Latest Telefónicawatch News
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Content & TVTelefónica nets UEFA tournament hat-trick
Movistar+ to air Champions League , Europa League , and newcomer Europa Conference . Winning €975m bid a relative steal as COVID‑19 topples Telefónica’s competitors.
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M&A
EU: Vestager nod set to prompt regional consolidation race
Vestager distracts from four‑to‑three merger demands by highlighting potential for creation of pan‑European big beasts . But is this feasible in any imminent iteration of Europe, beyond cross-border infrastructure ventures envisaged by Orange?
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Network & Infrastructure
O2 gives 4G a pre-tie-up top-up
UK operating business seeks to bolster “ national champion ” pitch ahead of Virgin Media merger. Focus is on eliminating 4G ‘not‑spots’ and boosting 4G and 5G coverage at tourist attractions.
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Network & Infrastructure
Germany makes Huawei wait
A decision on Chinese vendors’ involvement in German 5G deployment sees another delay, and is now (tentatively) expected for September 2020. Huawei security concerns remain central to opposition, with operators forced to make hedge their bets in the meantime.
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Partnerships & Alliances
Telefónica deepens Google Cloud ties in Spain
Partnership aims to “ accelerate ” digital transformation for Spanish businesses. Focus is on joint development of mobile edge computing solutions for 5G. Telefónica Tech slated for service delivery. Deal comes on heels of similar arrangement with Microsoft.
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Strategy & Change
Telefónica Tech crosses paths with ElevenPaths
Tech division to absorb in-house cybersecurity unit, say “ industry sources ”. ElevenPaths CEO Pedro Pablo Pérez not going anywhere, it seems.
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Strategy & Change
O2 Business targets post COVID-19 opportunities
O2 UK turns sell-to relationships on store technology into commercial partnerships. Operator creates new suite of digital solutions to resolve social distancing challenges, using technology from two startups originally incubated by Wayra UK.
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M&A
Fries on VM-O2 merger: don’t mention the tax breaks
Liberty Global anticipates substantial opportunities for savings by injecting Virgin Media tax losses into O2, but Fries wary that such behaviour may not chime with goal of creating new UK “national champion” .
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M&A
Telefónica wraps up Atresmedia content JV
New joint venture Buendía Estudios is to be 50% owned by each partner.
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Strategy & Change
O2’s Haas lukewarm over Germany’s rural wirelessco
Operator predictably wary over the potential of planned mobile infrastructure company to disrupt MNOs, despite rural-focused mandate.
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Suppliers & SCM
Telefónica in a bind as US pressures Brazil on Huawei
US Ambassador warns of financial cost to Brazil of permitting Huawei 5G presence, while talking up favourable loans for Ericsson and Nokia kit. Comments follow fulsome praise for Chinese vendor from Telefónica|Vivo CEO as an innovative and trusted partner.
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Enterprise (B2B)
Telefónica veteran lights Rio with Smart Luz tender
Smart Luz consortium wins tender to overhaul Rio street lighting; Consortium includes High-Trend, founded by ex- TBS CEO Juan Revilla.
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Network & Infrastructure
O2 UK expands Ericsson’s 5G brief
Swedish vendor gains backing role as O2 goes west with 5G network.
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M&A
Telefónica Deutschland confirms tower switch
German operating business to transfer 10,100 sites to Telxius for €1.5bn. Transaction to reduce Telefónica’s net debt by €500m between 2020 and 2021, but won’t slow down its accelerated capex drive. Telxius portfolio has doubled since 2016.
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Strategy & Change
Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone clap €130bn German stimulus
Massive €50bn pot set aside for ‘future’ technologies, including 6G, open RAN, AI, and quantum computing. New, €5bn mobile infrastructure company appears to take heat off mobile operators. Thinly veiled threat issued to network suppliers over ‘openness’ and interoperability.
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Network & Infrastructure
UK rail connectivity on the right track with O2 partnership
Newcastle to Edinburgh route gets connectivity boost thanks to LNER‑O2 UK partnership.
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Partnerships & Alliances
Telefónica links Osasuna with football tech
Smart shin pad provider Humanox nets deal with Club Atlético Osasuna and Telefónica for Spanish grassroots rollout.
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M&A
MásMóvil equity deal may spark Spanish consolidation
The private equity acquisition of Spain’s number four operator may see a short-term spike in competition, but could ultimately lead to consolidation, easing pressure on Telefónica and Vodafone. Opportunities could emerge for Telxius to pick up MásMóvil masts in the aftermath.
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Network & Infrastructure
Televisa pits Izzi against Telcel dominance
Cut‑price offering from quad‑play service provider is the latest attempt to dethrone Carlos Slim in Mexico. Televisa making use of Mexico’s wholesale‑only LTE infrastructure at a time when mobile competitors are re‑examining business models to drive efficiency.
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Network & Infrastructure
O2 Germany picks Ericsson for 5G core
Operator chooses to rely on European partner for ‘ security-relevant ’ 5G core. Huawei and Nokia expected to have equal share of RAN. Government appears close to finalising security guidelines for 5G.
