World Economic Forum

Cord-cutting comes with ‘pros and cons’ says Liberty Global’s Fries

Cord-cutting comes with “pros and cons” for fixed line operators such as Liberty Global as the industry moves to apps and aggregates streaming services such as Netflix, according to CEO Mike Fries, speaking to CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Fries said that streaming consumers still need a great broadband connection even if […]

ITU: half the world’s population still offline

Some 3.9 billion people – more than half the world’s population – have still never been online, according to an ITU research report released last week at the World Economic forum in Davos. The paper, titled ‘Connecting the Unconnected’ said that the world’s offline population have been excluded from the knowledge and opportunities that are […]

Google’s Brin hints at bright future for smart contact lenses

Google may have shelved Google Glass, its failed attempt to persuade the world that internet-connected spectacles were the next big thing, but it has not given up on the concept of smart eyeware. The internet giant’s Verily Life Sciences unit has been working on connected contact lenses – or rather, eye implants – for some […]

Brexit causing ‘anxiety’ about consumer confidence, says Liberty Global’s Fries

Liberty Global chief Mike Fries has said he is concerned about the possible economic knock-on effect of Brexit on consumer confidence in the UK, particularly if firms begin to scale down investment in the country. Interviewed by CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Fries said that Liberty Global had no plans to scale […]

AT&T chief ‘very confident’ of Time-Warner deal approval

AT&T chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson is “very confident” that the company’s planned merger with Time-Warner will receive a green light, he told CNBC in an interview recorded at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday. “This is vertical merger. The competitive environment in telecoms does not change after this deal closes. The competitive […]

Liberty Global boss Fries calls for ‘scale in the cable industry’

Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries has called for “scale in the cable industry” in order for cable firms to compete with digital giants like Google and Netflix.  Speaking in a video interview with CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Fries said he believed major deals like the planned mergers between Comcast and […]