Showing posts with label Snap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Snap. Show all posts

Monday, May 24, 2021

Week 20 in Telecoms, Internet, Media (UPDATED)

CORPORATE

  • KPN: Telegraaf: EQT and Stonepeak still interested in offer
  • Telefonica: Rumor: to sell Zeleris (logistics), wants EUR 100m, HIG Capital interested
  • BT: Fitch: agreement with BT Pension Scheme (to meet part of its pension deficit repair plan through an asset-backed funding (ABF) structure) is broadly neutral to BT's leverage profile and rating
  • CityFibre (West Street Infrastructure Partners = Goldman Sachs 35%, Antin Infrastructure Partners 35%): Rumor: to sell 30% stake for GBP 1b to ~20 pension & investment funds, to expand target from 8m to 10m premises 
  • Vodafone
    • 20/21Q4 prelim
      • guidance 21/22: adj EBITDA AL EUR 15.0-15.4b, capex GBP 8b (raised), adj FCF >EUR 5.2b
      • Strategy Update
        • to apply for EU's Recovery & Resilience facility
        • targets rev growth, adj EBITDA AL growth MSD, adj FCF growth FCF, leverage 2.5-3.0x, dividend minimum 9c
        • focus on 1. Network investment (fixed & 5G), 2. stronger, more comprehensive product offering, 3. accelerate digital capabilities, 4. flexibility to support Vantage Towers
    • Rumor: interested in co-investment with BT to build 5m premises by 2026
  • VodafoneZiggo: Ziggo Sport to lose Formula 1 rights from 2021/22 season to NENT Group, rumored to pay >EUR 30m, to establish Viaplay, with Bundesliga football (currently at RTL NL); reaches 1.5m viewers
  • Liberty Global
    • CMA approves Virgin Media / O2 UK merger without remedies, to close 210601
    • Establishes JV AtlasEdge Data Centres with Digital Colony to develop >100 edge datacenters in Europe, to close & launch 21Q3; for s 5G, gaming, IoT, edge compute applications; e Josh Joshi to be Exec Chair; Virgin Media UK & IE, Sunrise UPC, UPC Poland to be anchor tenants, open for 3rd parties
  • Cegeka: Citymesh plans to expand mobile nationwide and into consumer market under new brand, to invest EUR 100m, to participate in upcoming auction (700, 900, 1400, 1800, 2000 bands)
  • Iliad: 21Q1; delays fixed-line market IT entry to after summer 2021; expects Iliad IT to report positive EBITDA AL over 2021; to sell remaining 30% stake in towerco FR (On Tower France = Cellnex), >EUR 600m; to revise Op CF target for FR (excl B2B, originally EUR 900m) by Sep 2021
  • Altice Europe: SFR acquires 50% stake in RegloMobile (MVNO France, 770k subs; = Afone Participations) from E Leclerc Group (retailer)
  • 1&1 Drillisch: Finalises nat roaming (2G, 3G, 4G plus 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G MVNO; excl 4G in urban areas from 260101: 1&1 Drillisch 5G covered areas) deal with Telefonica DE, 5 yr; 1&1's subs to be migrated to own network after certain period
  • Gamma Communications: AGM & 21Q1 trading update; outlook 2021: rev, adj EBITDA, adj EPS at high-end of range of market forecasts (rv GBP 442-461, adj EBITDA 86-94m, EPS 55-63p)
  • Deutsche Telekom
    • CMD (1)
      • Targets 2021-24: rev CAGR 1-2%, adj EBITDA AL CAGR 3-5%, FCF >EUR 18b by 2024 (2020: 6.3b), EPS >EUR 1.75 by 2024 (2020: 1.20), pay-out ratio 40-60% of EPS (lower limit EUR 0.60); aims for sustainable growth
      • 5 key action areas: 1. Turning customers into fans (leader in terms of customer experience in fixed, mobile, convergence; superior networks and best-in-class service), 2. Lead in B2B in Europe (rev CAGR 2% in DE and Europe; T-Mobile US to double market share), 3. A new level of sustainability (to become climate neutral in terms of its own emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by as early as 2025, from 2040, 10 years earlier than the original target, this will apply to the entire value chain (Scope 1, 2 and 3), management compensation contains components based on these targets), 4. Number one in fiber and 5G (FTTH penetration >60% by 2030, from 5% currently; to add 2.5m HP/yr from 2024; 5G coverage 97% pops coverage by 2024), 5. We continue to drive digitization (continue to digitize its business at all levels, 30 percent of purchases by customers in Germany to go via our electronic channels by 2024) 
      • Strategic review for T-Mobile NL (preparing for sale) & towers
    • CMD (2)
      • Targets tech & inovation
      • Targets T-Systems
      • Group Development (US, BT stake, NL, Towers, DTCP): valuation T-Mobile US $76b, BT stake GBP 1.9b, GD Towers EUR 12.8b, T-Mobile NL EUR 5.7b incl towers 5.0b excl towers (reduced EBITDA AL EUR 30m) (based on broker estimates), own valuation EUR 6b (enterprise value)
      • Targets T-Mobile NL ('Crown Jewel') YE 2024: 900k fixed subs, FMC penetration of branded base >40%, >50% of customer transaction digital
      • GD Towers ('Kingmaker asset') targets 2024: add 6k sites, 15k site extensions, external rev CAGR >3% (3rd party business), lower opex/site; targets GD 2024: rev CAGR >2%, adj EBITDA CAGR >4%, cash contribution AL CAGR >6%
  • AT&T
  • SingTel: Plans impairment charge on Amobee (ad platform), Trustwave (cyber security), Optus (Australia)
  • RTL
  • Vivendi: Reduces ambition for ownership of UMG after IPO 210927 of 60% from 20 to 10% (Tencent to retain 20%), may sell 10% to US-based investor or increase float to 70%; to retain 10% stake for minimum 2 yr; UMG 21Q1: rev EUR 1809m (+9.4%; recorded music +10.8%, music publishing +6.9%, merchandising & other -10.0%), EBIT 322m (+36%)
  • Google: Bloomberg: Waymo plans to raise $4b, considers IPO

VIDEO

  • Amazon
    • The Information: to offer $7-10b for MGM (studio, channel Epix); Variety: to offer $9b (others expect $5b)
    • libary of 4000 films (incl James Bond, Hobbit, Rocky/Creed, RoboCop, Pink Panther franchises) + 17k episodes (incl Stargate, Vikings, Fargo, The Handmaid’s Tale, Get Shorty, Condor, Fame, American Gladiators, Teen Wolf, In the Heat of the Night), unscripted shows (incl The Voice, Survivor, Shark Tank, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, The Hills)
    • MGM 21Q1: rev $403m (+27%), net income $29.3m
    • Variety: valuation $5-6b + debt, Eon Productions (= Broccoli family) control James Bond franchise, insist in theatrical release, refuse spin-offs
  • NENT Group: Plans to launch Viaplay in NL 22Q1 as streaming ad-free SVOD service
  • WarnerMedia: HBO Max AVOD tier (HBO Max With Ads)
    • to cost 10 $/mo
    • to launch in US early June 2021
    • to exclude day-and-date Warner Bros movie premieres throughout 2021
    • no ads against HBO originals; minimal ad load
    • to produce equal margin to ad-free tier
    • ad types: Brand Block, Pause Ad, Branded Discovery
    • ad-free tier to expand to Latam/Caribbean end June 2021
    • to upgrade HBO-branded streaming services in Europe to HBO Max 21H2
    • Some HBO Max originals to be aired on TBS & TNT from summer 2021
  • ViacomCBS: CBS plans addressable commercials for broadcast TV from 21H2
  • Netflix
    • Established division (events/spectacle team) focused on obtaining franchise rights; currently 90 shows in development based on already established properties across comics, books, manga, video games
    • Rumor: plans expansion into videogames, ad-free, may be bundled with SVOD - Confirms expansion into interactive entertainment
  • Vimeo: Launches enterprise-grade video hub

MUSIC

  • Spotify
    • Launches virtual concert series May/June 2021 (with The Black Keys, Rag’n’Bone Man, Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff, Leon Bridges, girl in red)
    • Spotify for Artists publishes Fan Study
    • Partners with Storytel (500k audioboks, 1.6m subs) to allow Storytel subs to connect their account through Spotify to access their audiobooks within Spotify’s app (based on Open Access Platform, to add more OAP partners)
  • Amazon: Allows Amazon Music Unlimited subs (10 $/mo for Amazon subs, 8 $/mo for Prime subs, 15 $/mo family plan) free upgrade to Amazon Music HD (originally 15 $/mo); 70m tracks in HD (lossless, 16 bit, 44.1 kHz) o/w 7m in UHD (24 bit, 192 kHz), some upgraded to 3D Audio (Dolby Atmos, Sony 360RA)
  • Apple: To migrate to lossless audio (ALAC; from 16 bit 44.1 kHz to 24 bit 48 kHz and24 bit 192 kHz) & spatial audio (Dolby Atmos) June 2021, price unchanged; total 75m tracks

WEB SERVICES

  • Google I/O 
  • Snap
    • Partner Summit
      • new services
      • Spotlight paid out $130m since launch to creators (5400)
      • reaches 500m MAU
      • demos Spectacles gen 4 for AR creators (currently 200k, supports with $3.5m + $1m with Verizon for 5G-based AR): AR (dual waveguide displays capable of superimposing AR effects made with Snapchat’s software tools), 4 built-in microphones, 2 stereo speakers, built-in touchpad, Connected Lenses (allows multiple people to see and interact with the same scene in AR)
      • launches Ghost (AR innovation lab)
    • Acquires WaveOptics (AR display supplier, powers Spectacles), >$500m
  • Microsoft launches personal (consumer) version of Teams: chat, video calling, share calendars, locations & files (online (teams.live.com) or app for desktop, Android, iOS) 
  • Vodafone UK launches 3 packages for SME around Wix services (website creation tool): Get Selling Online (10.5 GBP/mo excl VAT; create presence, with payments), Peace of Mind Online (13; adds security), Supercharge My Business Online (22.4; adds Microsoft 365)

TELECOM SERVIVES

  • Ziggo launches internet-only tiers: 75/10 Mb/s for 42.50 EUR/mo, 300/30 for 53, 600/40 for 60.50, 1000/50 for 65.50

NETWORKS

  • Ookla Speedtest Global Index (April 21): global average FBB 102/54 Mb/s, MBB 53/13 Mb/s; FBB: Singapore #1 (246), S Korea #2 (242), HK #3 (241), Monaco #4 (220), RO #5 (214), NL #25 (153); MBB: UAE #1 (191), S Korea #2 (186), Qatar #3 (181), China #4 (149), KSA #5 (148), NL #9 (107) 
  • GSMA calls on governments to allocate 6 GHz band (5925-6425 & 6425-7125) to 5G (at least 6425-7125 portion, 5925-6425 license-exempt; currently mostly for WiFi) for mobile, smart city, smart industry, smart transport
  • Melita (first in Malta) launches 5G (in existing spectrum), nationwide, with Ericsson
  • Sunrise UPC proposes 5G for Smart Buildings (using MR, AR) for Building Information Modeling (BIM); demos transparent building app from Builcon (MR glasses see through walls, enabling them to detect where pipes, cable routes and ducts run)

REGULATORY

  • Platforms
    • EU proposes unified corporate tax regime, based on OECD rules (to be agreed June 2021)
    • US House Dems propose Social Media DATA Act: forces platforms to share data (ad libraries) with researchers and FTC (description of the audience that was targeted, information about how many people interacted with the ad, details about whether the ad was optimized for awareness, traffic or some other purpose); working group within FTC to establish best practices around social media research
  • Apple: lawsuit Epic Games (Fortnite) vs. Apple ongoing


Sunday, February 28, 2021

Week 8 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

Corporate

  • TIM: 20Q4 & 2021-23 Plan Update Beyond Connectivity: 1. Unique commercial proposition, 2. Best technological infrastructure, 3. Further improve operational excellence, 4. Leaner organizational model; works with 5 factories: Noovle (cloud), Telsy (cyber security), Olivetti (integrated IoT), Sparkle (int wholesale), TIM Vision (content)
  • Proximus: 20Q4; guidance 2021: additional expenses (opex EUR 50m) for fiber migrations, IT transformation, cloudification, Mwingz (shared mobile network with Orange BE) roll-out (reducing capex), targets EBITDA EUR 1.750-1.775m, capex close to EUR 1.2b, to double fiber roll-out from 2020, net debt/EBITDA <1.6x, domestic rev close to 2020 level (EUR 4.285m), div 2021 and 2022 EUR 1.20 (floor); confirms #inspire2022 ambitions; opex redux CAGR 2020-22 1-2%, expands cost savings to EUR 400m over 2020-2025 (o/w half in 2020-22), targets domestic EBITDA to grow from 2022
  • Vodafone
    • Vodafone CZ plans strategic coop wit utility CEZ (70% state-owned)
    • Vantage Towers Intention to Float (ITF) in Frankfurt March 2021 of meaningful minority stake; rumored valuation: EUR 15b, to raise EUR 4b
  • Virgin Media UK (Liberty Global): CMA publishes responses from Sky & Vodafone regarding O2 merger; concerns on wholesale market for MVNOs and backhaul - O2 UK claims concerns addressed
  • Akamai: Investor Summit
    • 3-5 year Security targets: Application Security CAGR 20-25%, Network Security CAGR 20-25%, Security Services CAGR 10-15%, overall CAGR goal >20% (rev to more than double in 5 yr to $2.5b, addressable market $29b)
    • 3-5 year CDN targets: Edge Delivery CAGR 0-3%, Edge Applications >30%, Services CAGR 1-3%, overall CAGR goal 2-5% (addressable market $18b)
    • Financial targets Security: cash gross margin high 80s (2021: 86-87%), EBITDA margin high 40s (2021: 45-46%), oper margin mid 30s (2021: 34-35%), network capex low single digit (2021: 1-3%), R&D capex high single digit (2021: 8-10%)
    • Financial targets CDN: gross margin high 60s (2021: 68-69%), EBITDA margin mid 40s (2021: 42-43%), oper margin high 20s (2021: 26-27%), network capex low double digit (2021: 11-13%), R&D capex mid single digit (2021: 4-5%)
    • Total targets 3-5 yr: rev CAGR 6-10%, gross margin high 70s (2021: 76-77%), EBITDA margin mid 40s (2021: 44%), oper margin 30-32% (2021: 30%), capex mid teens of rev (2021: 16%)
  • Roblox: Plans IPO via direct listing 210310
  • Thomson Reuters: To invest $500-600m in AI, ML in 2 yr; to cut opex by $600m from eliminating duplicate functions, modernizing & consolidating technology, attrition, shrinking real estate footprint
  • Twitter: Analyst Day: Goals:
    • 1. Double development velocity by end 2023 (ie doubling the number of features shipped per employee)
    • 2. 315m mDAU (monetisable DAU; currently 85% from brand ads, 15% from performance ads; global digital brand + performance ads market $150b, Twitter market share 3%) 23Q4 (20Q4: 192m, implies CAGR 20%)
    • 3. more than double annual rev to $7.5b (2020: $3.7b) 
  • Snap: Investor Day: guidance: revenue CAGR 50%; Usage stats: 5b Snaps/day, Snap Map 250m MAU, advertising 90% self-serve, digital ad market US share 2% (reach <50% of smartphone uesrs), reach 13-24 year olds >90% (US, UK, Australia, FR, NL), reach 13-34 year olds >75% (US, UK, Australia, FR, NL)

Networks

  • Broadband Choices: report Internet Accessibility Index 2021 (based on speed & cost), ranking 169 countries: Denmark #1, Liechtenstein #2, US #3, NL #15
  • FTTH
    • Telefonica
      • Telefonica Chile sells 60% stake in fiber network to KKR (Global Infrastructure Investors III Fund), $1b, to close 21Q2; to establish OA wholesale company; to expand pops coverage from 2m to 3.5m by 2023 (FTTH, 40k FTTO lines, FTTS); reduces debt by EUR 400m
      • Telefonica Brazil plans fiber network spin-off to establish OA wholesale company FiBrasil, with investor (TBA 21Q1); Bloomberg: talks with Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (CDPQ)
    • T-Mobile NL to add 1m HP by 2025 with #2 investment partner (not Primevest), TBA 21H1, to start in 10-15 areas
  • Mobile, 5G
    • Ericsson Mobility Report 20Q4 update: global mobile subscriptions (8b, penetration 102%, unique active subs 6b; net adds 19m), mobile BB subs 6.5b (net adds 100m), 5G subs 220m at 130 providers (net adds 70m), 4G subs 4.5b (net adds 90m); total global mobile data traffic 60 EB/mo (+51% yoy, +9% qoq)
    • EIB report Accelerating the 5G transition in Europe
    • Umlaut: T-Mobile NL best network worldwide (962 points), KPN (954) and VodafoneZiggo (945) also in Top 10    
    • Polsat Group sells 99.99% stake (2,069,656 shares) in Polkomtel Infrastruktura to Cellnex
    • Malaysia plans government-owned wholesale 5G network via special purpose vehicle ($4b in 10 yr; also: FTTH), to adminster spectrum for all MNOs (part of digital  transformation by 2030); Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Telekom Malaysia to build & manage hyper-scale data centres & cloud services
    • Google partners with Intel on cloud-native 5G; 3 main areas: 1. accelerating the ability of CSPs to deploy vRAN & ORAN solutions by providing next-gen infrastructure & hardware, 2. launching new lab environments to help CSPs innovate on cloud-native 5G, 3. making it easier for them to deliver business applications to the network edge; to develop reference architectures & integrated solutions for CSPs' for core network functions & edge network solutions
  • 6G
  • LEO

Services

  • Video
    • ViacomCBS: Streaming Event: Paramount+ to launch 210304
    • Walt Disney
      • Launches Star tab (75 series, 280 movies at launch) in Disney+ in Europe, ANZ, Canada, Singapore; content from content from ABC, Hulu, FX, Freeform, Disney Television Studios, FX, 20th Century Studios, 20th Television, more
      • Disney+ price increases from 7 to 9 EUR/mo, 6 to 8 GBP/mo
      • Release dates
      • Rumor: Disney+ subs 40% in N America (40m), 30% in India, 30% in Europe & Latam
    • Netflix: 10 Golden Globes (on 42 nominations)
  • Music
  • Smart city
    • Las Vegas ordered smart city solutions from Siemens Advanta & Bluetech Park Properties, $7.5b in 6 yr (net-zero carbon footprint buildings within its own insular mini-city, automated multi-functional designs, renewable energy sources, photovoltaic super trees, various other interconnected innovations)
    • Egypt (Administrative Capital for Urban Development) orders smart city ICT (datacenter, cloud services, to be operated by Orange Egypt) from Orange Business Services for new administrative capital (45km east of Cairo on a greenfield site, 700 km^2); 5 pillars: safety, connectivity, integration, digitalisation, replicability; to launch 21Q2
    • Toyota starts smart city Woven City construction near Mount Fuji, 175 hectares, hydrogen-based, solar, robotics, AI, smart homes; appointed Bjarke Ingels Group as architects
    • Stockholm ordered Univrses app to scan & map city streets from any car, transmitting & processing data in real-time to help create a more detailed picture of the state of the city’s streets, measuring everything from road damage to congestion, the location of streetlights to the state of road signage


Sunday, November 29, 2020

Week 48 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

Corporate

  • KPN: Strategy update: Accelerate to Grow
    • FTTH roll-out accelerates to 500k HP from 2021
    • expands current savings program to EUR 375-400m, new program EUR 250m for 2021-2023
    • capex 2021-2023 raised to EUR 3.5b o/w 1.4b for FTTH
    • FTTH penetration to 50% by 2023, 65% by 2025 (double from current penetration), longer term 80%
    • outlook 2020: adj EBITDA AL 2.32b, capex 1.1b, FCF 750m, div 13c
    • outlook 2021: adj EBITDA AL up, capex 1.2b, FCF 750m , div growth 3-5%
    • outlook 2023: adj EBITDA AL >2.45b, capex 1.1-1.2b, FCF >870m, div growth 3-5%
    • SR from mass market (Consumer, SME, Wholesale; 75% of rev, 90% of EBITDA) return to growth end 2021; LCE market lags SME by 1-2 yr
    • to improve MijnKPN app for Consumer and service modules for SME
    • aggregator for entertainment for Consumer, one-stop shop for SME with 3rd-party services for security, cloud, workspace
    • savings induced by corona virus (increased working from home, less office space)
    • cash tax: EUR 50-60m in 2021 (from  fiscal unity and loss compensation rules), then 150m EUR/yr (reduced loss compensation but tax losses will be available indefinitely)
    • target leverage ratio <2.5; to digitalise customer journey
  • Orange: Denies rumor of planning offer for ATOS
  • Vodafone: Rumor: Vodafone ES plans merger with MasMovil, Vodafone to own 60-80%
  • Altice Europe
    • Next launches offer, plans EGM 210107, offer period 201125-210121: 4.11 EUR/share cash
    • EC approves acquisition of Covage by SFR FTTH (Altice Europe 49.99%, Piaf BidCo (OMERS, Allianz, AXA Infrastructure Equity 1 AFS SAS, IST3 Investor Foundation; controlled by OMERS & Allianz) 50.01%) [see 191125], with conditions over reduced wholesale & retail competitions: to sell 95% of Covage's wholesale FTTO business (30 institutions)

  • Liberty Global: Acquires Phoenix Works (Leeds; EV charging, solar, battery storage)
  • Telenet: Interested in VOO
  • DPG Media puts Mobile Vikings (Full MVNO on Orange BE) & JIM Mobile up for sale; 300k active subs (334k subs icl JIM Mobile) 
  • Telesat: Plans merger with major shareholder Loral Space & Communications to form Telesat Corp (listed), focus on LEO (298 sats); plans IPO mid 2021
  • ViacomCBS: Sells Simon & Schuster to Penguim Random House (= Bertelsmann), $2.17b cash   
  • Google: Rumor: plans to acquire ShareChat (India), $1b [a la TikTok]
  • Bytedance: CFIUS delays deadline for finding TikTok US buyer to 201204
  • Slack: Rumor: Salesforce plans offer
  • Square: Acquires Credit Karma Tax (free do-it-yourself tax-filing service), $50m
  • Stripe: Bloomberg: to raise funds at $70-100b valuation

Networks

  • Fixed
    • TIM: EC approves FiberCop (access network) spin-off and stake sale to KKR (37.5%), Fastweb receives 4.5% from contributing stake in JV Flash Fiber - To share fiber with Intred, 5 yr
    • Proximus: Plans JV with EQT Infrastructure V [replacing Delta Fiber], to close 21Q1, to connect 1.5m premises in Flanders to open FTTP; to be owned 49.9% by Proximus, EQT 50.1%; target 4.2m premises (= 70%) in BE by 2028 remains; interim target 2025 raised 30%; plans update mid Jan 2021
    • UK reduces fiber ambition from 100 to minimum 85% by 2025, budget remains GBP 5b 
    • Vodafone DE plans FTTP to 150k homes & 23k businesses
    • KPN plans quantum network in Randstad, with QuTech (= TU Delft, TNO), SURF, OPNT [all members of TKI = Topconsortium voor Kennis en Innovatie]
  • 5G
    • ZTE report: on 5G Uplink Enhancement Technology 
    • Launches
      • A1 Bulgaria launches 5G in Sofia 
      • Orange LU launches 5G in Luxembourg City, no price premium; with Nokia 
      • Togocel (= TogoCom) launches 5G in Lome (Togo) 
      • Orange FR plans 5G (3.5 GHz supplemented by 2.1 GHz) launch 201203 in 15 munis, target 160 munis YE 2020 
    • SKT completes 5G core (cloud native) based on Release 16, with Samsung 
    • BNA (DE): Private 5G (3.7 GHz) submissions 93, granted 88 
    • MTS (Russia) plans Private 5G at Polimetall (gold mining), with Ericsson 
    • Sunrise plans 5G Smart Stadium at FC Basel (incl Sunrise CamCheck: replay from 4 different camera positions) 
    • ITU completes evaluation of 3 technologies for IMT-2020 (5G): 3GPP 5G-SRIT (submitted by 3GPP), 3GPP 5G-RIT (submitted by 3GPP), 5Gi (submitted by Telecommunications Standards Development Society India (TSDSI)) 
    • KPN launches #6 5G FieldLab: for healthcare applications 
    • Citycom Telecommunication Graz (= Holding Graz) orders 5G network for Graz & Steiermark from Nokia, focus on IoT, to offer Private networks; to launch 21Q1 with 50 macro sites (target 200) 
    • Telenor NO launches FWA over 5G service (max 100 Mb/s, 1000 NOK/mo; 10 Mb/s for 600 NOK/mo), data cap 2 TB/mo (at overage throttling to 5 Mb/s) 
    • Telefonica DE trials live sports broadcast over 5G, with Sky DE 201206 at handball match, footage from 12 smartphones 
    • UK may ban Huawei from 5G earlier than expected (2022) - Huawei to be banned from Sep 2021 
    • Russian State Commission on Radio Frequencies decides 5G will use exclusively domestic equipment 

Services

  • Video
    • Netflix: To expand ABQ Studios (New Mexico), to spend $1b on production`- UK production spend 2020 rises to GBP 750m
    • ProSieben: Distr deal for ProSieben Fun, Sat.1 Emotions, Kabel Eins Classics with Amazon Prime Channels, 4 EUR/mo each or bundle (Seven Entertainment package) 6 EUR/mo
  • Web services
    • Facebook: FT: to launch Libra currency Jan 2021, backed by USD, dependent on approval from Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority
    • Snap: Launches Spotlight feature (tab): short-form video (curated, creators receive $1m per day) [a la TikTok]
  • Smart city
    • Glasgow interim report on 2018 smart city plan of 73 actions over 5 yr: 12 complete, 43 in development, 11 to begin; joins MetroLab Network for smart city innovation; reaches 3500 intelligent streetlights, 3600 WiFi hotspots in schools

Regulatory

  • RU (Slovakia) ends multiband auction (700, 900, 1800), raises EUR 100m; Orange, O2, Slovak Telekom 2x10 each in 700 band; O2 2x4.2 MHz in 900 band; O2, Slovak Telekom, Swan Mobile 2x3 MHz each in 1800 band
  • EU approves 6 GHz band for WiFi (480 MHz)
  • Google: US State AGs (Texas, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah) plan antitrust lawsuit Dec 2020


Thursday, September 17, 2020

Copying TikTok: Instagram (Reels), Snapchat, Spotify (Video Moments), YouTube (Shorts)

To follow (?):
  • Twitter could expand voice tweets.
  • Pinterest is seeing high growth in video posts.
  • LinkedIn may lend itself for a video elevator pitch.