Things are moving again in the telecom sector
Things are moving again in in the French telecom sector. The forth mobile licence has been confirmed and the main fixed line operators are actively preparing their new box. It is time give some thought on what should happen.
Mr Murdoch is the bad guy again
The British press is now in battle order against Mr Murdoch. Everybody who is somebody and not in News Corp’s team is now fighting against Mr Murdoch’s move to squeeze out BskyB. This may not be good news for the investor who has already factored in BskyB’s share price a significant amount of any potential bid premium. Yet the argument is interesting. Is New Corp’s move threatening the plurality of the British media?
Kerviel: le coupable expiatoire
Nous avons maintenant (du moins jusqu’au procès en appel), et ce grâce à l’autorité de la chose jugée, une vérité officielle sur l’affaire Kerviel : Il a tout fait tout seul après avoir réussi à rentrer frauduleusement dans le système informatique de sa banque que tout le monde croyait sécurisé. Sa hiérarchie n’était pas incompétente mais il a pu jouer au rogue trader et prendre une position de 50 milliards sans que personne ne le remarque.
IPAD's competition is alive and well
Competition with the IPAD for the tablet market is now alive and well and it seems that Apple’s main competitor will be Google. I have counted at least six tablets just in the last few weeks (the Dell Streak, Viewsonic’s Viewpad, the Hannspree tablet, Velocity Micro’s Cruz tablet, Motorala’s next product, Interpad’s E-Noa). All of them work on Androïd.
Hadopi condamné à rester un enquiquinement mineur
Ca y est c’est presque fait. Hadopi va commencer ses activités à la fin de la semaine. Je l'ai déjà dit et je le répète: Je suis assez peu convaincu de l’efficacité de cette usine à gaz pour contrer le téléchargement illégal.
Orange to withdraw from content
Stéphane Richard confirmed the information this morning: France Telecom is to withdraw from its private channels, Orange Cinema Series and Orange Sport. This is absolutely logical. We always had doubts on expected synergies between content and carriers. This model has never worked in any place (including the US) or with any medium.
A qui profite la nouvelle TVA ?
Ce n’est pas encore officiel mais c’est « hautement probable » : la TVA sur la part Television des offres triple play va passer de 5.5% à 19.6%. Concrètement cela représente une hausse de l’abonnement de 2€ soit 6% si l’augmentation est répercutée intégralement.
Going away
Good bye dear reader. I am leaving for the rest of the month and going to far away places in Southern Africa. I wish you very good summertime and hopes to serve you again when I come back from the big five countries.
Poker game between Vivendi and Lagardere
Lagardere has just announced that it was considering floating its 20% minority interest in Canal+ France. This is not really a surprise. A few days ago, Vivendi refused Lagardere’s offer on a valuation of €1.35bn. With very few other potential buyers, floating the paper is the only credible alternative.
Cannes Festival signals change in TV
Unlike last year when emerging markets made a big impression, Cannes lions winners mainly come from developed countries this year. What is interesting is that the shift from TV to Internet is now official. Every commentator announces the end of the 30 second TV spot as the king format.