british telecom
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BT confirms talks to acquire EE for £12.5 billion
After weeks of speculation linking it with the acquisition of one of the UK's two biggest mobile carriers, BT has finally confirmed that EE will be the subject of its affection. The telecoms giant announced today that it has entered "exclusive negotiations" with a view to buying the Orange and Deutsche Telekom joint-venture for £12.5 billion. BT says the deal will allow it to "accelerate its existing mobility strategy" and re-enter the mobile market after it sold off O2 for £17.7 billion almost a decade ago.
BT is in talks to buy back O2
Following in the footsteps of Take That, S Club 7 and 5ive, BT appears determined to get the band back together. The company has confirmed to us that it is in talks with European communications giant Telefonića to buy back O2, almost a decade after it sold the operator for £17.7 billion. It's no secret that BT is currently readying its own mobile service (with a little help from EE), but according to to Spanish news site El Confidencial, it could be willing to hand over a 20 percent stake as part of a "strategic alliance" between the pair.
BT to offer free YouView box with one-year broadband contract, £49 for existing customers
If you're not quite comfortable shelling out £299 for BT's YouView box, then you're in luck. Starting October 26th, the hardware will be free for new Infinity broadband subscribers who ink contracts that are one year or longer. Instead of relying on cable, the Humax-built device uses both aerial and internet connections to deliver content from more than 100 digital TV and radio channels including Channels 4 and 5, the BBC and ITV. With the IPTV box, users can sift through content that's aired in the past seven days, watch on-demand programs and record up to 300 hours of standard definition television or 125 hours of high-def video to a built-in 500GB hard drive. Current British Telecom subscribers pining for the subsidized box will be able to get their own for a £49 activation fee and a £6.95 delivery charge. Those eager for the gratis set-top solution will be able to order it online starting October 19th if they register interest with BT's website beforehand. For more details, check out the press release below.
British Telecom says it's 'highly likely' to write off OnLive stake
British Telecom has reported that it is "highly likely" to simply write off the 2.6 percent stake it invested in the recently rebooted cloud computing service, OnLive. The issue isn't yet settled, but a BT spokesperson told TechRadar that "the 2.6 percent shareholding in OnLive does not represent a significant investment for BT as a whole. We consider it highly likely that we'll have to write off our investment."HTC also made a $40 million investment in OnLive, and it has already reported to the Taiwanese Stock Exchange that it considers the money written off. With all of OnLive's assets being transferred to form a new company, getting compensated for their investments may be more trouble than it's worth for both HTC and BT.But the book isn't closed just yet – BT says it will "keep a close eye on developments" with OnLive, and that current customers who are able to access the service can continue to do so for the time being.
BT planning to write off 2.6 percent stake in troubled OnLive
BT thinks that it's "highly likely" it'll let its 2.6 percent stake in OnLive go to the wall. It told TechRadar that it was keeping a "close eye" on the gaming venture which is restructuring in the face of spiraling debt costs. The telecoms provider has promised that its customers will be able to access the service (for as long as it exists, we guess) and that the investment is a small enough figure that it won't be worrying too much about its balance sheet.
Siri shown to launch, run mock experiment by British Telecom
Siri isn't just a personal assistant who can read your messages or check your calendar. The voice assistant may also play a role in finding a cure for cancer. A team of researchers from BioTeam, Accelrys and British Telecom worked together to plug Siri into scientific data analysis software that's accessible via the cloud. In a proof-of-concept video, the team shows Siri interacting with analysis software Accelrys Pipeline Pilot to crunch numbers from an experiment. Siri can launch the analysis and retrieve results using only a person's voice. The link between Siri and the Pipeline Pilot software is the BT Compute cloud platform from British Telecom. You can check out the demo in the video below and read more about the technology on the BioTeam's website. [Via Gizmodo]
BT super-charges fiber-optic broadband today, for the lucky few who can get it
Excuse our sour grapes, but the fortunate proportion of Britons with access to BT's fibre fiber-optic broadband will find everything much faster from today at no extra cost. Infinity 1 customers now have an upstream of (as always) "up to" 9.5Mbps, up from 1.9Mbps yesterday, but downstream remains fixed at 38Mbps. Meanwhile, those with Infinity 2 have seen their speeds doubled with 19Mbps up and 76Mbps down as the company continues its jockeying with Virgin Media to remain top dog in the speedy broadband stakes. Those of us who aren't in an area that's been earmarked for the fiber-optic rollout will have to make do with checking the property websites and wishing.[Thanks, Craig]
British Telecom is the latest to sue Google over Android, other services
Another day, another patent lawsuit against Google. FOSS Patents reports British Telecom filed suit Thursday in Delaware over six of its patents it says Google is infringing upon with Android and other services like Maps and Music. Feel free to avail yourself of the text of the suit embedded after the break, which is heavy on terms like "telecommunications apparatus and method" and "navigation information system". We're not hearing any official response from Mountain View yet, but until we do you can probably pencil in platitudes about innovation and bogus patents. Update: We have heard from Google, saying (predictably) ""We believe these claims are without merit, and we will defend vigorously against them."
British judge doesn't like the cut of Newzbin 2's jib, orders BT to block it
Shiver-me-timbers, it looks like the movie studios' latest legal broadside just scored a direct hit against the big bad pirate ship. A UK judge has ordered telecoms giant BT to block its subscribers from visiting Newzbin 2, a site which aggregates Usenet downloads, on the simple basis that BT knows some of its customers are using the site to breach copyright law and therefore has a duty to stop them. This counts as an unprecedented victory for the Motion Picture Association, who brought the case, and it potentially arms them with a new weapon to force ISPs to block other sites in future. Could that be Newzbin 3 we spy on the horizon?
Microsoft-led consortium to trial super WiFi network across the pond
British mobile bandwidth hogs won't have to curb their data enthusiasm anytime soon if a scheduled 'super WiFi' trial minds it manners. Led by Microsoft and backed by the UK's biggest TV providers, this roided-up wireless network surfs along the spare 150MHz spectrum that terrestrial television avoids. Christened the 'white spaces,' networks abroad (and in the US) maintain these unused frequencies to prevent signal interference, but with MS' Dan Reed calling spectrum "...a finite natural resource," operators don't have much else to mine. Set for testing in Cambridge -- chosen for its dense cluster of buildings old and new -- this repurposed TV signal walks through walls its weaker mobile brethren smack into (at up to 16Mbps, no less!). With a similar British Telecom rollout already underway in Scotland, we'd say the tech has an imminent Anglo-future -- pity the US can't seem to unravel the red tape fast enough for a homegrown build-out. [Image credit via ZDNet UK]
British property search engine Rightmove will soon list broadband speeds alongside standard home info
The internet, it's kind of a big deal. So much of a big deal, in fact, that UK property search site Rightmove is said to be planning to list broadband speeds as part of its standard information package for homes up for rent or sale. This would be done in partnership with BT, reports the Daily Telegraph, though neither company is yet ready to make the deal official. BT would have little trouble providing the data in question since most of the UK is connected to its ADSL lines -- every ISP in the country outside of Virgin Media just resells BT's copper wire -- or newfangled Infinity fiber optic services. Part of this new agreement will involve Rightmove displaying whether or not homes are capable of connecting to the newer, faster Infinity network -- which mirrors Virgin's efforts at informing people whether they're covered by its cable internet through deals with independent estate agents. Soon there should be no excuses for Brits getting stuck in a picturesque home with a grotesquely slow web connection.
BT 'Content Connect' lets ISPs charge content providers for high-speed video delivery
We haven't heard a ton of talk about net neutrality here at CES, but the issue has now cropped up in a fairly big way across the pond -- British Telecom's wholesale division has just rolled out a service it calls "Content Connect," which basically allows ISPs relying on BT's network to charge content providers like YouTube for high-speed delivery of video within the UK. That naturally means that anyone who doesn't pay will have to deal with slower video delivery, which would in a very real sense create a two-tier internet. For its part, BT insists that it "supports the concept of net neutrality," and it says that the new service will actually speed up download speeds even for those that don't pay up, as it would ease network congestion. All which, of course, echoes some of the core arguments we've been hearing for years now, and won't likely stop hearing anytime soon. [Thanks, Pete]
BT offering British broadband users free fiber upgrade -- when the rollout reaches them
Well now, isn't this nice? British Telecom has come out with a sweet and loving promise to subscribers who partake in its current broadband and landline telephony bundles -- stick with us, says BT, and we'll upgrade you to our fiber (or fibre, as the Brits call it) optic network free of charge. Of course, this wouldn't be BT if there weren't some gnarly details to the bargain, which include 40GB a month usage limits and £25 setup fees for users on the cheapest monthly bundles. Still, at least the upgrade to 40Mbit is something to look forward to and BT's saying you won't have to pay any additional levies for it on a monthly basis. See its press release after the break or check out the map below to see when the rollout might be hitting your particular corner of the Queen's home isles.
Pip-pip, OnLive reaches agreement with BT, launching in Europe eventually
We're still about a month away from OnLive dropping the green flag for American gamers who want to stream their games over the internets, but already the company is looking to colonize. It has reached an agreement with BT that sees the artist formerly known as British Telecom acquiring a 2.6 percent stake in exchange for exclusive rights to bundle the OnLive service with broadband packages. However, this startup doesn't like to be tied down, so will still be offering its unique abilities on the side to anyone with a fat enough pipe -- that's download speeds, dig? OnLive isn't saying exactly when its service will launch in the UK (or anywhere else in Europe, for that matter), just that the company is "completely focused" on the US release first. As well it should be; it has some mighty skeptical gamers to win over.
Study finds that Lockheed Martin needs to stop disposing of hard drives with top secret data intact
With all of those crazy defense contracts Lockheed Martin has goin' on, you'd think the company would have its act together as far as the need to hold down its data goes -- but according to The Daily Mail, this may not be the case. Researchers at BT's Security Research Center have found an overwhelming amount of sensitive data on hard drives purchased through computer fairs and auctions as a part of a recent study, including: bank account details, medical records, and confidential business and financial data. Although many organizations were found to be at fault, the most troubling (sensational) instance included test launch procedures for Lockheed Martin's THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missile defense system, found on hardware purchased from eBay. Also on the same disk were security policies, blueprints, and employees' personal info. When asked for a comment, a spokesman for the company stated that "Until Lockheed Martin can evaluate the hard drive in question, it is not possible to comment further on its potential contents or source." It looks like we're not getting to the bottom of this one any time soon, but in the meantime: if any defense contractors have any questions on the subject, we'll be happy to help.[Via Slashdot]
BT Vision's added HD to its VOD
Hopefully our UK brethren have been enjoying the recent addition on high definition downloads to the BTVision IPTV service. 1080i, 5.1 surround sound packing licks are now available on your V-box for £2.95 or £4.95, conveniently marked with an "HD" tag to note the ihgher quality, and a warning that unlike their low-res counterparts, these need to download in full before the user can watch and begin their 24 hour rental period. The Other Boleyn Girl, The Hulk and Babe are among the leadoff hitters, so check it out (these 8GB~ downloads also rather conveniently don't count towards any kind of bandwidth quota, imagine that?) and let us know how it measures up to the rest.[Via HDTV UK]
British Telecom launches BT ToGO service
This is a fun twist, instead of a mobile provider adding home phone service to its roster, British Telecom, a UK wireline provider is adding wireless service called Broadband Anywhere with a couple handsets called BT ToGO. The two handsets on offer are HTC's S710 and the S620 offering WiFi access when available and wireless when not, the home service is included with a BT WiFi set and router called the. The handsets are being bundled with "Broadband Anywhere" and includes DSL at home, Openzone WiFi and BT FON access with a sticker price of anywhere from £23.99 to £53.99 (roughly $47 and $105) a month. We're thinking $47 isn't too terrible a price to pay as long as they've got you properly covered, but $105 might be hard to swallow if the plans are meager. More specifics on the plans as soon as we have it.
BT's 360 TV service on-demand only, over the air live TV not possible [update]
Upon reading a BBC article published today, it seems that British Telecom's planned IPTV service is much less attractive than we had hoped. It turns out that the service does not support live TV or digital video recorder (DVR) functionality, but will be entirely on-demand. In other words, 360 owners will have access to BT's programming library, but won't be flipping channels or recording their favorite shows to watch later. Looking through the CES press release again, the only advantage we can see over the standard set-top box service (which offers live TV and DVR) is that gamers can stay connected to Xbox Live while watching on-demand programming through their 360s, allowing them to send messages and receive game invites among other things. We're not sure that alone justifies a 12-month contract. Of course, if you're interested in nabbing a BT set-top box and you just happen to have a 360 as well, it makes some sense.Perhaps the most interesting quote in the BBC article is from a BT spokesman: "The reason for streaming only on the Xbox is because currently the console does not have the capability for live TV ...." Now, we know the 360 is capable of live TV, as it was demonstrated at last year's CES. Furthermore, all IPTV is streaming, which makes the quote a bit odd. As far as we know, the only thing keeping the 360 from streaming IPTV is a firmware update. For now, we'll give BT the benefit of the doubt and assume that's what the spokesperson was referring to. We've got a call in to Microsoft for clarification.Update: After a helpful comment and some digging, we've figured out the basis for British Telecom's claim that the 360 couldn't support live TV. It turns out that BT's live TV offerings are all made over the air. In other words, live TV is received via an antenna, something the 360 currently can't do. The on-demand services, on the other hand, are offered through IPTV. Still, as the first official IPTV offering on the 360, it seems a bit lacking. (Thanks for the insight, mike.)[Thanks, Scotty Turbo]
British Telecom to launch 360's IPTV
During their CES keynote, Microsoft took stage and also announced that British Telecom will be the first company to launch the Xbox 360 IPTV service in the UK. British Telecom is the largest telecommunication company in the UK and will eventually allow customers to purchase Xbox 360 consoles for IPTV service. No release date was announced for the program to be up and running, but if history is any indicator of future events then we should see 360 IPTV up and running by around ... 2010. We kid, we kid!
Sony's answer to the iPhone: the PSP?
The iPod is the 21st century Walkman and it seems that Sony isn't content to let Apple potentially dominant the internet communication market with the iPhone. They have teamed up with BT (that's British Telecom to you) to offer a number of new features on the PSP. The new features include video and voice calls, though all the features depend on being connected to the internet in order to function. Might this make the PSP into an iPhone competitor? Considering that 28 million of these little things are out there, it just might.
