Alphabet’s Google announces deal with Indonesian telecoms on Web access
By Deborah M. Todd MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif
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White House urges Congress to finalize cyber bill
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) – The White House on Wednesday praised U.S. senators for passing key portions of cyber security legislation aimed at protecting the nation from computer hacks and urged them reach a final measure with counterparts in the House of Representatives
Read moreChina’s Xiaomi announces telecom carrier service, new flagship handset
Xiaomi Inc, China's leading smartphone maker, announced on Tuesday two prepaid wireless plans to mark its debut as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) competing against China's national carriers. MVNOs, which purchase network capacity from large carriers and resell mobile plans under their own branding, have failed to gain traction in China, where three state-owned giants dominate the telecoms industry.
Read moreChina’s Tencent invests $50 million in Canada’s Kik Interactive
China's Tencent Holdings Ltd has taken a $50 million stake in Kik Interactive, an investment that values the Canadian mobile messaging company at more than $1 billion, Kik said on Wednesday. Kik, a Waterloo, Ontario-based company whose chat platform is popular with U.S
Read moreBaidu profit weighed down by offline mobile services push
(Reuters) – Baidu Inc's quarterly profit missed analysts' estimates as China's biggest Internet search company spent heavily to diversify away from its core search advertising business, which is becoming less profitable and more competitive.
Read moreCanadian venture capital, private equity deals surge in 2015
By Euan Rocha TORONTO (Reuters) – Deal-making activity in Canada’s venture capital and private equity arena surged in the first half of 2015, driven by a spate of financings in the tech start-up space and large investments in energy assets, data from Thomson Reuters showed on Monday. The data indicates there was C$636 million ($488.48 million) in venture capital invested in 143 deals in the second quarter, a sum that was 15 percent higher than that invested by VC firms in the first quarter. This propelled VC investments in the first half of this year to C$1.19 billion, a 33 percent increase from the first half of last year and the strongest first half for VC funding in Canada since 2002.
Read moreChina’s ‘Internet police’ open a window on Web censorship
The branch of China's police in charge of censoring “illegal and harmful” online information will make its efforts more visible to the public from Monday with the launch of their own social media accounts, the Ministry of Public Security said. The Chinese government aggressively censors the Internet, blocking many sites it deems could challenge the rule of the Communist Party or threaten stability, including popular Western sites like YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, as well as Google Inc's main search engine and Gmail service
Read moreNielsen to measure digital ads in partnership with Tencent
Nielsen NV announced on Wednesday that it is partnering with Tencent Holdings Ltd to measure its digital audience in a move that could direct more ad dollars from companies in the United States to China's biggest social network.
Read moreCharter-Time Warner Cable deal could spawn an online video service
By Malathi Nayak NEW YORK (Reuters) – Charter Communications Inc executives are exploring whether to launch an online video service as part of its combination with larger rival Time Warner Cable Inc, in what would be an unprecedented move in the cable industry. The $56 billion takeover announced on Tuesday would make Charter the No.
Read moreChina to spend $182 billion to boost Internet by end of 2017
China will spend more than $182 billion to boost Internet speeds by the end of 2017, a top government body said, as Beijing moves towards a more service-driven economy to boost growth. The State Council said the government will invest more than 430 billion yuan ($69.3 billion) this year on network construction, with at least another 700 billion yuan ($112.8 billion) spent over the following two years
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