* The European Commission ordered Broadcom Inc. to "immediately stop" enforcing its exclusivity deals with set-top box and modem makers, amid an ongoing antitrust investigation into the contracts. The commission also told the U.S. chipmaker to cease implementing the same exclusivity provisions or any equivalent retaliatory practices in its other deals with suppliers. Broadcom said it will challenge the order, Reuters reports.
* Subscription video-on-demand service BritBox secured 250 hours of content for its North American catalog via deals with Endemol Shine Group unit Endemol Shine International and Kew Media Group Inc.'s Kew Media Distribution, TBI Vision reports.
* The U.K. is prepared to use 5G and gigabit-capable technology to deliver faster internet speeds, said Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan. Pressed by fellow members of parliament on the feasibility of meeting a target for full-fiber broadband nationwide by 2025, Morgan said, "I am saying 2025," though she admitted that was a "very ambitious" goal.
* Operators need to increase automation efforts and plan new data center locations strategically as the second wave of 5G use cases arrive, Nokia Corp.'s head of digital design Evren Tosyali said. The telcos have begun trialing second-wave use cases with Nokia such as cloud gaming and edge computing.
UK AND IRELAND
* Sky Ltd. unit Sky Ireland reached a settlement with Ireland's Commission for Communications Regulation regarding a High Court dispute over wholesale broadband charges, Dublin's The Irish Times reports. Sky challenged Comreg's 2018 ruling that allows Eir, formerly Eircom, to charge other telcos for using its network to sell telecom services.
* Equistone Partners Europe Ltd. is among a handful of bidders for XLN Telecom Ltd., a U.K.-based provider of low-cost phone, broadband and energy services, London's The Daily Telegraph reports, citing City sources. XLN, which is working with Lazard on the auction, could reportedly be valued between £150 million and £200 million in a sale.
* Cubic Telecom Ltd. and Canada's Rogers Communications Inc. teamed up to provide a connected car service for Canadians. Under the partnership, carmakers would be able to access Cubic Telecom's PACE platform and connected car service through Rogers' mobile network.
GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA
* The German government wants multiple manufacturers to take part in the expansion of the country's 5G mobile network, amid security concerns over Chinese supplier Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Reuters reports.
* German children's magazine publisher Blue Ocean Entertainment AG announced a licensing agreement with media company Studio 100 Media GmbH. The agreement covers the creation and publication of magazines in Germany.
* Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland GmbH is launching an offshoot of Geo Television in France, in partnership with Gruner + Jahr AG & Co. KG and Prisma Media SNC, DWDL reports. The Geo Télévision France channel will be available on Amazon.com Inc.'s Amazon Prime.
FRANCE
* Altice France SA's SFR began offering three 5G smartphones, following experiments in Paris, Nantes and Toulouse. On Wednesday, the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G, Huawei Mate20 X 5G and Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G were made available in SFR shops and on SFR.fr.
* Radio France named Bruno Laforestrie president of its diversity and equality committee. Laforestrie will define the committee's priorities and actions in line with Radio France's commitment to diversity.
* Lagardère SCA unit Lagardère Studios launched Cameron's, a production label that will focus on international programming, CB News reports.
NETHERLANDS,
* KPN NV scheduled a special meeting of its shareholders on Nov. 27. During the meeting, the Dutch operator intends to discuss the reappointment of Joost Farwerck as CEO and management board chairman, and the appointment Chris Figee as CFO and management board member.
* Dutch daily BN DeStem named André Trompers its new editor-in-chief, Villamedia reports. Trompers will replace Hille van der Kaa, who recently announced her intention to retire. Trompers was already the acting editor-in-chief when Van der Kaa was on maternity leave.
NORDIC COUNTRIES
* Finnish operator Elisa Oyj opened a 5G network in the city of Lahti. The network, which initially covers Lahti's central portion and an exhibition center, will be expanded by year-end.
* Denmark energy and fiber network company SEAS-NVE AmbA struck a partnership with internet of things infrastructure provider Cibicom on the development of smart city solutions. SEAS-NVE will gain access to Cibicom's national IoT network, while SEAS-NVE's current IoT network will be integrated into Cibicom's IoT infrastructure.
* Bharti Airtel Ltd. tapped Ericsson to strengthen its core network in India. Under the tie-up, Ericsson will deploy its 5G-ready Cloud Packet Core and other services on Airtel's network.
* The Danish Agency for Modernization sent the agreement on maintenance and service of the Danish state's Oracle Corp. software out to tender for the second time. The first competition was annulled, as the offers received could not be evaluated due to a mix-up. The deal has a value of 250 million Danish kroner.
SOUTHERN EUROPE
* Over-the-top service Planet Horror debuted on Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.'s smart TV units in Spain, Advanced Television reports. The platform offers a selection of horror films for €19.99 per year. AMC Networks Inc., Wild Duck and RedRum jointly operate Planet Horror.
* MásMóvil Ibercom SA added Mediaset España Comunicación SA's OTT service Mitele Plus to its soccer offer, Advanced Television reports. Subscribers of MásMóvil's Agile TV service will be able to watch soccer games via the Mitele Plus platform.
EASTERN EUROPE
* SPI International Inc. affiliate Kino Polska TV SA announced the launch of a production arm in Poland. The unit will focus on producing blockbuster films as well as TV productions that focus on Polish heritage and culture.
* Croatian telecom regulator HAKOM imposed a fine of up to 28 million Croatian kuna on Hrvatski Telekom for failing to submit price lists of its services for retail customers, Broadband TV News reports, citing Poslovni. The Deutsche Telekom AG unit will reportedly pay the highest ever fine imposed on a Croatian telco.
FEATURED NEWS
Hires and Fires: Investor wins seats on Tix board; Interpublic appoints independent director: Tix Corp. reached an agreement with an investor group to resolve certain disputes regarding the election of directors, while Interpublic Group of Cos. Inc. appointed Linda Sanford as an independent director of the company.
FEATURED RESEARCH
Global Multichannel: Global markets update — Turkey: Kagan has recently updated Global Multichannel and Broadband analyses for Turkey, as well as analyses for related operators Türksat Satellite Comms & Cable, D-Smart, Digiturk Holdings NV and Türk Telekomünikasyon AŞ.
Wireless Investor: Do carrier mergers impact tower growth?: We reviewed 35 years of tower growth to see what it takes to slow tower growth and it’s the double whammy of a recession combined with big mergers.
RECENT EARNINGS
Competition impacts Netflix Q4 guidance as Q3 represents 'sigh of relief': Netflix Inc. reported a third quarter that one analyst called "a sigh of relief," and executives tried to assuage concerns as streaming competition is set to escalate rapidly in the fourth quarter and beyond.
IBM's stock falls as Q3 revenue declines despite Red Hat purchase, cloud growth: International Business Machines Corp.'s third-quarter revenue was down 3.9% year over year to $18.03 billion, despite contributions from Red Hat Inc., the open source software firm IBM acquired in July for about $34 billion.
Anne Freier, Amanda Kelly, Charlotte van Hek and Esben Svendsen contributed to this report.
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