Today’s Newspaper Cuttings
8 January 2016
Today’s online news Timesofmalta.com GO launches new retail concept at PAMA – GO Direct Arrival of Netflix puts TV service providers on toes, Melita welcomes service – Melita Direct
Newsbook.com.mt L-impjegati ta’ GO b’għotja ta’ €5,000 lid-Dar tal-Providenza – GO CSR Direct
independent.com.mt Melita welcomes the introduction of Netflix in Malta – Melita Direct
Josannecassar.com GO employees donate €5,000 to Dar tal-Providenza – GO CSR Direct
Maltastar.com GO employees donate €5,000 to Dar tal-Providenza – GO CSR Direct
maltatodaycom.mt GO acquires Kinetix, PTL sole shareholder of iSpot – GO Direct GO employees donate €5,000 to Dar tal-Providenza – GO CSR Direct TV service provider ‘unfazed’ by Netflix introduction – Melita Direct
Inewsmalta.com Melita tilqa’ l-introduzzjoni ta’ Netflix Malta – Melita Direct L-impjegati ta’ GO joffru għotja ta’ €5,000 lid-Dar tal-Providenza – GO CSR Direct
Tvm.com.mt Melita tilqa’ l-introduzzjoni ta’ Netflix Malta – Melita Direct
Other stories in the news
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GO Direct timesofmalta.com 03 January 2016 € 230
Sunday, January 3, 2016, 00:01
Company briefs
GO launches new retail concept at Pama GO has opened a new outlet at Pama Shopping Village, Mosta, delivering a brand new retail concept to customers. Apart from a new modern design, the outlet features an innovative intelligent queuing system, allowing customers to comfortably wait to be served while trying out latest smartphones and tablets. The new Pama outlet also showcases GO’s latest fibre products and its updated brand identity and gives customers the opportunity to explore its communications and entertainment services through using an interactive table. GO’s Pama outlet is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 8pm. Customers visiting the outlet can also take advantage of the ample free parking available at Pama.
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GO Direct maltatoday.com.mt 06 January 2016 € 145
Company briefs: GO acquires Kinetix, PTL sole shareholder of iSpot Regulatory approval for GO Data Centre Services, PTL Holdings acquires entire shareholding held in iSpot by PTL International 6 January 2016, 8:48am
GO Data Services GO’s fully-owned subsidiary, GO Data Centre Services Ltd, has received full regulatory approval to complete an acquisition of Kinetix IT Solutions. In November the telecoms giant entered into a preliminary agreement to purchase 51 per cent of the issued share capital of Kinetix IT Solutions Ltd. GO Data Centre Services now holds a controlling interest in Kinetix IT Solutions. PTL Holdings By virtue of a share transfer agreement, PTL Holdings has acquired the entire shareholding held by PTL International Limited in iSpot Holdings B.V. – previously PTL Company B.V – becoming the sole shareholder of iSpot.
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GO CSR Direct inewsmalta.com 08 January 2016 € 135
L-impjegati ta’ GO joffru għotja ta’ €5,000 lid-Dar tal-Providenza 11:22 | 08.01.2016
Il-Fond tal-Impjegati GO Cares, li permezz tiegħu l-istaff ta’ GO plc jikkontribwixxu b’mod voluntarju matul is-sena, ta għotja ta’ €5,000 lid-Dar tal-Providenza. Id-donazzjoni kienet ippreżentata waqt il-maratona għall-ġbir ta’ fondi li saret fl-1 ta’ Jannar. Josephine Grima, Senior Manager – HR Operations ma’ GO, qalet, “Il-Fond tal-Impjegati GO Cares jappoġġja diversi kawżi ġusti u jipprovdi mezz tajjeb għall-istaff biex jissieħbu flimkien u jagħtu xi ħaġa lura lis-soċjeta’. Matul is-sena, il-Fond mhux biss iqassam il-flus li jinġabru, imma jorganizza wkoll attivitajiet ħalli l-istaff jinvolvi ruħu u joffri għajnuna u appoġġ dirett.” Id-Dar tal-Providenza hi waħda mill-organizzazzjonijiet li l-Fond tal-Impjegati GO Cares jappoġġja regolarment, jgħinha biex tkompli toffri dar u wens għal kważi mitt persuna b’diżabilta’. Id-Dar tal-Providenza toffri ukoll servizzi ta’ respite lill-familji tagħhom fuq bażi regolari. “Id-Dar tal-Providenza tagħmel ħafna biex tgħin lill-persuni b’diżabilta’ u lill-familji tagħhom biex ikollhom kwalita’ ta’ ħajja aħjar. Hi organizzazzjoni li ħafna mill-istaff ta’ GO għandhom għal qalbhom. Għalhekk il-Fond tal-Impjegati GO Cares hu kuntent li beda is-sena 2016 bil-preżentazzjoni ta’ din l-għotja,” kompliet Grima.
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GO CSR Direct josannecassar.com 08 January 2016 € 116
GO EMPLOYEES DONATE €5,000 TO DAR TAL-PROVIDENZA The GO Cares Employee Fund to which GO plc staff contribute voluntarily throughout the year has donated €5,000 to Dar tal-Providenza. The donation was presented during the fund raising marathon which took place on 1 January. Josephine Grima, Senior Manager – HR Operations at GO (pictured above), said, “The GO Cares Employee Fund actively supports a number of good causes and provides a great way for staff to come together and give something back to society. Throughout the year the Fund not only distributes money collected to worthy causes but also organises activities so that staff can get involved and offer help and support on the ground.” Dar tal-Providenza is one of the organisations which the GO Cares Employee Fund regularly supports, helping it to continue providing a home for approximately one hundred persons with disabilities. Dar tal-Providenza also offers respite services to families on a regular basis. “Dar tal-Providenza does so much to help people with disabilities and their families to have the best possible quality of life and is an organisation which many of the staff at GO are very committed to. The GO Cares Employee Fund is therefore pleased to have started 2016 by presenting this donation,” continued Ms Grima.
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GO CSR Direct maltastar.com 08 January 2016 € 116
GO Employees donate €5,000 to Dar tal-Providenza Friday, 08 Jan 2016, 10:47
The GO Cares Employee Fund to which GO plc staff contribute voluntarily throughout the year has donated €5,000 to Dar tal-Providenza. Josephine Grima, Senior Manager – HR Operations at GO, said, “The GO Cares Employee Fund actively supports a number of good causes and provides a great way for staff to come together and give something back to society. Throughout the year the Fund not only distributes money collected to worthy causes but also organises activities so that staff can get involved and offer help and support on the ground.”
Dar tal-Providenza is one of the organisations which the GO Cares Employee Fund regularly supports, helping it to continue providing a home for approximately one hundred persons with disabilities. Dar tal-Providenza also offers respite services to families on a regular basis. “Dar tal-Providenza does so much to help people with disabilities and their families to have the best possible quality of life and is an organisation which many of the staff at GO are very committed to. The GO Cares Employee Fund is therefore pleased to have started 2016 by presenting this donation,” continued Ms Grima. Photo: GO employees, led by Senior Manager – HR Operations, Josephine Grima, presenting the donation to Dar tal-Providenza during the recent fundraising marathon.
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GO CSR Direct maltatoday.com.mt 08 January 2016 € 145
GO employees donate €5,000 to Dar tal-Providenza Dar tal-Providenza is one of the organisations which the GO Cares Employee Fund regularly supports, helping it to continue providing a home for approximately one hundred persons with disabilities 8 January 2016, 11:01am
GO employees, led by Senior Manager – HR Operations, Josephine Grima, presenting the donation to Dar tal-Providenza during the recent fundraising marathon
The GO Cares Employee Fund to which GO plc staff contribute voluntarily throughout the year has donated €5,000 to Dar tal-Providenza. The donation was presented during the fund raising marathon which took place on 1 January. Josephine Grima, Senior Manager – HR Operations at GO, said, “The GO Cares Employee Fund actively supports a number of good causes and provides a great way for staff to come together and give something back to society. Throughout the year the Fund not only distributes money collected to worthy causes but also organises activities so that staff can get involved and offer help and support on the ground.” Dar tal-Providenza is one of the organisations which the GO Cares Employee Fund regularly supports, helping it to continue providing a home for approximately one hundred persons with disabilities. Dar tal-Providenza also offers respite services to families on a regular basis. “Dar tal-Providenza does so much to help people with disabilities and their families to have the best possible quality of life and is an organisation which many of the staff at GO are very committed to. The GO Cares Employee Fund is therefore pleased to have started 2016 by presenting this donation,” continued Grima.
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GO CSR Direct newsbook.com.mt 08 January 2016 € 120
L-impjegati ta’ GO b'għotja ta’ €5,000 lid-Dar tal-Providenza Karl Wright - 08/01/16 10:58 AM
Il-Fond tal-Impjegati GO Cares, li permezz tiegħu l-istaff ta’ GO plc jikkontribwixxu b’mod volontarju matul is-sena, ta għotja ta’ €5,000 lid-Dar tal-Providenza. Id-donazzjoni kienet ippreżentata waqt il-maratona għall-ġbir ta’ fondi li saret fil-Festa ta’ Ġenerożità organizzata minn Radju RTK fl-1 ta’ Jannar 2016. Josephine Grima, Senior Manager – HR Operations ma’ GO, qalet li “l-Fond tal-Impjegati GO Cares jappoġġja diversi kawżi ġusti u jipprovdi mezz tajjeb għall-istaff biex jissieħbu flimkien u jagħtu xi ħaġa lura lis-soċjetà. Matul is-sena, il-Fond mhux biss iqassam il-flus li jinġabru, imma jorganizza wkoll attivitajiet ħalli l-istaff jinvolvi ruħu u joffri għajnuna u appoġġ dirett.” Id-Dar tal-Providenza hi waħda mill-organizzazzjonijiet li l-Fond tal-Impjegati GO Cares jappoġġja regolarment, jgħinha biex tkompli toffri dar u wens għal kważi mitt persuna b’diżabiltà. Id-Dar tal-Providenza toffri ukoll servizzi ta’ respite lill-familji tagħhom fuq bażi regolari. “Id-Dar tal-Providenza tagħmel ħafna biex tgħin lill-persuni b’diżabiltà u lill-familji tagħhom biex ikollhom kwalità ta’ ħajja aħjar. Hi organizzazzjoni li ħafna mill-istaff ta’ GO għandhom għal qalbhom. Għalhekk il-Fond tal-Impjegati GO Cares hu kuntent li beda is-sena 2016 bil-preżentazzjoni ta’ din l-għotja,” kompliet Grima.
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Melita Direct independent.com.mt 08 January 2016 â‚Ź 145
Melita welcomes the introduction of Netflix in Malta Friday, 8 January 2016, 10:47
Melita welcomes the introduction of the Netflix service in Malta and any other similar streaming or content provider that uses legal channels to provide entertainment content to Maltese customers, the company said in a statement. The presence of Netflix and similar providers in Malta increases choice for local customers and addresses a gap in the market that has been forcing customers to opt for illegal and unsecure platforms to access entertainment and other video content. Netflix, and other streaming services like it, are complementary to Melita’s traditional TV services that provide continuous broadcast of thematic shows, Melita said. High quality streaming of Netflix uses continuous large portions of bandwidth. Users of streaming services, who would typically also use multiple devices such as smart phones, laptops and tablets, are advised to opt for packages with download speeds of at least 50 Megabits per second. Such packages are designed to cater robustly for streaming services, the company said.
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Melita Direct inewsmalta.com 08 January 2016 € 135
Melita tilqa' l-introduzzjoni ta' Netflix f'Malta 12:56 | 08.01.2016
Fi stqarrija l-kumpanija tat-telekomunikazzjoni Melita laqgħet l-introduzzjoni tas-servizz tan-Netflix f'Malta kif ukoll kull streaming simili jew mezzi oħra legali li jipprovdu kontenut ta’ divertiment lill-klijenti Maltin. Melita sostniet li l-preżenza ta’ Netflix u fornituri simili f'Malta hija xi ħaġa pożittiva li żżid l-għażla għall-klijenti lokali u tindirizza l-vojt fis-suq li minħabba fih il-klijenti bdew jagħżlu pjattaformi illegali u mhux siguri għall-aċċess ta’ divertiment u ta’ kontenut ieħor. Melita saħqet li l-introduzzjoni tan-Netflix u streaming simili hija kumplimentari għas-servizzi tradizzjonali tal-Melita TV. Żiedet tgħid li l-kwalità għolja tal-istreaming tan-Netflix tuża porzjon kbir kontinwu ta' bandwidth. L-utenti tas-servizzi tal-istreaming, li tipikament jużaw ukoll apparat bħal ‘smart phones’, laptops u ‘gadgets’ oħra, huma avżati biex jagħżlu pakketti tal-internet b’veloċitá ta' ‘download’ ta' mill-inqas 50 Megabits kull sekonda. Dawn it-tip ta’ pakketti huma mfassla biex jilqgħu b'mod robust għas-servizzi tal-streaming.
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Melita Direct maltatoday.com.mt 08 January 2016 € 145
TV service provider 'unfazed' by Netflix introduction Local TV service provider Melita say the introduction of Netflix is 'complementary to the company's services' Staff Reporter 8 January 2016, 10:44am
The advent of Netflix in 130 countries, including Malta has been the topic of much discussion in the past few hours, and locally social media have been abuzz with phrases suggesting joy at the new service, with some going as far as declaring they would be migrating from TV subscriptions to the streaming service. However, local service providers have not registered concern on the matter, with Melita saying they “welcome” the introduction of the service, as it is a “legal channel to provide entertainment content to Maltese customers”. Contacted for comment, Go said it did not wish to issue any comments at this stage. “The presence of Netflix and similar providers in Malta increases choice for local customers and addresses a gap in the market that has been forcing customers to opt for illegal and unsecure platforms to access entertainment and other video content,” Melita said in a statement. The company made the announcement that it was expanding during a keynote by Co-founder and Chief Executive Reed Hastings at CES 2016, a global consumer electronics and consumer technology tradeshow in Las Vegas. Since Netflix launched its streaming service in 2007, the service has expanded globally, first to Canada, then to Latin America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan to include 60 countries.
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Melita Direct maltatoday.com.mt 08 January 2016 € 145
In fact, far from being a cause for concern, Melita considers Netflix and other steaming services like it, as „complementary to its services,‟ given that it offers streaming possibilities on almost all devices, over fixed or WiFi connections. Melita, which bills itself as the fastest internet service provider on the island, boasts nationwide speeds of up to 100 and 250 Megabits in an increasing number of localities. “High quality streaming of Netflix uses continuous large portions of bandwidth,” they said. To that end, Melita has recommended that users of streaming services, who would typically also use multiple devices such as smart phones, laptops and tablets, opt for packages with download speeds of at least 50 Megabits per second. The company added that MelitaWIFI, is accessible for free by all Melita customers subscribed to internet services or mobile contract plans. “The service allows customers to access the internet from their mobile devices, even when they are away from their home or office, through a seamless indoor/outdoor high speed WiFi service with huge bundles of up to 10GB per month,” it reads, adding that Melita also offers pay monthly mobile customers free access to some 15 million hotspots worldwide through the melitaWIFI Travel service.
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Melita Direct timesofmalta.com 08 January 2016 € 230
Friday, January 8, 2016, 09:05 by Sarah Carabott
Arrival of Netflix puts TV service providers on toes, Melita welcomes service
Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr, the American entrepreneur and philanthropist who is the co-founder and CEO of Netflix. Photo: Reuters News that Netflix is finally available in Malta was enthusiastically welcomed by some while putting others, like television service providers, on their toes. The world’s leading internet television network, with over 70 million members, announced it has now gone live almost all over the world, including Malta. Film buffs love it but there is scepticism among those who already stream films on their android boxes at no cost. While Netflix provides access to a library of films, documentaries and TV series that can be streamed from €7.99 monthly, an android box usually uses pre-installed software to stream films and TV programmes. Both are dependent on a stable internet connection that is capable of streaming films and the traditional android boxes only need to have the Netflix app installed to benefit from the service. Android box users had, in the past, complained they could not use their devices because of low internet speeds and the issue could persist with the uptake of this new service as demand is expected to increase. According to IT professional Karl Saliba, as with any other service that is being streamed, there could still be bandwidth issues because internet service providers naturally tend to oversubscribe beyond their capacity. This means that, with widespread subscription to Netflix, there could be a degradation of internet services. In theory, both Netflix subscribers and android box users could have the same issues because the nature of both services is ultimately streaming. However, since the legality of android boxes is still a grey area, and Netflix is legal, subscribers could turn to Netflix customer support channels with their troubles, he noted. Donald Tabone, CTO at Allied Group, noted that if the uptake of Netflix were very high, there could still be bandwidth issues at peak times due to heavy demand in high density areas. As a consequence, there would be streaming issues. Users also need to keep in mind the distance between their modem or router and their streaming device. The further away, the weaker the signal and the slower the connection speed. Asked about the difference between
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Melita Direct timesofmalta.com 08 January 2016 € 230
streaming a film through a free software service on an android box and watching it on Netflix, Mr Tabone said the latter certainly made the mark since it was legal and had a robust infrastructure to keep up with global demand. Depending on the uptake of Netflix, ISPs might have to upgrade their infrastructure to keep up with demand. This latest development is likely to affect TV service providers. Despite not having live TV, Netflix is cheaper and offers varied and exclusive content. When the news broke some social media users said they would be bidding farewell to their local TV service providers. A Facebook group was set up for Netflix users and a page set up by an enthusiast in 2014, called Netflix Malta, saw a surge in followers. Sean Spiteri, who took over the page a couple of months ago to petition the company to start providing the streaming service in Malta, noted that Netflix was attractive because the service was legal, unlike torrent films, while the network also had its own exclusive TV series such as Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Mr Spiteri said the service would be most popular with the younger generation and, considering it was cheap, legal and streamed in HD, “it was a no-brainer” that he would rather watch films and TV series on Netflix.
MELITA WELCOMES NETFLIX In a statement this morning, Melita welcomed the introduction of Netflix and any other similar streaming or content provider that used legal channels to provide entertainment content to Maltese customers. “The presence of Netflix and similar providers in Malta increases choice for local customers and addresses a gap in the market that has been forcing customers to opt for illegal and unsecure platforms to access entertainment and other video content. “Netflix, and other streaming services like it, are complementary to Melita’s traditional TV services that provide continuous broadcast of thematic shows,” it said. Melita said that high quality streaming of Netflix used continuous large portions of bandwidth. Users of streaming services, who would typically also use multiple devices such as smart phones, laptops and tablets, were advised to opt for packages with download speeds of at least 50 megabits per second. Such packages were designed to cater robustly for streaming services. “Netflix offers streaming possibilities on almost all devices, over fixed or Wifi connections. “MelitaWifi is the next generation Wifi service accessible for free by all Melita customers subscribed to internet services or mobile contract plans,” the company said.
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Melita Direct tvm.com.mt 08 January 2016 € 145