Ofcom slams proposed EU broadcast video directive

The UK communications watchdog Ofcom has thrown its weight behind criticism of the move to regulate new video services over the Internet. A study carried out by RAND Europe and commissioned by Ofcom warns that Europe may miss out on new industries if it moves to regulate too soon. The European Commission is currently considering a new directive to member states that would extend regulation currently applied to TV to all 'video' services, defined as those whose principal purpose is the provision of moving images. ...more

A new Flash

Macromedia has released Flash MX the latest version of the animated Web content application that has proved very popular both for the presentation of Web content - the homepage of this site included - and for the creation of standalone animations within more traditional HTML-based sites. With this upgrade Macromedia has made significant changes to the way Flash works. These include a new interface that conforms to those used by Macromedia's other mainstream Web applications, Fireworks and Dreamweaver. ...more

Vodafone plugs in '3G broadband' data cards

Vodafone will launch its Mobile Connect 3G broadband data cards tomorrow, for wireless Internet access from laptops. Dubbed by Vodafone as '3G broadband', the PCMCIA cards are based on HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology. This extends 3G network performance and could provide more direct competition to fixed line and wireless broadband. ...more

Cable nets a million broadbanders

Six months after the announcement that the UK had one million broadband subscribers, cable operators NTL and Telewest have announced they have the same number on cable alone. With a claimed three in four customers choosing cable over ADSL, where the choice is available, the lion's share of the broadband pie goes to cable. BT expects ADSL to hit the one million mark this summer. ...more

Intel takes $600 million hit on Wireless Group

Chip giant is to write down $600 million from its Wireless Communications and Computing Group from its fourth quarter results. The 'goodwill impairment charge', as it is called, is because the company estimates that long term growth is not expected to be as bullish as previously estimated. The write down is despite the fact that Intel has put a huge amount of marketing effort into boosting WiFi this year following the launch of the Centrino technologies in March. ...more