Eurobites: Telenor Faces $105M Fine for Freezing Out Third Norwegian Operator

The European Commission is set to approve Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT)'s planned $26 billion acquisition of LinkedIn Corp. , provided the software giant makes small changes to the concessions it has already promised to allay competition concerns, according to a Reuters report citing unnamed sources. (See Microsoft & LinkedIn: Marriage Made in the Cloud.)

Wednesday's Autumn Statement from the UK government grabbed headlines by promising an additional £740 million ($921.8 million) for 5G trials and £400 million ($498.7 million) for fiber-to-the-premises rollout, but another significant announcement that almost slipped under the radar related to business rates, the local tax that is levied on businesses. Telcos will, as the Financial Times reports, be given a five-year exemption from the rates as they apply to existing and planned networks, news that constitutes a nice early Christmas present for the likes of BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA), Virgin Media Inc. (Nasdaq: VMED) and smaller rivals such as CityFibre . (See Eurobites: UK Govt Pledges £740M for 5G Trials, £400M for FTTP.)

TalkTalk , the broadband and pay-TV provider, says it will be the first to offer the "next generation" version of the YouView hybrid TV platform, which is the fruit of a joint venture between various broadcasters, BT, TalkTalk and Arqiva . The revamped service features, among other tweaks, a more image-led layout and a TV Planner app which allows viewers to set reminders or record live TV via their mobile. BT is reportedly in the process of trying to take full control of YouView, having been frustrated at what it saw as the slow development of the platform. (See Eurobites: BT Seeks Control of YouView Remote.)

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading