TOP NEWS
*Globe Telecom hasstruck a partnershipwith Netflix Inc.,allowing the Philippines-based operator to offer the streamingservice to its subscribers. Under the deal, Globe customers with a Netflixaccount will be able to charge the monthly subscription fee to their mobile orbroadband accounts.
*Singtel has announcedthe launch of its OTT video portal app Cast, which offers access to a varietyof Asian and child-friendly HD content from Viu and , streamed over theSingaporean telco's 4G network. Cast offers four contentpacks: Viu Premium, Kids, Asia Hits, and Hallyu for Korean entertainment, eachpriced at S$4.90 per month.
*Huawei Technologies Co.Ltd. has filed a lawsuit against for patentinfringement. The Chinese tech giant claims T-Mobile has been using Huawei'spatents related to specific 4G wireless networking technologies. It also claimsit approached T-Mobile to arrange a licensing agreement, but the U.S.-basedfirm refused to discuss the matter. T-Mobile US is a unit of .
*Japanese satellite operator JSATCorp. is in talks with U.K. private equity group Permira Ltd. for apotential acquisition of Asia Broadcast Satellite for about US$1 billion, The Financial Times reports.Spain's Hispasat SAis also interested in Permira's satellite business. Permira and JSAT declinedto comment. SKY Perfect JSATHoldings Inc. owns JSAT Corp.
*SoftBank Group Corp.and U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co. LP have invested US$65 million intoU.K.-based cybersecurity company Darktrace, TheNikkan Kogyo Shimbun reports. Darktraceuses artificial intelligence to detect threats. The current funding round isexpected to ensure its expansion into the U.S. and Asia.
*Japan's commercial TV broadcasters have jointly launched the website Gorin.jpto provide video content from the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo's The Nikkei reports.The site will live-stream all the events not aired by terrestrial broadcastingfor free.
*Despite the South Korean Fair Trade Commission disapproving the merger betweenIPTV provider SKBroadband and cable TV operator CJ HelloVision, SK told the Korean IT daily ETnewsthat it won't call off the M&A plan. The SK Telecom Co. Ltd. unit reportedly asked the FTC toextend the period allowed for submitting its opinion on the ruling from twoweeks to one month.
*Apple Inc.'s AppleMusic, which is preparing to launch in South Korea, was granted permission bythe Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to independently negotiateroyalties with musicians outside of the standard copyright fee rule, FinancialNews reports.Korean music business operators are reportedly criticizing the ministry's move,claiming it is unfair treatment.
*The Korea CommunicationsCommission will fine LG Uplus Corp. for failing to comply with aninvestigation into the company's alleged illegal subsidy payments to its outlets,ZDNet Korea reports.Each of the LG executives who refused to cooperate will face a penalty of 5million Korean won, according to the report.
*Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd. announced that its second-quarter operating profit is expectedto exceed 8 trillion Korean won, the KoreaEconomic Daily reports.The increase is reportedly due to the popularity of the high-priced Galaxy S7,as well as reductions in manufacturing costs. owns Samsung Electronics.
,HONG KONG AND TAIWAN
*China's ZTE Corp.sealed a cooperation deal with Greek internet service provider , Broadband TV News reports.The agreement will allow the two companies to work together on a business planto develop a next-generation access network in Greece.
*Qcloud, the cloud service by Tencent Holdings Ltd., announced a partnership withKingdee and ChinaSoft PtyLtd. to attract clients in professional sectors like finance andhealth care, Caixin News reports.Shenzhen-based Kingdee is known for ERP and accounting systems, whileBeijing-based ChinaSoft is known for cloud computing and big data analysis.
*Though banned in China since 2009, micro-blogging website estimates that it hasnearly 10 million users in the country, TechCrunch reports.The estimate gives a glimpse of the number of Chinese online who leap over theso-called "Great Firewall" of censorship to consume whatever theywant on the internet, the report said.
*Chinese e-commerce giant AlibabaGroup Holding Ltd. cloud-computing unit AliCloud Microsoft Corp. veteran Zhou Jingren to serve as itschief scientist. Zhou will head the AliCloud research teams in Beijing andHangzhou, with a focus on developing platforms for big data analysis.
*Chinese appliance maker HisenseCo. Ltd. launched a new laser TV, Tencent News reports. The TV runsthe Android-powered VIDAA system, featuring content including drama series andmovies.
*Taiwanese tech company AcerInc. partnered with Taiwan University to promote its cloud learningsystem BeingNet, Digitimes reports. Theuniversity will buy 60 sets of BeingNet to teach computer science.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
*Facebook Inc. hascollaborated with 20 banks in Singapore to enable customers in the city-stateto make payments using their Facebook ID instead of a bank account number, Financial Times reports.The pilot project is due to take place in the first quarter of 2017.
*Thailand's National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commissioncalled on the country's three major telecoms providers to reimburse customerswho have been overcharged for services, KrungthepTurrakij reports. AdvancedInfo Service, True Move and Dtac have been accused of defrauding customers bycharging per-minute rates for voice calls, violating NBTC regulationsstipulating that calls be charged per second.
*Thai mobile service provider Advanced Info Service launched a cloud computingsuite called AIS Business Cloud, Managerreports.CEO Hui Weng Cheong said in the report that AIS expects to increase its shareof Thailand's cloud market to at least 30% over the next two years.
*Thai startup Ascend Commerce has launched an e-commerce site called WeMall,which is described as Thailand's first online multibrand marketplace, Bangkok Post reports.Developed at a cost of more than 300 million Thai baht, WeMall is expected tofeature over 3,000 brands by 2017.
*Malaysia-based internet TV service provider iflix ispreparing to expand its business outside Southeast Asia by appointing ChristianToksvig as international business development head, Nader Sobhan as head ofMiddle East and North Africa, and Andre De Wet as head of Africa, industry siteIndoTelko reports.
AND NEW ZEALAND
*Optus Wholesale strucka deal with internet service provider SpinTel to provide wholesale NBN accessin Australia via its Residential Broadband Over NBN product. This is in linewith Optus announcingthat its product provides access to all 121 points of interconnection acrossthe country, which ZDNet reportswould allow smaller ISPs like SpinTel to provide NBN services without their owninfrastructure.
*New Zealand telco 2degrees founder Tex Edwards has sold his remaining 0.5%stake in the firm to U.S.-based TrilogyInternational Partners LLC, which holds a 61.55% controlling stake,National Business Review reports.The sale reportedly marks the end of a dispute between the two parties.Financial details were not disclosed.
*The New Zealand government has publicly presented an FTTP installation consentbill and is accepting submissions from interested parties, ZDNet reports.The bill would reportedly make it easier for those with shared propertytelecoms infrastructure to access the Ultra-Fast Broadband's FTTP network bydesignating implied consent from all owners.
*Broadcast transmission network operator Broadcast Australia has acquiredfour NX50 50kW AM transmitters from Canada-based Nautel Ltd. and its in-countrypartner Sonifex Pty. Ltd. to upgrade its legacy 50 kW transmitters acrossAustralia.
AND SOUTH ASIA
*U.S.-based broadcaster A+ENetworks teamed up with Reliance Industries Ltd.-owned TV18 to roll out afactual entertainment channel in India, TheHindu Business Line reports.The channel, called FYI TV18, offers 350 hours of content and targets theHindi-speaking audience.
*Amazon.com Inc. isexpanding its infrastructure in India by adding six fulfillment centers, The Economic Times (India) reports.Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai are among the new locations ofthe planned centers. Fulfillment centers allow small and medium-sizedenterprises to reach out to prospective customers using Amazon's infrastructure.
*YuppTV, anover-the-top service with South Asian content, partnered with Indian digitalmedia company Arre to offer the latter's catalog on the platform. Accordingto The Economic Times (India), Arre'sweb series, social experiments, reality shows, documentaries and non-fictioncontent will be made available to YuppTV Bazaar, the OTT service's onlinemarket for content.
*India's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has been split,with Manoj Sinha appointed as telecoms minister, Press Trust of India reports.Sinha takes the post as the new telecoms department gears up for a spectrumauction and consumers continue to struggle with call drops.
FEATURED NEWS
: FOXNews Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes said ex-Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson'ssexual harassment allegations against him are false, while Verizon Wirelessunveiled a new My Verizon app for its customers as well as Verizon Plan, whichprovides at least 30% more data for each tier.
: Alphabet acquiredMoodstocks, a Paris-based machine-learning company that develops imagerecognition technology, while Vivendi and Orange are in discussions over apossible share swap.
: The 2016 IPO market has been a shy animal, and globaleconomic upheaval could spook underwriters just as the market was beginning tocrawl out into the sun.
: Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime subscribers can now exclusivelystream a range of PBS Kids series on Amazon Prime Video, while DISH NetworkCorp.'s Sling TV introduced new single-stream and multistream services.
: This new weekly feature highlightssome of the latest regulatory news centered on the media and communicationsindustries.
FEATURED RESEARCH
: The use of ad-blockingsoftware has quickly moved from the tech fringes to mainstream users, driven inno small part by the desire to avoid video ads at popular OTT videodestinations and social platforms.
: HBO (US) and Showtime (US)debuted their stand-alone subscription over-the-top services last year andStarz followed suit this April. Here, we catalog each service's on-demandcontent library and highlight interesting data points.
: Users of ad-blocking software are younger and more techsavvy when compared to total survey respondents. This technology, which is nowwidely available on both PC/laptops and mobile devices, is a serious concernfor those seeking to monetize free online content.
: While 5G is not expected to launchcommercially until 2020, a look back at LTE build outs illustrates how quicklythe big four carriers can upgrade a nationwide network.
: Brazil suffered a 5.4%year-over-year decline in gross domestic product in the first quarter, and theeconomic troubles have spilled over to the country's telecommunicationsindustry.
Nozomi Ibayashi, Sunny Um,Frances Wang, Patrick Tibke and Kevin Osmond contributed to this report. TheDaily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. Hong Kong time. Some externallinks may require a subscription.