LONDON (Reuters) – Europe’s confidence that it need not follow the United States in adopting rules to ensure fair Internet access may be short-lived, as competition between mobile operators and service providers like Skype intensifies.

A debate over net neutrality — the principle that all Internet traffic be treated equally — has been heating up in the United States for years but has so far generated little public concern in Europe.

LONDON, Dec 22 (Reuters) – Europe’s confidence that it need
not follow the United States in adopting rules to ensure fair
Internet access may be short-lived, as competition between
mobile operators and service providers like Skype intensifies.

A debate over net neutrality — the principle that all
Internet traffic be treated equally — has been heating up in
the United States for years but has so far generated little
public concern in Europe.

FRANKFURT/PARIS, Dec 2 (Reuters) – German chipmaker Infineon
(IFXGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said it would defend itself vigorously against legal
action by the insolvency administrator of Qimonda, its former
memory chip unit, seeking an unspecified payment.

“We are firmly convinced that we have done nothing wrong,”
an Infineon spokesman said on Thursday, adding that the company
would defend itself against this action and pursue all avenues
of legal proceedings.

LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) – Germany’s largest cable operator
Kabel Deutschland (KD8Gn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which went public in March, is
keen to acquire smaller regional competitors and should have
ample capacity to do so thanks to a refinancing, it said.

“We are in the process of refinancing … and all of that is
going to have the effect of taking a healthy double-digit number
off our interest expenses,” Chief Executive Adrian von
Hammerstein told the Reuters Global Media Summit in London on
Tuesday.

LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) – International cable group Liberty
Global (LBTYA.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is keen to make acquisitions, but good deals
are few and far between, and some would face regulatory hurdles,
its top executive said.

“We are always looking at small incremental deals, then you
will have the larger deals that we’ll look at … but the ones
in between, the $250 million-500 million type transaction,
there’s not enough of,” Chief Executive Mike Fries told the
Reuters Global Media Summit in London.

FRANKFURT/NEW YORK (Reuters) – SAP AG, slapped with a record $1.3 billion fine for stealing Oracle’s software, faces the task of salvaging its tarnished reputation and convincing U.S. clients not to flee to Oracle or International Business Machines Corp.

While SAP may get the damages reduced through an appeal, a prolonged legal battle could hurt its credibility and give rivals, which also include Microsoft Corp and Salesforce.com Inc, an advantage.

BARCELONA, Nov 19 (Reuters) – Planned cuts in fees that
operators charge each other for connecting calls will be
manageable, European telecom operators said, calming investor
concern that profit margins could be hit.

Deutsche Telecom (DTEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Europe’s biggest telecom group
by revenue, said upcoming cuts in so-called mobile termination
rates — which operators have been ordered to make — would not
have a dramatic effect.

FRANKFURT, Nov 16 (Reuters) – German chipmaker Infineon
(IFXGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) plans to pay shareholders its first dividend for a
decade, underlining confidence in the year ahead after clawing
its way back from the downturn.

Infineon, whose chips can be found in mobile handsets
ranging from Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to Apple (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), said on Tuesday
its management will recommend a dividend per share of 0.10
euros, as it reported strong fourth-quarter results.

MUNICH, Nov 10 (Reuters) – German publisher Axel Springer’s
eastern European joint venture with Switzerland’s Ringier
underpinned a surge in nine-month profit,leaving investors
disappointed it did not hike its 2010 profit targets.

The company’s stock slumped 4.8 percent by 0848 GMT, making
the Berlin-based publisher one of the biggest losers in a
slightly weaker mid-cap index.