Eurobites: Google gets cold feet on new Dublin office | Light Reading

08 Sep Eurobites: Google gets cold feet on new Dublin office | Light Reading

Also in today’s EMEA regional roundup: NetIX adds exchanges; Pluto TV arrives on European browsers; KPN issues 600 million Eurobond.

In what appears to be a case of the coronavirus collywobbles, Google has abandoned plans to rent a prime slab of office space in Dublin, according to Bloomberg (paywall applies). The search giant, which already has a number of sites in the city, had been in talks to rent out 202,000 sq ft of office space in the south quays district but after “much deliberation,” has changed its mind. The company insists that it will continue to invest in its lightly taxed Irish operations, however.

Bulgaria-based NetIX has added two more Internet exchanges to its GIX peering platform, one in Amsterdam and the other in Florida. NetIX has more than 150 global data centers in 65 cities from 35 countries, counting telcos, Internet service providers and broadcasters among its customers.

Pluto TV, the US-based streaming service, is now available to viewers in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland over all major web browsers. On the one hand, the service is subscription free; on the other, the content looks pretty grim, with “highlights” including property-desperation show Homes Under the Hammer and one of those ones featuring Chef Ramsay getting very angry indeed.

KPN, the Dutch incumbent operator, has issued a 600 million (US$708 million) Eurobond, with a 0.875% coupon maturing in December 2032. According to a statement, the proceeds will be used for “general corporate purposes, including refinancing of existing debt.”

Sky, the UK-based purveyor of pay-TV and more, is burnishing its green credentials again, announcing that, starting with the 2020/2021 season, all its live coverage of Premier League and EFL soccer matches will be Albert-certified as sustainable productions, Albert being an industry-supported group that sets out to enable every part of the screen industry to eliminate waste and carbon emissions from the production process.

Three UK has appointed Mike Tomlinson as its new managing director of business, a newly created role in which he will seek to develop Three’s business-to-business presence in the UK. Tomlinson’s previous experience includes spells at EE, Virgin and BT.

Virgin Media‘s fiber rollout has reached the former mining village of New Rossington, on the outskirts of the northern English town of Doncaster. The service, promising top speeds of 516 Mbit/s, will be available to 5,600 homes. The New Rossington project forms part of Virgin’s wider Project Lightning network expansion program. (See Eurobites: Virgin Media Raises Gigabit Stakes in UK and Liberty Global ‘Reboots’ Project Lightning.)

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading