TOP NEWS IN TMT
* The U.K.'s competition regulator fined Facebook Inc. £50.5 million, equivalent to $69.6 million, alleging it breached reporting requirements during a continuing review of its proposed takeover of Giphy Inc., Dow Jones Newswires reported. The Competition and Markets Authority said Facebook had failed to provide required updates outlining its compliance with an interim order the watchdog imposed in 2020 as part of its review of the Giphy deal.
* EU countries will delay the finalization of new legislation regulating big tech companies to spring 2022, stating they aim to reach an agreement "as soon as possible," Bloomberg News reported, citing draft conclusions.
➤ Sports streamer DAZN could take a shot at Sky's UK soccer dominance
The "Netflix of sport" could take on Comcast Corp.'s Sky Ltd. in its home ground but risks relegation from the Premier League without help from incumbent British Telecom.
➤ Global Multichannel: UK streaming boom drives channel closure, innovation
The U.K. TV channel landscape is undergoing more changes as broadcasters adapt to the changing demands of audiences.
TECHNOLOGY
* Avast PLC's third-quarter 2021 adjusted EBITDA rose 0.8% to $127 million compared with the same period a year earlier, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The Czech-based cybersecurity company's adjusted revenue for the quarter was $232.7 million.
* A Swiss court denied Google LLC's attempt to block the award of a government cloud computing contract, worth up to CHF 110 million, to competing bidders, Reuters reported, citing a court statement. The Alphabet Inc. unit can appeal the ruling to the country's supreme court.
* French IT company Atos SE said that Eutelsat Communications SA CEO Rodolphe Belmer will become its new CEO as Elie Girard has stepped down, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Belmer will start his mandate on Jan. 20, 2022, at the latest.
* Ericsson launched its Network Data Analytics Function solution, based on data-driven networks that learn and improve. It lets service providers use the data to flag and fix problems.
* U.K. satellite company OneWeb Ltd. allocated $350 million to develop an upgraded Mk 2 version of its satellites, Advanced Television reported.
* The U.K. government started a research project exploring how research and development in artificial intelligence can be successfully commercialized and brought to the market.
INTERNET & OTT
* U.K.'s Inmarsat Group Holdings Ltd. announced that its strategic partner, Indian telco BSNL, secured licenses to bring the former's mobile broadband services to Indian airlines for in-flight connectivity.
* Liberty Global PLC-owned Virgin Media launched its new Hub 5 Wi-Fi router, powered by Wi-Fi 6 technology. The router can support multi-gigabit speeds.
* The Norwegian data protection authority called for stricter consent requirements in the country's new electronic communications law, Kampanje reported. The regulator said Norway's internet users have had poorer privacy than users in the rest of the EU and the European Economic Area for years.
* BT-owned Openreach Ltd. will halt offering its copper-based products and services in 79 exchanges, covering about 500,000 premises, Advanced Television reported.
* Red Bull struck a deal to bring Red Bull TV to Toshiba Corp.'s TV sets in the U.K., Digital TV Europe reported. The free-to-view app offers extreme sports content as well as cultural and music programming.
MEDIA
* Members of the European Parliament adopted a resolution to provide substantial support to the media sector from the EU and its member states to help it recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and transform to meet the needs of the digital age.
* Poland-based game developer CD Projekt SA announced in a tweet that it is postponing the next generation updates of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt until 2022.
* Discovery Inc.-owned Polish broadcaster TVN SA struck a multiyear deal with Eutelsat, allowing TVN to use incremental in-orbit resources at Eutelsat's HOTBIRD video neighborhood.
* Russian cybergang Evil Corp. has been linked to the recent attack on Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., Bloomberg News reported, citing two sources.
* German film and TV production company MMC Studios Köln GmbH is taking over Cologne-based production group Magic Eye Gmbh, DWDL reported.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
* Italy's data protection regulator imposed a fine of €3.2 million on Sky Italia SRL for aggressive telemarketing methods in handling the personal data of customers, Telecompaper reported.
* Serbia's Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Tatjana Matić said the country's 5G spectrum auction will take place in the first half of 2022, Telecompaper reported, citing FoNet. Telcos including Telekom Srbija a.d., A1 Srbija and Telenor Srbija have reportedly expressed interest in the auction.
* Proximus and Unifiber, a joint venture between Proximus and Eurofiber Nederland BV, connected 621,000 homes and businesses to their open gigabit network in 15 cities in Wallonia, Belgium, in the first half of 2021. The companies plan to connect 4.2 million addresses to the Belgian fiber network by 2028.
* Swiss operator Sunrise Communications AG deployed Nokia Corp.'s digital operations software to support its networks and services as well as develop new internet of things and 5G services.
* A majority of Belgium's parliament rejected a bill forcing messaging services to decrypt content for police investigations as it would involve security risks, DataNews reported.
* U.K. communications regulator Ofcom said new research shows almost 45 million people in Britain have received potential scam texts or calls in the last three months.
FILM & TV
* Media Telecom, a subsidiary of Russia's Rostelecom PJSC and National Media Group JSC, received licenses to launch four sports TV channels, Broadband TV News reported.
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Phoebe Magdirila, Anne Freier, Amanda Kelly, Koen Pijnappels and Esben Svendsen contributed to this report.
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