The regulator says a merger between Vodafone and Three could go ahead – if both companies make price promises for consumers and commit to boosting the UK’s 5G rollout.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had previously said that creating what would be the country’s biggest mobile network could drive up prices and harm competition.
But it has now provisionally concluded those concerns could be addressed – and the merger could proceed – if the firms agree to its proposed remedies.
A Vodafone spokesperson said both companies would need to study the CMA’s proposal more closely but believed on first impressions it “provides a path to final clearance”.
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They insisted, as they have throughout, that the deal was in everyone’s interests.
“It will bring significant benefits to businesses and consumers throughout the UK, and it will bring advanced 5G to every school and hospital across the country,” they said.
The CMA’s findings are the latest step in its probe into the merger, which began in January.
Vodafone and Three announced their plans to merge their UK-based operations in June last year.
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Their combined network would have around 27 million customers.
“We believe this deal has the potential to be pro-competitive for the UK mobile sector if our concerns are addressed,” said Stuart McIntosh, who is leading the CMA panel investigating the merger.
“We anticipate in the longer term that the significant commitment to upgrade the merged companies network over the next 10 years or so will ultimately create a competitive environment that will maintain the competition we’ve seen in mobile in recent years,” he told the Today programme, on BBC Radio Four.
But he also made clear that short term commitments not to increase the price of certain existing mobile tariffs and data plans for at least three years were also key to making sure consumers did not lose out.
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The regulator also said upholding pre-agreed deals or prices with Mobile Virtual Network Operators such as Sky Mobile, Lyca and Lebara could protect consumers and and wholesale customers alike.
Industry analyst Paolo Pescatore told the BBC it marked “another key step towards approval” and showed all concerned were trying to find a way to make the deal happen.
The two largest players in the market are currently EE and 02 – Mr Pescatore said a merged Vodafone and Three would be in a better place to take them on.
“To date, both parties are demonstrating that this is genuinely in the interest of UK plc, the economy, and users which paves the way for a far stronger three-player market than the current imbalance,” he said.
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The CMA is seeking responses to its proposed remedies by 12 November, with a deadline of 7 December for a final decision on the merger.
WASHINGTON — In the first few years after founding Coinbase, CEO Brian Armstrong shied away from Washington, D.C. But as his ambitions for his crypto exchange scaled, so too did his need to curry favor on Capitol Hill.
“About five or six years ago, we realized that crypto was getting big enough that we needed to go really engage actively in a policy effort, so I started coming out to D.C.,” Armstrong, who started Coinbase in 2012, told CNBC in September, following a day of meetings with political leaders.
Now, it’s practically Armstrong’s full-time job, and Coinbase’s money is all over the nation’s capital. The company was one of the top corporate donors this election cycle, giving more than $75 million to a group called Fairshake and its affiliate PACs, including a fresh pledge of $25 million to support the pro-crypto super PAC in the 2026 midterms. Armstrong personally contributed over $1.3 million to a mix of candidates up and down the ballot.
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The tech industry’s biggest names have dotted Washington for years to try and push their agendas as their market caps have expanded, but for Coinbase, the matter is potentially existential.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler sued the firm last year over claims that it sells unregistered securities. A judge has since ruled that the case should be heard by a jury. Coinbase has fought back vociferously, and has also said that it wants to work with regulators to come up with a proper set of laws governing the nascent industry.
Meanwhile, Coinbase faces a growing list of competitors.
In the company’s latest quarterly earnings report last week, Coinbase missed on the top and bottom lines due to lower transaction revenues and a drop in subscription and services revenues. The shares plummeted 15%.
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Data from CCData shows the exchange is losing spot market share to industry rivals like Crypto.com. And investors have many new options for accessing bitcoin and ethereum since the SEC greenlit spot funds this year. BlackRock’s ETF chief Samara Cohen told CNBC that 75% of its bitcoin buyers are crypto investors who are new to Wall Street.
Washington can’t save Coinbase from the competition, but the company is betting that, with favorable lawmakers in place, it can be the leader in a thriving industry rather than under the constant threat of lawsuits and Wells notices.
Armstrong said his D.C. visits normally took place once or twice a year. Then it got to be at least a quarterly occasion. And the pace has only increased.
“In the beginning, a lot of people didn’t know what crypto was,” Armstrong said of his earlier trips. Now, “the discussion has advanced, really, to, how do we pass clear rules, create legislation in the United States?”
Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, attended a fundraiser in San Francisco in June that raised $12 million for former President Donald Trump. It was hosted by venture capitalist David Sacks, a former Trump critic who became an outspoken supporter when he became the Republican nominee.
Trump has never shown much of an aptitude for the nuances of crypto, but he’s welcomed the industry’s financial support. He was applauded in the summer, when he vowed to fire Gensler as head of the SEC if he wins.
Grewal told CNBC that he’s had “many conversations” behind closed doors with both the Trump camp as well as Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign. Heading into Election Day on Tuesday, the candidates were in a virtual dead-heat.
“What I think we’re hearing from both campaigns is they get it,” Grewal said. “They understand that in swing state after swing state, there are enough voters who care about crypto that the candidate and their campaigns need to give voice to the concerns of those voters in supporting sensible rules for crypto, sensible legislation coming out of Congress, and that’s very encouraging.”
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Grewal said that Trump “came earlier to this pro-crypto view,” but said that Harris recognizes the need for “an agenda focused on promoting sensible rules for crypto as much as any other technology.”
But Coinbase’s political interests as an organization have been focused exclusively on Congressional races, as the company looks to help assemble a group of lawmakers with favorable views of the industry.
In the Ohio Senate race, for example, the organization gives Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown, who chairs the banking committee, an “F” grade, versus an “A” grade for his Republican rival Bernie Moreno, a blockchain entrepreneur. Some $40 million of crypto money has been directed at defeating Brown, and one PAC has paid for five ads designed to boost awareness of Moreno. The race is very close and is crucial in determining which party will control the Senate.
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Stand with Crypto, which has enrolled 1.4 million advocates across the country, is also working to mobilize digital asset owners living in swing states. This effort involved a cross-country bus tour through battlegrounds focused on getting these residents registered to vote.
“It’s really extraordinary, given how razor-thin the margin of victory was in the 2020 election, to see crypto not only be an issue, but potentially a determinative issue in terms of the presidential cycle,” Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase’s chief policy officer, said in an interview.
Shirzad said that last year, he and his team concluded that the only way to get politics out of crypto was “to build our own political operation.” He said the goal is to “neutralization the politicization of the crypto issue and talk about it on the merits.”
Coinbase is far from alone. Nearly half of all corporate money raised this election comes from crypto firms.
Fairshake, one of the top spending PACs this cycle, told CNBC it’s raised around $170 million this election and disbursed approximately $135 million.
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Ripple Labs is another one of Fairshake’s top political donors.
The company, which has spent more than $100 million battling Gensler, has given around $50 million to Fairshake. Several executives have also contributed to a mix of Democratic and Republican candidates in races across the country.
Ripple’s head of U.S. public policy, Lauren Belive, told CNBC at a fintech conference in Las Vegas that the company was motivated by the SEC’s overreach.
“We really wanted to put people into office that could learn about this technology and understand this technology, because we need Congress to act and to create federal statutes and not have this enforcement regime,” said Belive. She added the regulator has issued over 100 enforcement actions against crypto-aligned companies.
Stand with Crypto’s bus tour culminated in a rally held at The Black Cat in Washington on a Wednesday night in September.
The popular music venue has no windows and gives off an “Alice in Wonderland” vibe, with its mix of purple-painted walls and exposed brick, along with its black-and-white checkered floor.
As music blared and drinks flowed, free “Stand with Crypto” merch was being handed out to attendees. Surplus goodie bags were generously doled out to those looking to take extras back home.
Armstrong slipped out of his black SUV to speak to CNBC just outside the venue. He donned a suit and tie, a stark contrast to his fellow attendees. Armstrong said he was confident about the upcoming election.
“The crypto voter has become a major part of this election now,” Armstrong said. “I think the crypto voter is really real, and we’ll see what happens in November.”
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In addition to Armstrong, Consensys CEO Joe Lubin, and Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) spoke at the rally. Most remarks were inaudible over the roaring buzz of the crowd.
A hush fell over the audience when the headline act, The Chainsmokers, took the stage. The band started with its 2017 classic “Paris,” and the crowd chimed in at the chorus: “If we go down, then we go down together.”
I was not expecting the Metal Slug franchise to transition to the strategy game genre as well as it did.
SNK’s classic action-platformer arcade series is a high-energy, bombastic shoot ’em up perfect for quick hits of destructive gaming goodness. Strategy games are inherently much slower-paced than Metal Slug typically was, so I wasn’t sure if Leikir Studio and Dotemu could effectively make the genre jump with this franchise. I’m happy to be proven wrong.
Metal Slug Tactics is an excellent example of the connective tissue between action and strategy games. This is a strategy game that encourages players to be on the move and constantly attacking, and its roguelite structure harks back to the series’ arcade roots. Metal Slug fans need not worry about this revival misunderstanding the series’ appeal.
There’s little to write home about with Metal Slug Tactics narrative, as it’s just about characters from previous Metal Slug and Ikari Warriors games once again taking on General Morden’s forces. This was never a story-focused franchise, so that’s not a big deal. The look and feel of Metal Slug Tactics kept me around run after run. Metal Slug Tactics expertly replicates the aesthetics of SNK’s arcade classics with gorgeous pixel art and faithful sound design.
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Metal Slug Tactics – Gameplay Trailer
The developers had to get more creative to stay true to Metal Slug on the gameplay front. Metal Slug Tactics is a roguelike where players fight through four regions. Players complete three missions within each region before facing off against a powerful boss. This structure lends itself to bite-sized play, like the arcade classics. While most strategy games require hours of dedicaton to a play session, I have no problem booting up Metal Slug Tactics to get a quick level or run in when I have some spare time.
Once you’re actually on a mission, Metal Slug Tactics still stays faithful. Each unit goes into a run with a unique loadout of two weapons and special skills. Outside of your units’ health, adrenaline is the most important stat to keep track of. Adrenaline for each unit is generated as they move around Metal Slug Tactics’ grid-based battlefields. Move as far as you can with a unit; you might build up enough adrenaline to use a powerful skill. Stay where you are and you won’t get that benefit, but you may have a clear shot at an enemy.
The adrenaline system makes Metal Slug Tactics the rare strategy game where the best option is to run and gun. I was missing out on a powerful resource if I wasn’t moving units each turn. The key to success in Metal Slug Tactics is to keep moving and attacking while maximizing the effect of synchronous attacks, cover, and other passive bonuses for each unit. Then, each mission puts a twist on this with its specific objectives, which can range from killing every enemy to destroying a convoy to keeping at least one unit alive for five turns.
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Dotemu
Bosses also mix things up with unique, devastating attack patterns. It’s not on the level of something like Into the Breach, but each level essentially becomes a puzzle to solve. I had to learn how to use and where to move my units most effectively each turn so I could maximize their offensive potential and minimize damage. I was dodging and weaving between enemies with my units much more boldly than I ever would in a strategy game like Fire Emblem Engage or XCOM 2.
All of that makes Metal Slug Tactics a refreshing strategy game, and it’s also what keeps it in line with the series’ design philosophies. Metal Slug is a series where the best thing players can typically do is run and gun without taking critical, game-ending damage. While that’s simpler to do in a platformer, Metal Slug Tactics’ finds a way to apply that feeling to a strategy game and stands out triumphantly.
Pepper in the mid-run and between-run upgrades and other systems befitting of a roguelike, and Metal Slug Tactics is also immensely replayable. When I first heard about SNK making a new Metal Slug game, something like Metal Slug Tactics wasn’t what I had in mind; thankfully, I’m now grateful that this was made.
We’ve seen so many rumors regarding the Samsung Galaxy S25 series and its possible chip choices that… it has become annoying at this point. The latest news said that the Galaxy S25 will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite exclusively, but that may not be accurate. The Galaxy S25 series may not be Exynos-free after all, and we have some proof.
Here’s some proof that the Galaxy S25 series may not be entirely Exynos-free
Considering that this is a fresh listing, from today, Samsung is obviously still testing that chip, which means that we could get an Exynos variant after all. This definitely leaves a possibility for some Galaxy S25 units to use the Exynos 2500.
A recent report said that the yield of the Exynos 2500 chips is so low that Samsung may have to cancel its plans for it, especially for the Galaxy S25 series. Even one of the best-known tipsters out there said that the Galaxy S25 series will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite exclusively. Well… that may not be the case after all.
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The Exynos model(s) could make their way to Europe
If the Galaxy S25 and/or Galaxy S25+ get the Exynos 2500 treatment, those models will almost certainly be sold in Europe, as was the case with their predecessors. The Galaxy S25 Ultra will likely use the Snapdragon 8 Elite everywhere.
The variant of the Galaxy S25+ that surfaced on Geekbench comes with 12GB of RAM and runs Android 15. It managed to score 2,359 points in the single-core, and 8,141 points in the multi-core benchmark tests.
As a reminder, we exclusively revealed the design of all three Galaxy S25 phones, the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25+, and Galaxy S25 Ultra. All three of those devices are expected to arrive in early 2025, most likely January.
We’re all having a bit of a budget crunch this year, but the good news is that when it’s time to bestow presents on the young ones (or young at heart), you don’t have to break the bank. This list of our favorite tech, science and design toys is stacked with items under $100, with plenty of reuse packed in so the fun can extend far beyond the holiday season.
Apple’s second iOS 18.2 developer beta includes a new feature for update’s integration with ChatGPT: users will be able to upgrade to ChatGPT Plus from the Settings menu, 9to5Mac reports.
ChatGPT Plus is OpenAI’s paid version of ChatGPT, offering features like more messages with its GPT-4o model, for $19.99 per month. If you end up using ChatGPT a lot within iOS — you’ll be able to track in Settings if you approach the daily free limit of ChatGPT’s more powerful capabilities — the upgrade could be worth it.
It’s unclear if Apple is taking a cut of those subscriptions made from Settings. Apple and OpenAI didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Apple is also reportedly in talks with Google on an integration with Google’s Gemini. If that comes to pass, I would guess that there will be some kind of in-Settings upgrade path to Gemini Advanced, too.
New Windows 11 preview build is almost entirely about bug fixing
There are some important fixes delivered for the Start menu and more
Microsoft is working hard to firefight all the glitches in Windows 11 24H2
Windows 11 has been hit by a whole load of bugs in recent times, with the move to version 24H2, as you’ve probably noticed – but the more positive news is that Microsoft is busy fixing a fair few of those gremlins in the works.
We’ve got evidence of this courtesy of the latest preview release of Windows 11 pushed out to the Dev channel, namely build 26120.2213.
Microsoft lists the work underway in terms of bug fixing in the usualblog post, and while there’s a whole lot of resolving glitches going on, some of it’s more mundane – so let’s pick out some of the highlights.
A notablebug we’ve recently reported has hit Task Manager, resulting in it showing that there are zero apps and processes running on the host PC – which, of course, can never happen (otherwise Windows 11 itself wouldn’t be working, never mind anything else). Microsoft informs us that it has resolved this issue where Task Manager is claiming a zero count for running processes.
On top of that, an ‘underlying issue’ with the most recent 24H2 preview that meant some games were completely failing to launch has been cured here.
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Multiple bugs with the Windows 11 Start menu have been fixed with build 26120, including one where people were seeing a large amount of spacing between the apps present in the menu’s list of applications. There also a broad cure for an issue “impacting Start menu reliability” we’re told.
There’s a similar problem with File Explorer where items in the navigation pane were also becoming too spread out, with too much spacing between them for some users, and this has been remedied too. A more minor issue where RAW images taken in portrait mode were displaying in landscape mode with File Explorer’s thumbnails has also been fixed.
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Furthermore, Microsoft has applied a clutch of fixes for various minor problems with the taskbar, including a glitch where the ‘X’ button to close a window off the taskbar preview (that pops up when you hover over the app on the bar) wasn’t working.
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(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Analysis: It’s all about the bug squashing
This preview release of Windows 11 is notable because there’s hardly anything at all here in terms of feature additions (just a minor change for the IME toolbar which won’t make any difference to most users).
Almost all of this build is about fixing bugs, and aside from that, there are a couple of known issues flagged which haven’t yet been resolved. One of those is the bugs with the new gamepad keyboard layout for Windows 11 users that have meant it hasbeen put on ice for the time being, and the other is a problem where those running multiple monitors are seeing corruption with their desktop background (with “big black areas” appearing mysteriously).
Microsoft is still working on the cures for those issues, and a fair few other problems besides that are affecting the latest incarnation of its desktop OS. To say Windows 11 24H2 has got off to arocky start in terms ofbugs is something of an understatement, in fact, but it does appear that Microsoft is working hard to firefight thesevarious problems.
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