Just like European monopoly telcos, France’s government is jealous of the massive money being made from companies like Google on user data, and is now contemplating a tax or toll on American companies. Unlike previous taxation attempts that focused on taxing advertising, the New York Times says a new French proposal would impose a levy on the collection of user data. “We want to work to ensure that Europe is not a tax haven for [...]

AT&T has historically focused on acquisitions and growth before all else, and is now unsurprisingly extending those ambitions into Europe. According to the Wall Street Journal, the phone giant is now studying potential acquisition targets in Europe, and a deal is expected to be announced before the end of the year. AT&T’s growth is constrained in the States, where the company has no interest in expanding its fixed line broadband services, and the stunning growth [...]

DALLAS, TX — Low ARPUs, growing competitive threats, and rival multiscreen services are driving many pay-TV providers in Europe and Asia to explore new business strategies in video services, according to international research firm Parks Associates. “TV Everywhere: Growth, Solutions, and Strategies — Europe and Asia/Pacific,” a new report from Parks Associates, indicates multiscreen services now reach 66 percent of pay-TV subscribers in Western Europe, 21 percent in Eastern Europe, and 9 percent in Asia, [...]

One of the European Union’s most ambitious targets is to make sure that all its citizens can get access to superfast broadband at home, if they choose, by 2020. A new study by Point Topic, a provider of research on DSL, FTTx, cable and other broadband suppliers, shows Europe is now halfway toward achieving that aim. The study has been produced for DG Connect, the department of the European Commission which is responsible for its [...]

LONDON, UK — A new study from the fiber consultancy experts of Ventura Team and financial experts Portland Advisors has calculated that a full switchover from copper-based to completely fiber-based broadband (FTTH) could take 92 years unless EU governments decide to significantly change telecom regulations and embark on a comprehensive fiber switchover Plan. The current switchover is happening at a snail’s pace and it could seriously obstruct economic growth across Europe for a long time [...]

AT&T has once again revamped their calling, texting and Wi-Fi access plans for customers traveling outside of the United States. According to a company press statement, AT&T’s new Travel Minutes packages allows customers to save money in over 200 countries, providing a “tremendous value over pay-per-use rates.” The move comes after both AT&T and Verizon revamped their international data packages last June. These new packages differ based on whether you’re visiting other parts of North [...]

LONDON– Statistics putting the UK near the bottom of fiber deployments in Europe may be ready for an uptick. Tobias Ahl, CEO of Rala, a Swedish specialist in installations of fiber networks, said there has been a real upsurge in the number of UK projects reaching the planning phase. Rala, which has been brought in by two community network projects in the UK, estimates that between 30 and 40 community projects are in the design [...]

BRUSSELS – The latest FTTH panorama update, prepared for the FTTH Council Europe by IDATE, shows an accelerated but insufficient 16 percent subscriber increase in Europe for the first half of 2012. The update ranks the 22 FTTH economies where more than 1 percent of the households are FTTH/B subscribers. Europe (EU27+9) reported a solid 16.4 percent increase in the number of FTTH/B subscribers during the first half of 2012, and FTTH/B coverage across Europe [...]

Just as Apple was doing what it does best (product launch hype), RIM was busy doing what it currently does best: screwing up and suffering an outage. Reuters notes that the company’s Blackberry services suffered a significant outage today across Europe, the Middle East & Africa. The company says the outage has since been resolved, but failed to offer an explanation for what caused it. The timing of the outage was obviously poor, given that [...]

The European Commission has announced a cap on roaming charges for those using EU networks. From July, 3G providers will only be allowed to charge up to 0.70 ($0.90) for every megabyte of data their customers use away from their home networks. “We have ended the rip-offs familiar to anyone who has used a mobile phone while travelling abroad. I am pleased that year after year the European Union is putting money back in the [...]