This week: Jeff Baumgartner on Altice's momentum in the US, complications with its efforts to buy Cogeco, and what's likely to happen next.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: AMP Capital to acquire VX Fiber; Vodafone vets its suppliers for diversity credentials and more; Swisscom's Herren to leave at end of the year.

Says it has chopped its debt by more than $4B and has secured access to $2B in new capital.

Trump's 'great deal for America' over TikTok ownership is already unraveling, as Oracle, Walmart, ByteDance and the White House tell different stories.

The UK cable operator has already promised a gigabit-speed connection across its entire network by the end of next year. It is now eyeing a service that is twice as fast.

Trian Fund Management said it believes Comcast's stock is undervalued and has recently begun 'constructive discussions' with Comcast's management team.

The struggling short-form premium streaming service is pursuing strategic options, says The Wall Street Journal.

After shuttering its WiMAX effort, utility provider Xcel Energy is now testing a private wireless LTE network with spectrum from Anterix and equipment from Motorola Solutions.

Beefing up capacity to 1.2GHz and up to 1.8GHz is a primary driver for the new CableLabs specs. Meanwhile, SCTE has already kicked off standards focused on a future move to 3GHz.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Enet facilitates Brodynt's entry into Ireland; CityFibre bolsters buildout with Bechtel; Saudi Arabia pins hopes on digital transformation.

The European Commission recommends the adoption of a common approach to the deployment of 5G networks.

New deal will bring NBCU's Peacock service to Roku's platform and pave the way for NBCU content to be offered on the ad-supported The Roku Channel.

Tensions are mounting as NBCU and Roku as Peacock remains a no-show on Roku's platform. Update: The two sides are said to be 'very close' to a new deal.

Japan-based technology firm aims to improve trust in facial recognition software by making it easier to block fraud.

T-Mobile has more than double the low- and midband 5G spectrum of Verizon. But what will CEO Mike Sievert do when Apple launches the 5G iPhone?

The demo in Ames, Iowa, features an enhanced DOCSIS 3.1 network feeding 8K video and more than 70 connected devices, along with an eye-popping show of emerging bandwidth-eating light field display technology.

Fixed wireless Internet provider Starry has delayed its market expansion plans, but it's now targeting a new class of customers: single-family homes.

EU competition officials are said to be questioning the plan for Telecom Italia to keep control of a single fiber network company.

A war of words is emerging as Altice USA and Rogers continue to pursue a hostile bid to divvy up the US and Canadian assets of Cogeco, which has dismissed the offer as a 'futile exercise.'

Bruce McClelland joined Ribbon weeks before the pandemic struck. His remit at the company? Do what he did for 20 years at Arris – grow it.

Comments from Charter CEO Tom Rutledge indicate that the cable operator will pursue streaming opportunities on its own set-tops and via other third-party platforms.

E-commerce giant and telco consider 3 billion yuan investment in Dahua, a blacklisted surveillance company whose tech monitors Uyghurs in Xinjiang province.

Taking Cogeco 'out of the equation' for mobile is probably a driver for a hostile bid that involves Rogers, a fellow Canadian service provider and stakeholder, says Cogeco CFO Patrice Ouimet.

ViacomCBS reasons that the Paramount brand has higher recognition worldwide amid plans to take the OTT service international, but the Twitterverse still had fun mocking the decision.

Self-installation model, video service bundle options and broadband service mobility will open up opportunities with residential and business customers, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg says.

Bringing company's tech stack to smart TVs fits into a broader plan to build a global IP video platform that relies on a common tech stack and standardized hardware, Brian Roberts says.

Platforms like Facebook aren't using technology they possess to stop bots committing advertising fraud, costing tens of billions of dollars a year.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Openreach rolls out more fiber; here comes the Nokia SON; Facebook given some breathing space in data-transfer rumpus.

In a move that could accelerate cable upstream upgrades and DOCSIS 4.0 development, Google Fiber will soon launch 2-Gig service in Nashville and Huntsville for $100 per month, and expand it to most markets by early 2021.

Building on its original unlimited data plan, Altice USA's mobile service has added 1GB and 3GB plans paired with reduced rates for its own Optimum and Suddenlink broadband and video customers.

New report shows that 'ardent gamers' would be willing to pay a lot more for a high-quality cloud gaming service on low-latency 5G networks.

Broadband Success Partners' Jack Burton argues that 5G is not the competitive threat to cable that many once thought it would be.

Analysts have derided early FWA services in 5G as relatively small-scale operations. But new products, technologies and spectrum resources could change the calculation.

Set-top juggernaut Skyworth and chipmaker Amlogic combine on IP-powered 'accelerator' box underpinned by Reference Design Kit software.

Stephen Wilkus of Spectrum Financial Partners, Moise Advisory and JMA Wireless provide detailed Auction 105 results in terms of spectrum and location.

EarthLink, which has tried to renew an expiring wholesale deal with Charter, alleges that the cable operator is duping subs into switching providers and tarnishing the EarthLink brand.

Cable operators have raked in broadband subs during the pandemic, but the reasons behind the surge run far and deep, according to a top industry analyst.

NAB's revised plan to hold its 2021 confab next October overlaps with dates set for next year's SCTE/ISBE Cable-Tec Expo in Atlanta.

Altice USA is committed to working toward an 'end game' to acquire Cogeco's US assets. 'This is a marathon, not a sprint,' Dexter Goei says.

T-Mobile's John Saw is in charge of a 5G developer-outreach effort at the carrier that will include the construction of more development centers around the country.

A team of broadcasters will demo a series of 5G technologies live at the IBC virtual showcase event, as the industry looks to capitalize on stable data transfer.

There's still plenty of speed and capacity to mine out of DOCSIS 3.1, Charter CFO Chris Winfrey says.

CommScope's Morgan Kurk and Dave Wright join the podcast to discuss challenges service providers face in delivering rural broadband services, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

SoftBank Group, after its market capitalization fell $13 billion between Monday and Wednesday, is cutting its stake in telco SoftBank Corp for cash.

América Móvil, Telefónica and TIM gain stalking horse status for the 'mobile assets UPI' of the Brazilian operator.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Leroy pops up at Deutsche Telekom; UK launches National Data Strategy; Sky plays ROXi music.

5G and edge computing are expected to meet on the factory floor, and IBM will be there waiting.

Poised to apply pressure on CommScope and Technicolor, a cadre of original device manufacturers have been pushing new DOCSIS 3.1 devices through CableLabs at an increasing rate.

Wi-Fi roaming has been a topic of discussion for almost two decades. Now, Google is hoping to move the space forward with its new Orion Wifi platform.

The China-US tech war continues apace, with China proposing global rules of 'data sovereignty' countering the US's 'Clean Network' program.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: NetIX adds exchanges; Pluto TV arrives on European browsers; KPN issues €600 million Eurobond.

Midband spectrum licenses in the middle of nowhere, Texas, sold for an astounding $141 per MHz/POP. And that has significant implications for private networks, IoT and 5G.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Ericsson gets TDC 5G-ready; MTN Ghana fights market dominance ruling; A1 Austria in wholesale TV deal.

Ciena, which counts AT&T and Verizon as top customers, warned of a pandemic-released slowdown in service provider spending. But some analysts aren't worried.

Cable operators prioritized near-term capacity upgrades and enhancements to legacy centralized infrastructure in 2020, slowing the drive toward a future that will feature distributed access networks.

This week in our WiC roundup: The new and improved Grace Hopper Celebration goes online; cultural change is needed for gender equality; Black women in tech face challenge after challenge; and more.

Jack Perry bills VUit, a free, ad-supported streaming service featuring more than 200 local channels and a mix of VoD fare, as 'The Netflix of Live, Local and Free.'

Verizon bought CBRS spectrum licenses covering just half of the US, while Dish went nationwide. The results highlight their very different 5G goals.

Comcast, Charter and Cox collectively spent more than $1 billion on wireless spectrum. Will they choose the safe buildout path, or will they risk an open RAN strategy?

Amit Jain and Vedat Eyuboglu hail from small cell startup Airvana, which was acquired by CommScope in 2015. Now they're fronting a new company focused on mmWave 5G.

Altice USA wants to acquire Cogeco's US-based Atlantic Broadband operations and sell Cogeco's Canadian assets to Toronto-based Rogers.

France's Arianespace delivered 53 small satellites into orbit, including an experimental broadband platform for Facebook.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: TIM updates on fiber rollout; Proximus brings Leuven into the fiber fold; funding secured for 5G innovation hub in UK.

Deploying a network to as many Alaskans as possible requires utilizing a variety of connectivity services, including copper, fiber, satellite and even Facebook Terragraph.

Verizon, Dish, Comcast, Charter and Cox are among more than 200 bidding entities that won spectrum during the FCC's recently concluded 3.5GHz CBRS spectrum auction.

Microsoft's Video Authenticator flags fake news clips and lets news outlets and political campaigns watermark content to prove authenticity ahead of US elections.

In a complex $7.8 billion deal, Altice USA intends to own Cogeco's US-based Atlantic Broadband division and sell Cogeco's Canadian assets to Rogers Communications.

Google and other tech firms will pass on European countries' new digital taxes to advertisers and developers, as telcos worry about double-taxation

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: EE goes large on Apple goodies; Netflix sets up Russian partnership; Ericsson updates on coronavirus impact.

Interest in selling the ad-tech specialist could be another clear signal that AT&T is also exploring a plan to sell off its struggling DirecTV satellite TV unit.

It's showtime for 5G as next-generation networks start to enable more immersive media experiences. Network and media executives alike are hoping consumers will flock to the new services.

Standards for Generic Access Platform nodes are inching toward finalization, setting up 2021 as a time for vendors to ramp up development of the physical hardware and software.

Dozens of companies and other bidding entities have registered their interest in participating in the FCC's $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF).

John Stratton, a former Verizon executive, will work with Frontier CEO Bernard Han to lead the telco out of bankruptcy, in part by challenging cable operators.

Private equity firm is reportedly exploring a sale of its 'Astound' conglomerate of service providers for more than $8 billion.

Videoconferencing platform Zoom announces runaway second-quarter earnings, with revenue up 355%, though tech's biggest firms aim to chase its success.

Licensing X1 or its 'Flex' variant to smart TVs helps Comcast add critical scale to its video platform and extend its experience beyond the MSO's borders and those of its syndication partners.

Dish Network executives last year promised to storm the US wireless industry. But Dish's Boost is 'slightly less competitive than before,' according to an industry analyst.

Reports that AT&T wants to shed DirecTV are not new, but now is an excellent time for AT&T to simplify and clean up its stable of video distribution services.

Gig-focused broadband service provider is now promoting the low-cost, sports-free OTT-TV alongside broader-focused pay-TV streaming services from fuboTV and corporate cousin YouTube TV.

Light Reading's Glimmer Twins of cable, Alan Breznick and Jeff Baumgartner, look back on this week's virtualized edition of the Cable Next-Gen Technologies and Strategies event.

Social media company accuses Apple of potentially devastating effect on ad revenues with iOS14, forcing apps to give users option to opt out of tracking.

This week in our WiC roundup: Female keynoters battle harassment; data bias gets a fine-toothed comb-over; Congress may meet its first female founder; and more.

US retail giant Walmart is the latest unexpected suitor in the race to buy the US business of video-sharing network TikTok, in a joint bid with Microsoft.

Specific product timelines are up to vendors, but CableLabs is preparing to be in position to start certification testing in early 2022, exec says.

George Nazi, Shailesh Shukla and Kyle Forster (founder of Big Switch Networks) are just a few of the new faces in Google Cloud's push into the telecom space.

Publishes offer prospectus. US cable giant, if all goes to plan, will fully own Switzerland's Sunrise by October.

T-Mobile wants to acquire Shentel's wireless business, including its 1.1 million mobile customers, but the deal is mired in a dispute over the value of the business.

The state-owned player has been recapitalized with 101 billion yuan (US$14.7 billion) from investors including Alibaba and State Grid.

DT has launched a new cloud-based video game streaming service, but a startup tailored by the company to support this kind of offering is not yet playing a part because of 'technology compatibility issues.'

Cable ops won't need the full capabilities of DOCSIS 4.0 for years, but the time is nigh for them to start prepping the network with certain elements as the full product ecosystem is developed.

The process will be evolutionary, but CableLabs and its members are working to define a cohesive framework for converged, wireless/wireline networks underpinned by virtualization, CableLabs' Mariam Sorond says.

English courts can set licensing rates for global standard essential patents, says Unwired Planet v Huawei, a decision that positions London as a patent hub.

After a stint as chief product officer at Adtran, the cable and telecom industry vet is taking a hiatus for family reasons and to spend some time weighing his next industry move.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Virgin Media offers cheaper broadband to welfare recipients; Deutsche Telekom trumpets new cloud tool; management pay freeze at Telenor.

The commercial wireline units of big telcos have fared well during the pandemic, but cable ops are poised to benefit as SMBs evaluate their needs, which could stimulate switching providers and the adoption of new services.

President Trump's mention of a 'national' 5G network raises questions around Newt Gingrich and Rivada Networks, but lacks information, substance, detail and logic.

The parent company of video-sharing network TikTok files suit over president's emergency order to close or sell its US operations, in WeChat users group's wake.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Vodafone offers fiber broadband in three more UK cities; GDPR fines, and who's getting them; ElevenPaths acquires Govertis.

The 4K-capable Mini TV Box, the operator's first all-IP video device, will initially be rolled out by UPC Poland and help to support its relatively new FTTH product.