adult channel, the groups also wanted to make sure that programme won't be available via the internet.



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Sweden will be first with national 3G network

Sweden will be the first country in the Europe to offer nationwide 3G coverage to its mobile users. Coinciding with Telia's national rollout beginning March 10, 2004, a variety of new 3G handsets will be available along with a host of new services for data, e-mail, mobile Internet, multi-media messages, and streaming video. With nearly one-third of 3G patents being held by Ericsson and TeliaSonera, Swedish companies continue to develop innovative mobile technologies and deploy services via their sophisticated wireless infrastructure.

When TeliaSonera Sweden opened its 3G network last week, users gained access to mobile Internet at broadband speed, initially in one or more densely populated areas in 280 of Sweden's 290 municipalities. Telia GO service has been updated with a new and simpler interface, even better and faster services, improved e-mail that enables users to read several e-mail boxes as well as many new services such as news, sports and video clips from the Swedish Song Contest. Certain 3G mobile phones also feature video calling, where you can talk and see the person you are talking to in real time.

TeliaSonera Sweden's mobile network covers 99 percent of the Swedish population. TeliaSonera Sweden's 3G network currently covers 75 percent of the Swedish population and 96 per cent of the municipalities. If a user is outside the 3G coverage area, ongoing calls and data connections are automatically moved to the GSM network. Combined, this makes TeliaSonera Sweden's GSM network and 3G network the strongest mobile network in Europe.

According to a survey carried out by the research company Netsurvey for Telia during January 2004 which polled 306 managers who work at companies in different parts of Sweden, 85 percent of companies in Sweden expect to use 3G services within three years. Almost one out of every three managers believes their companies will use 3G services on a daily basis already within one year.



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Japan to aid Taiwan in deploying 3G

Japan's DoCoMo and Taiwan's Far EasTone Telecommunications have announced the signing of a consulting agreement under which Far EasTone will launch a W-CDMA-based 3G commercial service in Taiwan with technical support from NTT DoCoMo.

Far EasTone, Taiwan's one of the largest mobile operators, aims to introduce its W-CDMA 3G service this year. Under the consulting agreement, which will be in effect from March 23 through September 22, 2004, Far EasTone will conduct a 3G network field test and coverage optimisation with the technical assistance of NTT DoCoMo engineers dispatched from Japan.



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Oz digital TV strike delay

Foxtel ushered in the digital television last week at a star-studded launch on Sydney Harbour. However, the event was almost overshadowed by threats of a strike by pay TV installers that could slow the rollout of digital services.

The ongoing dispute is over how much sub-contractors will be paid for the extra work they will be required to do. Foxtel said yesterday the industrial dispute with installers had been settled following a positive response to an offer of a $1,000 "Foxtel digital launch training allowance" to be paid over a month to each worker.

But Communications Electrical and Plumbing Union spokesman Len Cooper said up to 700 subcontractors were still expected to strike.



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Ascent acquires the London Playout Centre

Ascent Media Group, has announced the acquisition of the London Playout Centre from RTL Group.

LPC, is a leading provider of channel origination and transmission services in Europe, transmitting over 1,400 hours of television programming per day, across 50 channels, from a range of dedicated and multi-channel broadcast suites. The company provides a fully integrated broadcast solution with extensive edit, audio and graphics facilities to a broad range of clients including: Discovery Networks, Flextech, Five, Universal, Cinenova and TV Travel Shop, among many others.