The distribution side was slightly weak again, but the prospects for the Christmas quarter are much better, with the iPhone exclusivity a big help even if its sales prove to be weak

O2’s new broadband offer is sensibly pitched as high quality at a reasonable price, but its reported target of 1 million users by 2010 looks ambitious

BSkyB’s 17.9% shareholding in ITV is likely to lead to a substantial lessening of competition in the all-TV market, according to the provisional findings of the Competition Commission (CC) investigation announced on 2nd October 2007

Ofcom’s consultation document on Next Generation Access indicates a desire to avoid regulatory impediments to investment, not to force BT to act

At 30th June 2007 there were approximately 14.5 million fixed broadband subscribers in the UK and residential broadband penetration was approximately 52%

A new MVNO, Blyk, launched in the UK this week offering limited free texts and voice minutes in exchange for receiving advertising

Ofcom is proposing taking back and re-auctioning over 30% of Vodafone and O2’s 2G spectrum as part of more general plans for ‘refarming’ 2G spectrum to allow its use for 3G services

Further consolidation could lie ahead for the UK commercial radio sector. EMAP is expected to offer its radio assets for sale and Scottish Media Group plans to divest Virgin Radio. The battleground is competition for listeners drawn by the BBC's increasingly popular national radio networks. This report however examines past consolidation, which produced substantial cost savings, without noticeably improving the commercial sector's fortunes. In our view, for consolidation to succeed in this regard, much greater attention will need to be paid to improving content

The Apple iPhone will finally be available in the UK on 9th November, sold exclusively through Apple, O2 and Carphone Warehouse, and costing a hefty £269 when bought with a minimum £35 a month 18 month contract

Emap’s decision in July 2007 to sell off the entire group – consumer magazines, radio and business-to-business (B2B) – as a whole or in parts, provides the context for our examination of the state of the consumer magazine sector. The recently released ABC circulation figures highlight the plight of this sector as a whole and, within it, the precarious state of certain genres, especially lad's magazines. This report presents our analysis of the ABC circulation figures and provides our forecasts for the sector to 2012