Sky is expected to announce plans for a broadband television service that will allow subscribers to download a selection of movies and sports packages over the internet -- "UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB is apparently planning to offer the service to subscribers of its top-tier packages from the autumn. Industry observers have been expecting a move from Sky to exploit the growing potential of broadband to support its satellite subscription service. An announcement is expected later this week, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph. Initially the service will require a broadband connection and a computer, but it opens the possibility of Sky offering broadband services and potentially a proposition that is more integrated with its Sky+ personal video recorder at some point in the future. While satellite broadcasting offers significant bandwidth to deliver hundreds of television channels, it is unable to offer true video-on-demand (VOD) services that can be provided with cable television. Satellite broadcasters are widely expected to extend their services using broadband to provide downloadable and on-demand programming."
The global cloud computing market is undergoing new significant growth, driven by the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and the demand for flexible, scalable infrastructure. The recent market study by International Data Corporation (IDC) provides compelling evidence of this transformation, highlighting the accelerating growth in cloud infrastructure spending and the pivotal role of AI in shaping the industry's future trajectory. Shared Infrastructure Market Development The study reveals a 36.9 percent year-over-year worldwide increase in spending on compute and storage infrastructure products for cloud deployments in the first quarter of 2024, reaching $33 billion. This growth substantially outpaced non-cloud infrastructure spending, which saw a modest 5.7 percent increase to $13.9 billion during the same period. The surge in cloud infrastructure spending was partially fueled by an 11.4 percent growth in unit demand, influenced by higher average selling prices, primari