Space42 signs contract for Autonomous A2Z testing in UAE
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 15:19

Space42 signs contract for Autonomous A2Z testing in UAE

Space42 has signed a USD 7 million commercial agreement with Autonomous A2Z (A2Z), South Korea's autonomous driving company, to deploy Level 4 mobility solutions across the UAE. Marking the first commercial contract under their broader partnership, this direct supply agreement operates independently of the joint venture the two companies announced in 2025 to scale intelligent mobility over the long term.

Belgian minister calls for investigation into rise in Play Sports price
BELGIUM 14:07

Belgian minister calls for investigation into rise in Play Sports price

Belgium's minister for consumer protection has called for the competition authority to look into the increase in prices for Telenet's Play Sports package. Rob Beenders said the telecom regulator Bipt and the Belgian Competition Authority need to look at the prices and whether the increase over the past two years is justified. 

Lowi adds Dazn to convergent plans
SPAIN 13:48

Lowi adds Dazn to convergent plans

Vodafone Spain's low-cost brand Lowi has further enhanced its convergent offer by adding two of Dazn's packages to its streaming options. Customers can now choose to include the Dazn Futbol plan with access to five games per matchday from LaLiga EA Sports, all games from the Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue and LaLiga Hypermotion as well as the top ten matches from the third-tier Primera Federación.

Lufthansa starts on-board Wi-Fi powered by Starlink
EUROPE 13:35

Lufthansa starts on-board Wi-Fi powered by Starlink

Lufthansa has confirmed plans to equip all 850 of its aircraft across its airlines with Wi-Fi connections powered by Starlink by 2029. The first flight to provide Startlink-powered Wi-Fi is planned for 19 August, aboard an Airbus A320neo. Other airlines of the Lufthansa group including Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways, Edelweiss, Discover Airlines, Air Dolomiti, Lufthansa City Airlines, and Eurowings are preparing to roll out the new satellite technology as well.

Skylink drops two TV channels
SLOVAKIA 12:58

Skylink drops two TV channels

Slovak pay-TV operator Skylink stopped carrying the TV channel English Club from 04 August. The operator did not give a reason for the decision. From 25 August, the music channel Mezzo won't be available for subscribers of the satellite TV service from Skylink. Nevertheless, the channel will remain in the lineup of the online TV service Skylink Live TV.

One Hungary to shut down terrestrial TV service in November
HUNGARY 09:17

One Hungary to shut down terrestrial TV service in November

One Hungary announced that it will officially phase out the One terrestrial TV service from 30 November, terminating access for all remaining subscribers, reported HWSW. The operator cited a strategic business decision for retiring the least popular service in its TV portfolio, fulfilling its obligation to notify affected customers within the mandatory 90-day window.

RTL upgrades FY EBITA guidance for streaming business as revenue growth continues in Q2
EUROPE 09:14

RTL upgrades FY EBITA guidance for streaming business as revenue growth continues in Q2

RTL Group has raised the full-year EBITA target for its streaming activities, which cover RTL+ in Germany and Hungary, M6+ in France and Bedrock. Across these operations, adjusted EBITA improved to EUR 31 million in the six months to June, up by EUR 65 million from minus EUR 34 million in H1 2025. It is now expected to reach EUR 100 million for the whole of 2026, compared with the previous guidance range of EUR 25-50 million.

Rocket Lab plans 3rd launch site in Alaska as backlog grows to USD 2.4 bln
UNITED STATES 08:16

Rocket Lab plans 3rd launch site in Alaska as backlog grows to USD 2.4 bln

Rocket Lab announced plans for a new launch site in Alaska, giving the company three locations to put satellites into orbit. The site makes use of GHOST, its new containerised launch system that can be deployed for launches anywhere in the world. 

Rocket Lab expands European footprint with new German arm
GERMANY 08:00

Rocket Lab expands European footprint with new German arm

Rocket Lab has announced a strategic expansion of its footprint in Europe by establishing Rocket Lab Germany. The German arm is intended to scale up satellite and component manufacturing in Germany and support Europe's autonomy in the space industry. Rocket Lab Germany will deliver launch services on the company's Electron and Neutron rockets, ensuring critical European programmes have assured access to space, according to the company.

Japan completes launch of new Michibiki positioning satellite
JAPAN 07:42

Japan completes launch of new Michibiki positioning satellite

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has completed the launch of a new Michibiki satellite aboard its H3 launch vehicle from Tanegashima Space Center. The agency said the rocket flew as planned, and approximately 29 minutes after the liftoff, the separation of the satellite was confirmed and it was lifted into the predetermined orbit.

Kepler picks Rocket Lab for dedicated satellite launch in 2028
GLOBAL 06:46

Kepler picks Rocket Lab for dedicated satellite launch in 2028

Kepler Communications awarded a launch contract to Rocket Lab to deploy new low Earth orbit satellites. The dedicated Neutron mission from the Rocket Lab site in Virginia will take place no earlier than 2028, deploying multiple satellites to expand Kepler's constellation with additional optical connectivity, on-orbit compute, and hosted payload capacity.  

Xona navigation project moves ahead thanks to FCC clearance
GLOBAL 06:22

Xona navigation project moves ahead thanks to FCC clearance

Navigation satellite developer Xona said it was given the go ahead by the US Federal Communications Commission for its planned low Earth orbit constellation and Pulsar navigation service. The company plans to bring over 250 satellites into orbit, with the first batch, consisting of six production-grade spacecraft, set to launch in October.

NETHERLANDS 10 AUG

Delta allows customers to opt out of ESPN channels and higher TV price

Delta is offering customers the possibility to opt out of the ESPN channels recently added to its TV package and not pay the extra EUR 2.50 per month added to the price. This is available with the Basis TV Compact package the Dutch operator confirmed to the news site Totaal TV. Customers need to contact the customer service if they want the alternative subscription. 

NORWAY 10 AUG

Telenor mobile network supports Arctic Race of Norway television production for first time

Telenor said it will be using its mobile network for Arctic Race of Norway broadcasting from 13 to 16 August. The cycling competition has four stages, from Evenes to Myre, Boe in Vesteralen to Andenes, Stokemarknes to Storheia, and Sortland to Narvik. Support equipment, television personnel, spectators and residents will have mobile service coverage on all four stretches but this is the first time that TV production itself will use Telenor's mobile network to transmit images from cameras mounted on motorcyc

UNITED KINGDOM 10 AUG

BBC Cymru Wales signs new 3-year broadcast deal with FAW

The BBC has announced a new 3-year deal between BBC Cymru Wales and the Football Association of Wales (FAW). The agreement will allow BBC Cymru Wales to show at least 20 live domestic Welsh football matches per season on iPlayer through summer 2029. It will also have coverage updates on BBC Sport Online. Jack Sharp, FAW Head of Domestic Leagues, said this new deal doubles the FAW's free live broadcast offering compared to the 2025/26 season.

BOLIVIA 10 AUG

Bolivia to install 5,000 Starlink antennas at rural schools

Bolivia will install more than 5,000 Starlink antennas in unconnected areas over the coming months to provide internet access to rural schools, President Rodrigo Paz said in an address marking the country's 201st anniversary. The rollout, part of the government's Connected Classroom programme, will initially target rural and semi-urban schools in the departments of La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. State-owned operator Entel will oversee the installations and aims to achieve nationwide coverage by the end

SOUTH AFRICA 10 AUG

MultiChoice's DStv discontinues 4 channels in latest line-up overhaul

MultiChoice South Africa LicenceCo is cutting four channels from its DStv bouquet on 16 September, MyBroadband reported. M-Net Movies 1, kykNET Lekker, Mzansi Bioskop and Mzansi Music will cease broadcasting at 23:59 hrs, although content from these channels will be redistributed to other DStv offerings. A spokesperson said the cuts are part of a broader line-up overhaul that includes renaming several SuperSport channels from 19 August.

LIBYA 10 AUG

Arabsat and Libya Telecom sign satellite connectivity deal

The Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat) and Libya Telecom and Technology (LTT) have agreed a partnership to deliver secure and reliable satellite services in Libya. Arabsat will supply High Throughput Satellite (HTS) capacity via Arabsat-6A at Arabsat-6A at 30.5 degrees to support LTT's growing connectivity demands. The partnership also creates a platform to explore opportunities for collaboration and expanded service capabilities to address the needs of government, enterprise, telecommunic

ITALY 10 AUG

Dazn Italia renews top-flight Portuguese football league rights to 2028

Live sports streaming service Dazn Italia has announced an agreement to continue broadcasting games from the top-tier Liga Portugal Betclic men's football league for another two seasons. Under the deal, Dazn will air all the matches from the three leading Primeira Liga teams Porto, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon until 2028.

EUROPE 8 AUG

Eutelsat and SES issue market updates on Iris2 investments

Satellite operators Eutelsat and SES, both partners in the SpaceRISE consortium, have provided market updates on their investment commitments to Europe's Iris2 programme. The announcements coincide with confirmation that the planned IRIS2 network will expand in scope and reach a total of 348 satellites. Commenting on the development, Eutelsat said its commitments now include EUR 2.23 billion of investment in shared Iris2 infrastructure assets, along with a further EUR 1.16 billion for infrastructure includi

UNITED STATES 7 AUG

FCC takes forward proposal to permit D2D satellite access in licence-exempt devices

The US Federal Communications Commission has voted to explore measures that could allow Wi-Fi devices and other license-exempt wireless equipment to connect with D2D satellite fleets. It comes after the FCC chairman, Brendan Carr,  initially submitted the proposal in July with the goal of unlocking roughly 200 MHz in unlicensed bandwidth for D2D satellite communications.

SPAIN 7 AUG

Telefonica halves prices of Movistar Plus TV service

Telefonica has launched a promotion to encourage new users to sign up to its Movistar Plus IPTV offering ahead of the start of the football season. Under the promo, the full version of Movistar Plus is available for EUR 4.99 a month for three months, compared to the usual price of EUR 9.99.

EUROPE 7 AUG

EU expands Iris2 constellation to 348 satellites, Hispasat named prime contractor

The European Commission has reached an agreement with the SpaceRISE consortium led by Eutelsat, SES and Hispasat to further expand the Iris2 satellite constellation. The deal adds 66 satellites into low Earth orbit to the EUR 15.6 billion programme, bringing the main constellation to 348 satellites, and moving it from planning to full-scale deployment, said the EC.

UNITED KINGDOM 7 AUG

BBC Sport MI signs new broadcast deal with Irish FA, NIFL

The BBC has announced a new 3-year broadcast agreement between BBB Sport Northern Ireland (NI) and the Irish FA and the Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL). This covers free-to-air coverage of domestic and international football games on iPlayer, online, TV and radio. This includes continued live coverage of N Ireland senior women's games, NIFL games and domestic cup competitions. This new deal follows an announcement that BBC Sport NI will show all N Ireland's Senior Men's International games through J

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Background

9 AUG 23:44

The week in telecom: Starlink's mobile ambitions and LEO challengers, plus Hollywood studios try streaming shorts and sports

2 AUG 23:37

The week in telecom: Telcos resist economic slowdown in Q2 while big tech gears up for more AI investment

26 JUL 23:19

The week in telecom: Samsung works on foldable challenge, US telcos try FMC

19 JUL 23:41

The week in telecom: OnePlus exits tough smartphone market and Apple takes on OpenAI