In a deal that looks to dramatically change the complexion of the media business, U.S.-based Liberty Global will buy the U.K.'s Virgin Media to create a broadband company that will supplant Comcast as the world's biggest cable operator.

The $23 billion deal, if approved, will give Liberty Global a strong foothold in the UK. In an intriguing twist, it will also pit Liberty Global's John Malone against his former partner, the media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who operates British Sky Broadcasting (widely known as "BSkyB"). BSkyB has been a bright spot in an otherwise difficult time or Murdoch.

"This deal is good news for the company, its customers and our people," commented another media titan: Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire entrepreneur who founded the Virgin empire. "Together, Liberty Global and Virgin Media are in a great position to shake up the industry and bring the full power of digital technology to UK consumers."

The largest media acquisition of its kind since 2007 "will make the U.K. the ring for a straight slug fest between two global pay-TV heavyweights, John Malone and Rupert Murdoch, as they battle for UK fixed broadband, fixed voice and pay-TV subscribers," according to Adrian Drury, principal analyst at the global consulting firm Ovum.Continue reading...

Japan's leading mobile broadband operator, EMobile, is rolling out a blazing fast wireless network using Ericsson's HSPA Evolution technology. Just how fast? Try peak data rates of an impressive 42 Mbps.

"Japanese mobile users are among the most advanced in the world when it comes to consuming digital content over mobile networks and now they will be able to enjoy a new dimension in the broadband experience, with significantly faster internet browsing and file downloads,” said Fredrik Alatalo, President of Ericsson Japan.

This upgrade will make its network not only faster, but equipped to manage the country's surge in smartphone usage and sophisticated mobile apps for banking, video, e-commerce, health and security services – all major bandwidth hogs.Continue reading...

The Australian government announced last year that it would spend up to $38.9 billion to create a National Broadband Network. Its goal: revolutionizing the vast Australian continent and closing the digital divide for its farflung citizens.

“It’s time for us to bite the bullet on this,” Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said, calling the plan “a historic nation-building investment focused on Australia’s long-term national interest.”

A year later, the promise remains, and the government’s plans now include an open network similar to Google's proposed fiber network, but on a national scale. 

Rudd's government aims to give 90% of Aussies access to a high-speed fiber-based Internet network with 100 megabits/second by 2018. Telstra, the nationwide telco whose Big Pond broadband brand is the country's biggest, will face competition and have to considerably up the ante to remain on top.Continue reading...