European over-the-top video revenue is expected to grow 43 percent this year, down from the 51 percent growth in 2013, a Strategy Analytics report said. Most of the growth likely will occur within the online subscription VOD and ad-supported video business models, Strategy Analytics said Tuesday in a news release (http://bit.ly/1CJaRSp). That will probably lift the market above $9.45 billion by the end of 2018, it said. SVOD revenue was led by Netflix, it said. The average OTT video spend per broadband user in Western Europe is about four times that of those in central and eastern Europe, it said.

Roku expanded internationally with the launch of the Roku Powered program, it said Monday (http://bit.ly/1ueMhEU). The program, targeted to pay TV service providers outside of the U.S., enables providers to deliver streaming content to subscribers over the Internet. Roku said the combination of its software, “cost-effective” hardware design and content selection make its platform well suited to pay TV providers looking for a turnkey method for offering Internet-delivered entertainment to their customers. The program allows pay TV providers a way to integrate customizable content with their services, offer an upgrade option for subscribers and reduce subscriber churn, Roku said. Roku Powered, which includes ongoing software upgrades, allows operator branding, custom user interface themes, built-in promotional capabilities, “and control of the streaming content available through the platform,” the company said. Roku initiated the approach through a partnership with BSkyB, which began offering subscribers the NOW TV Box in July 2013.

Sprint began offering International Wi-Fi calling “back to the United States” at no additional cost, the company said Thursday. The Samsung Galaxy S 4 with Sprint Spark service will be the first smartphone from Sprint to get international Wi-Fi calling via an over-the-air software update, which will enable subscribers traveling abroad to make and receive calls with the U.S., U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico at no additional charge while connected to Wi-Fi, the carrier said. Additional Android phones will be compatible following software upgrades later this year, a Sprint spokesman told us. Other phones on the Sprint network equipped for Wi-Fi Calling include various HTC One models, the LG G3, LG G Flex, Samsung Galaxy S 4 Mini, Samsung Galaxy S 5, Samsung Galaxy S 5 Sport, Samsung Galaxy Mega, Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and the upcoming Sharp Aquos Crystal. The spokesman didn’t say whether iPhones or Windows Phone devices would be enabled for Wi-Fi calling, nor did he address whether U.S.-originated international Wi-Fi calling with no additional charges would be available in the future.

O3b Networks signed a multiyear agreement to provide trunking services to Solomon Telekom. Solomon Telekom will use O3b as its backhaul provider to offer Internet service to the Solomon Islands, O3b said Monday in a news release (http://bit.ly/1p5EZNh). The islands, numbering more than 1,000, make the country the fifth-largest nation in the Oceania region, noted O3b.

"Mid-teens” are the most “technology-savvy” consumers in the U.K., British regulator Ofcom said Wednesday in a report (http://bit.ly/1skbFGz). It canvassed 2,000 adults and 800 children, and also found that 6-year-olds “have the same understanding of communications technology as 45 year olds,” it said. “We hit our peak confidence and understanding of digital communications and technology when we are in our mid-teens,” the report said. “This drops gradually up to our late 50s and then falls rapidly from 60 and beyond.” As a result of growing up in the digital age, 12- to 15-year-olds “are developing fundamentally different communication habits than older generations, even compared to the advanced 16-24 age group,” it said. Kids ages 12-15 “are turning away from talking on the telephone,” it said. Just 3 percent of their communications time is spent making voice calls, while the vast majority (94 percent) is text-based through instant messaging and social networking, it said. “By contrast, older generations still find it good to talk,” it said, citing the 20 percent of adults’ communications time that’s spent on the phone on average. “While adults also embrace digital text-based communications, the traditional email is most popular,” said Ofcom.

The Australian government will propose to “update Australia’s telecommunication interception law, which predates the internet era,” said the government in a Tuesday news release (http://bit.ly/1srjewQ). It said the proposal is part of a new slate of counter-terrorism measures, to be introduced soon. The legislation will “increase intelligence collection and assessment to better understand the onshore and offshore threat,” the government said, not providing specifics. It did assure “these powers will also be balanced with proper oversight to protect the individual rights of Australians, including their right to privacy,” without elaborating. The Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday that the proposal will include a mandatory two-year data retention for telecom and Internet companies (http://bit.ly/1kkJCHv). But Australian Minister for Communications Malcolm Turnbull said in an interview posted to his website that such a retention timeline “hasn’t come to Cabinet yet and I'm not in a position to add to the speculation” (http://bit.ly/1zQY8L5). The U.K. government was widely criticized in recent weeks by privacy and civil rights groups for fast tracking a surveillance bill that included data retention mandates for companies (CD July 18 p16).

The Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved July 31 Robert Holleyman’s nomination to be deputy U.S. Trade Representative, said the committee in a news release the next day (http://1.usa.gov/1oWuDUh). The full Senate will now consider the nomination. Holleyman was president of BSA/The Software Alliance for more than 20 years before stepping down in 2013; his nomination hearing was last month (CD July 17 p18).

The European Commission released a set of technical standards to help users of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) smart chips comply with EU data protection standards, said an EC news release Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1kma0B8). RFID tags are often used on electronic travel passes, clothes and supermarket items, the EC said. The new guidelines require an RFID sign to be present if the chips are in use. They also will require users of RFID chips to “give consumers clear and simple information so that they understand if their personal data will be used, the type of collected data (such as name, address or date of birth, for example when registering for a travel subscription card) and for what purpose,” the EC said. “Smart tags and systems are part of everyday life now, they simplify systems and boost our economy,” said EC Vice President Neelie Kroes. “But it is important to have standards in place which ensure those benefits do not come at a cost to data protection and security of personal data."

Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) successfully tested a 3.7 km wireless link between two locations and a broadband link transmitting at more than 40 Mbps throughput, both using TV white spaces spectrum, the group said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1rTqVff). The tests were done in central London as a part of an Ofcom white spaces pilot. “The experiences obtained during the trials are expected to contribute to the development of TV white spaces regulations in the UK as well as other countries,” NICT said.

In what Panasonic says is a “first” for Chinese commercial aviation, China Eastern Airlines has launched broadband Wi-Fi on flights over China using China Telecom Satellite’s aeronautical service and Panasonic Avionics’ eXConnect system, the companies said Thursday. A China Eastern Airbus A330 is the first of 27 such aircraft to have the service installed, they said. In addition to the A330s, China Eastern expects to install the service on six B767s and 20 B777s, they said. “The first aircraft has been dedicated to routes between Shanghai and Beijing, allowing government agencies to observe operation of the service before granting full regulatory approval for operation on additional domestic and international routes,” they said.