This desire for all digital is also perhaps an announcement effect. "He speaks of 'a few years' for this change, which is very imprecise and probably also intended to reassure its shareholder KKR", analyzes François Godard, analyst at Enders Analysis.
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Northern Ireland Protocol: The Windsor Framework
6 March 2023The Windsor Framework aims to defuse tensions between the UK and the European Union (EU) over the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, by allowing a low-friction green lane for goods shipped from Great Britain that terminate in Northern Ireland, and a red lane for goods at risk of being placed on the EU Single Market.
While goods landed in Northern Ireland that are not at risk of being placed on the EU Single Market benefit from trade facilitation, those produced in Northern Ireland that are at risk remain subject to EU laws, which must be aligned by the UK Parliament or the Assembly, as they change.
Whether the unionists agree to restoring power-sharing with the nationalists in the Assembly under the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement depends on their acceptance that Northern Ireland will remain in the EU Single Market, to preserve seamless trade across the land border with the Republic of Ireland/EU.
Tech at MWC 2023: Tomorrow’s technology...tomorrow
3 March 2023At this year’s Mobile World Congress, new hardware was stuck in beta, but glasses-free 3D screens impressed.
The metaverse confronted its identity crisis in a deflated hype cycle: blockchain and NFTs withdrew to the shadows, leaving the focus on enterprise and industrial applications.
AI: while aware of the (numerous) issues, discussions occasionally skated over issues of effectiveness, data inputs, the role of humans, and conditions for adoption.
Joseph Teasdale was quoted in LesEchos on "Meta: Mark Zuckerberg knocked out, but not knocked out"
3 March 2023The idea of connection at the heart of social networks has indeed moved towards private circles, which are more difficult to monetize. And competition to Messenger and WhatsApp is fierce, especially among young people where services like Discord and BeReal are increasingly popular. “The great strength of Facebook was the control of the 'social graph': 2 billion normal people produced content about their lives for their friends and families. They didn't need to be paid for and they didn't unionize. But today, the model has changed: on TikTok, you don't find the people you know, but the best creatives ,” notes Joseph Teasdale.
Virgin Media O2: Tricky transition ahead
2 March 2023Q4 results were resilient on the top line and stellar at the EBITDA level with mobile compensating for pressures elsewhere, although the company has warned of a tough first quarter 2023 before recovery
Steps are being taken to improve the prospects of the fixed business but they will take time to bear fruit and there may be rocky times in the process, notably the spring price increases this year
2023 looks set to be a strong year financially, even if some KPIs remain challenging, with the structure of the nexfibre deal flattering the longer-term picture
Future's future - Future plc has a new boss
1 March 2023Jon Steinberg has been announced as the new CEO of Future, one of the most hotly anticipated executive appointments in UK media, succeeding Zillah Byng-Thorne, who has turned a publishing basket case into a digital powerhouse
Future’s new CEO will double down on US expansion, and take on the thorny challenge of transitioning female lifestyle content through the ecommerce utility funnel so successfully applied to tech and gaming
Steinberg’s appointment looks more evolution than revolution, cementing the transformation carved out by his predecessor, though his entrepreneurial experience may yet bring further innovation and M&A
Francois Godard was quoted in the Financial Times on Bertelsmann’s ‘raven father’ chief executive under fire after setbacks
28 February 2023François Godard, who covers media at the research group Enders Analysis, said Rabe had recently been “going from one problem to the other” and would need to come up with a convincing “plan B” after his setbacks.
Alice Enders was quoted in The Guardian on "How slippers left the comfort of home to become a status symbol"
27 February 2023“The rise of casual footwear goes back 15 years now to the redoubtable Ugg,” says Alice Enders, director of research at media insights company Enders Analysis. “And then the pandemic lockdowns reinforced the trend of casual wear.”
Fixed wireless access: Having its moment
24 February 2023Providing home broadband connections via a mobile network (FWA) is gaining traction in certain markets where local conditions make it a viable alternative to fibre, such as New Zealand, Italy and the US.
FWA is a time-limited opportunity for most, with mobile traffic growth absorbing capacity for it and fixed traffic growth depleting the economic case. An ultimate shift to fibre is the best exit strategy.
In the UK, H3G's spare capacity could support up to 1 million FWA customers on a ten-year view—enough for a meaningful revenue fillip for H3G, but not enough to seriously disrupt the fixed market.