Germany has one of the world's most technologically advanced telecommunications systems and is the largest telecom market in Europe. Because of intensive capital expenditures since reunification in 1990, the formerly backward system of the eastern part of the country, dating back to World War II, has been modernized and integrated with that of the western part.

The World Teleport Association published its annual rankings for the Top Teleport Operators of 2012. The annual ranking provides a unique look into the diverse teleport sector of the global communications industry. For the second year in a row, the teleport operators reported their total spending on satellite capacity. The Top Independent Operators in 2012 spent $830 million on satellite capacity, which represented 40% on average of their annual revenues.

For better or worse – and mostly for better, I think –2012 has been the Year of Spectrum. We have seen a series of amazing announcements about step-changes in the number of megabits we can run through a given amount of satellite spectrum. 

The World Conference on International Telecommunications opened on a buoyant note today in Dubai, with positive words of encouragement from government, civil society and industry. ICANN’s President & CEO Fadi Chehadé spoke of a “new season of engagement and cooperation” between ITU and his agency, recognizing ITU’s critical role in the development of the telecommunications industry and broadband infrastructure.

The opportunities for 4K technology - the next step forward in high resolution video - have been much hyped, particularly within the world of broadcast, though beyond digital cinema the appetite for 4K from end users remains limited.  Futuresource expects a number of broadcasters to launch 4K channels as early as 2014 in a webminar held November 28 addressing the realities and the commercial and technological drivers of 4K video technology.

Over 220 million Smart TV sets will be sold worldwide in 2017, up from the 54 million that will be sold in 2012, according to Informa Telecoms & Media’s latest Smart TV device forecasts. 31% of households worldwide will own at least one Smart TV in five years time, according to Informa, with household penetration much higher in North America (63%) and Western Europe (64%).

However, while Smart TV connection rates are rising, they will continue to lag the connection rates of games consoles and media streaming devices (such as Apple TV and Roku).

Consumers in the U.S. and U.K. are changing the way they view TV and video content by increasingly taking control of how, when, and where they view it, according to a new survey released by Accenture.  About half (49 percent) of consumers surveyed in Accenture’s Pulse of Media Consumer Survey are viewing over-the-top (OTT) video through a broadband connection on their TVs (50 percent in the U.S. and 48 percent in the U.K.) in addition to the content they traditionally watch via cable or satellite.

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 shows Europe is now half-way towards achieving that aim.The study has been produced for DG Connect, the department of the European Commission which is responsible for its “Digital Agenda” strategy.

DVB World 2013 will take place from Monday March 11th to Wednesday March 13th in Madrid. The conference and exhibition will take place in a single convenient location at the Melia Madrid Princesa Hotel. For almost 20 years, DVB and its digital TV standards have been at the forefront of digital TV around the world. What technical and social developments can we expect in the near future and what will TV look like beyond DVB's second decade? This question and other timely topics will be addressed over the three day event.

At an awards ceremony held on the first day of the SATCON Conference and Exhibition in New York City, the First Annual Vision Awards announced winners in three categories:   Mark Dankberg, CEO of Viasat won the Visionary Executive of the Year; Newtec’s MDM6000 Satellite Modem won the Innovative Product of the Year and Israel-based satellite operator Spacecom won the Most Promising Company of the Year.