Broadband network policy control has often been a somewhat contentious issue in the U.S. and other western markets. Everyone agrees that good network management is essential and often that means prioritising valuable packets over others that are deemed to be lower value, not time dependent, or possibly malicious. On a private network, the good traffic can be sorted from the bad. Enterprise networks, for instance, are under no obligation to carry gaming traffic during business hours. Large academic networks, including those operated by universities and school districts, have legal responsibilities to filter the traffic and ensure that student have access to learning resources but not adult content. Broadband operators and ISPs have similar motivations for performing network management but must balance freedom of speech and other civil liberty interests.

Spending on tech deals in July hit its second-highest monthly total so far this year, driven by the widespread dealmaking of private equity (PE) firms. Buyout shops figured into eight of last month’s 10 largest acquisitions, either as a seller or a buyer. The big-dollar prints by financial acquirers in July continue the recent surge of unprecedented activity by PE firms, which have largely displaced corporate buyers as the ‘market makers’ for tech M&A.