In May, Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba filed for a public stock offering in the United States. However, this fast growing company still has a way to go before it will be able to compete with the American tech giants that currently control the multibillion-dollar cloud computing business. For now, Alibaba appears to be focusing on expanding in China, where it already has four data centers and handles up to $5.8 billion in commerce per day at its peak. Continue reading Alibaba Growing, But Not a Threat to Top Cloud Services Yet

Unlike Google, Microsoft is not trying to connect the entire Earth by using drones or balloons. Instead, the company hopes to utilize television white space, an unused part of the broadcast spectrum, to provide more Internet access to people living in Africa. After running cost-effective pilot programs in the U.S. and Kenya, Microsoft has found that the challenge for Microsoft’s 4Afrika initiative is to persuade governments to lift regulations to allow them to utilize white space. Continue reading Microsoft Has Plans to Bring More Internet Access to Africa

Journalist and ETCentric contributor Adrian Pennington forwarded us exclusive confirmation that FIFA has signed broadcasters to go live with the Ultra HD signal of three World Cup matches from Brazil. The news has been confirmed by Sony, which serves as the production partner to FIFA and host broadcaster HBS. Previous announcements pointed to the 4K recording of the World Cup Final and two earlier matches for a FIFA Films 4K movie to be distributed online after the event, but now broadcasters also plan to take the feed live. Continue reading Sony Confirms FIFA World Cup Final to Broadcast Live in 4K

Twitter has acquired two TV analytics companies as part of its effort to become a stronger social complement to television viewing. French company Mesagraph and U.K.-based SecondSync will become part of Twitter’s London office. Twitter also announced it will be expanding its partnership with Kantar Media, and is hoping to extend its Twitter TV ratings system into Europe. To compete in the social TV space, Facebook has teamed with TV networks to initiate live updates during broadcasts, a practice popular with Twitter. Continue reading Social TV: Twitter Purchases Two Analytics Firms in Europe

Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) has agreed to acquire DAX in a deal valued at nearly $12.5 million. PFT is known for CLEAR, its cloud-based content and workflow management platform, while Culver City-based DAX develops media asset management applications and cloud-based production software, including the Emmy-winning Digital Dailies. DAX is actively engaged in the ETC’s Cloud Project, sharing both expertise and development resources. Continue reading Prime Focus Technologies to Acquire DAX in $12.5 Million Deal

The SXSW Music, Film and Interactive Festival kicks off in Austin, Texas today. The interactive portion of the conference, now in its 21st year, has grown to hundreds of sessions. Privacy, security, wearable tech, the Internet of Things and 3D printing are expected to be hot topics. On Monday, the show will host a conversation between NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden (via videoconference) and Christopher Soghoian of the American Civil Liberties Union. Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, is also scheduled to speak. Continue reading Expect an Emphasis on Privacy and Security at SXSW Festival

According to a new report from eMarketer, 4.55 billion people worldwide will use a mobile phone in 2014, while the global smartphone audience is expected to reach 1.75 billion (it surpassed the 1 billion mark in 2012). The report also suggests that smartphone adoption will dramatically increase through 2017. Nearly two-fifths of all mobile phone users are projected to use a smartphone at least monthly this year. That’s close to one-quarter of the total worldwide population. Continue reading Global Smartphone Audience to Reach 1.75 Billion This Year

Steve Koenig, director of industry analysis for the Consumer Electronics Association, presented the organization’s annual “State of the Global CE Industry” press event at CES. Koenig explained that worldwide sales of consumer electronics grew 3 percent last year to a new record of $1.068 trillion, but growth is expected to remain flat or decline by 1 percent in 2014. Sales of smartphones and tablets have tapered off in major markets and Ultra HDTVs are not expected to gain significant traction until at least 2017. Continue reading CEA’s Steve Koenig on the State of the Global CE Industry

Netflix and YouTube continue to dominate as the most-used video services in North America, according to new data published in Sandvine’s Global Internet Phenomena Report. The two services combined were responsible for more than half of all peak residential North American downstream traffic during September. Together, Hulu and Amazon accounted for a mere three percent of peak downstream traffic. Netflix alone accounted for nearly 32 percent of downstream traffic. Continue reading Netflix is Biggest Source of Internet Traffic in North America

Media as a business and cultural force is in a period of transformation in all respects. There is a shift underway in media consumption from the U.S. and Europe toward Asia, Africa and Latin America. Print and music may be declining, but TV and on-demand content remain strong. Low-cost mobile devices continue to impact the creation, distribution and consumption of content for a new global audience. As a result, there is an increased focus on non-English media content. Continue reading The Future of Media: Global Shift, Away from U.S. And Europe

Television remains in the majority for advertising spending in the first quarter of 2013, according to a Nielsen report. Television advertising has 59 percent of total spending and 3.5 percent of global growth. Newspaper and magazine ad spending has declined in this period. In contrast, display Internet advertising spending has grown significantly at 26.3 percent. Growth in Internet ads was strongest in non-U.S. markets in Q1. Continue reading Advertising: TV Keeps Majority and Display Internet Grows

Technology leveraging unused TV spectrum is being positioned for commercialization, three years after approval by the FCC. This technology can be used to provide wireless broadband Internet in rural areas in the U.S. and in developing countries. In the U.S., there are at least 40 experimental installations operating, in addition to others in Singapore, Vietnam and African countries. These programs involve Google, Microsoft and local telecom companies. Continue reading Unused TV Spectrum Provides Broadband for Rural America

As part of its initiative to connect a billion or more new people to the Internet, Google is planning to build and help run wireless networks in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa where connections are not currently available. According to people familiar with the strategy, the planned networks could also be used to improve the speeds of Internet connections in urban areas. Continue reading Google Plans to Develop and Fund Global Wireless Networks