With high-speed satellite broadband now available in all 28 EU countries, Europe today reached a major milestone in its drive to bridge the Digital Divide. The opportunity of broadband for all became a reality with the launch of satellite broadband services in the Baltics, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania being the last countries to be added to a network of service providers across Member States.

SES S.A. operator of a global fleet of 54 communication satellites, has successfully placed a €500 million 5-year Euro bond. The bond, issued by SES Global Americas Holdings GP and guaranteed by SES S.A., was priced today with a coupon of 1.875% (Mid-Swap +73bp). SES is rated Baa2/BBB/BBB (all stable). Proceeds of issuance will be used to refinance existing debt.

The proliferation of smart devices, mobile broadband and connected TV in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), has opened up a wealth of possibility for operators to maximise on the revenue opportunities presented by CDNs (Content Delivery Networks). The region’s premier event in connected entertainment, TV Connect MENA, will provide the ideal platform next month for industry leaders to delve into the topic of monetising the network.

The number of TV sets connected to the Internet will reach 759 million by 2018 for 40 countries covered in the Connected TV Forecasts report, up from 115 million  at end-2010 and the 307 million expected at end-2013. This translates to 26.8% of 
global TV sets by 2018, up from only 5.1% at end-2010 and 12.4% by end-2013. 

Connected TV is becoming more international. The US will still command a third of  connected TV sets by end-2013, but this proportion will fall to 23.5% by 2018. China will climb from 6.6% of the 2013 total to 16.4% by 2018. 

Fox International Channels (FIC), a 21st Century Fox company, is buying Setanta Africa, the broadcaster whose television channel bouquet takes football, rugby, martial arts and other sports to a million homes in sub-Saharan Africa.

The acquisition is subject to approval by the Irish Competition Authority. Setanta is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. It was formed in 1990, initially to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events. The company now operates in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Asia, Africa, and Australia.

Netgem announced consolidated revenues of €24.1 million (US$32.84 million) for the third quarter of 2013 taking its nine-month consolidated revenue to €57.9 million (US$78.9 million).

Netgem said sales of the new T-Box in Australia and client subscriber growth in Europe and Latin America increased its international business by 75 percent as French revenues continued to slip during the quarter ending September 30, 2013.

The ability to deliver high quality, high definition video streams across home area networks to devices using multiple formats and multiple screen sizes is crucial to the success of content and service providers. Pay-TV providers, particularly cable providers looking to avoid becoming simply a "dumb" pipe, are increasingly implementing plans to provide content to consumers via multiple types of devices within and outside of the home, according to MRG.

United Kingdom’s Office of Fair Trading has referred the acquisition by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson of Red Bee Media Limited to the Competition Commission (CC).

OFT, which is mandated to make sure businesses are in open, fair and vigorous competition in order to protect consumers, said it found that the merger might lead to an increase in prices or a worsening of service levels in the supply of linear playout services in the UK.

Sydney-based Macquarie Group Limited ,  a global investment banking and diversified financial services company, is reported to be auctioning off its 25 percent stake in Arqiva, a telecommunications company that provides infrastructure and broadcast transmission facilities in the United Kingdom and Ireland. 

Macquairie, according to Financial Times, is anticipating GBP 600 million (US$971.17 million) for the stake.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the specialized agency of the United Nations for information and communication technology (ICT), announced today that the State of Qatar has been selected as host country for ITU Telecom World 2014, following a competitive selection process among bidding ITU Member States.