Headlines
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M&A
Allianz expands European infra portfolio with Yondr stake buy
German insurance group (and fibre partner of Telefónica) acquires minority stake in Yondr, joining investors DigitalBridge and La Caisse, which recently completed their purchase of the business. Move sees Allianz further expand its digital infra investments, which now comprises data centres, fibre, and towers.
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People
BT Peoplewatch: Consumer and Business bosses take boardroom seats
30+ senior and strategic changes at BT, including a treasury replacement; more International swaps as the new B2B division gets settled; new boardroom digs for Marc Allera; more…
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People
Ex-Telefónica exec Mark Evans joins MCE Systems advisory board
Former O2 Chief Executive Mark Evans and member of the Telefónica’s Executive Committee has landed an advisory role at device lifecycle management firm MCE Systems after leaving the Group in January.
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Financial & Performance
CityFibre secures £2.3bn war chest to lead UK altnet scaleup round
UK’s largest altnet finalises funding aimed at accelerating operations and driving fibreco consolidation. The question now is ‘what next for Virgin Media O2, its mothballed NetCo spinout, and nexfibre sidecar?’. Read more…
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Network & Infrastructure
VodafoneZiggo picks Teleste to support bet on next-gen DOCSIS
VodafoneZiggo partners with Teleste for a nationwide 1.8GHz upgrade, advancing its DOCSIS-led broadband future…
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Partnerships & Alliances
Vodafone adds Euro-heft to unbalanced AI-RAN Alliance
Vodafone’s entry into the AI-RAN Alliance takes the still-young vendor- and academic- and Asian-operator-heavy consortium past 100 members. With the AI-RAN market forecast to reach $10bn by 2030, the move underscores the strategic importance of efficiency gains and new revenue opportunities through autonomous networks.
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Network & Infrastructure
Yondr opens doors to new German data centre, eyes European expansion
Data centre player cuts the ribbon on 40MW Frankfurt facility, which it claims marks a “significant step” in its ongoing European expansion plans. The launch brings Yondr’s total deployed IT capacity over the past year to 100MW. Read more…
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Strategy & Change
DT holds firm on diversity as T-Mobile US ditches DEI to secure M&A deals
Deutsche Telekom says its approach is unaffected as T-Mobile adapts to policy changes and scraps diversity, equity, and inclusion to win approval for two pending acquisitions.
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Innovation (R&D)
BT opens up key testing platform to startup as it pursues quantum collaboration
Sheffield-based quantum encryption hardware specialist Sitehop tests and integrates its solution on the Gemini facility at Adastral Park.
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M&A
Telefónica to take control of FiBrasil JV in €132m deal
Telefónica’s Brazilian business has agreed a deal to buy out its fibre joint venture partner in a further sign that the Spanish group is now keen to up consolidation and control over past infrastructure side-ventures.
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Venturing & Investments
UK gov allocates €163m to Eutelsat fundraising
UK government earmarks sizeable contibution as part of French satellite operator’s €1.5bn funding round. Eutelsat plans to expand OneWeb LEO constellation, shift towards enterprise- and government-focused go-to-market model. Read more…
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Network & Infrastructure
Telxius to collaborate with Google on new US-Spain subsea cable
Telefónica-backed subsea cable operator partners with Google and DC BLOX on a transatlantic route linking Spain to the Azores, Bermuda, and the USA. Move strengthens ties between Telxius and Google, following previous submarine collaborations…
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Network & Infrastructure
Slovakian operators lay out €500m on spectrum top-up
The nation’s multi-frequency auction raised a total of €506m, which even the regulator noted was high by European standards.
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Products & Services
DT’s API boss sees contextual future for Magenta portfolio
As the telcos close in on realising revenue from network APIs after several years of standardisation and development, Deutsche Telekom has mapped out how its MagentaBusiness API portfolio will evolve over the next five years.
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M&A
SFR sale speculation: Blackstone is latest name in frame
Bloomberg reports that US asset manager Blackstone is exploring a joint bid worth up to €30bn, and is talking to other potential interested parties, including SFR’s competitors.
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Network & Infrastructure
Vodafone Greece forms ‘strategic’ infra tie-up with Digital Realty
Greek telco teams up with Digital Realty to construct additional fixed routes between Crete and major cities, among other plans to enhance existing infra on the island. Nikos Plevris, Chief Network Officer at Vodafone Greece, said the deal will bring “new opportunities” for enterprise customers. Read more…
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M&A
Vodacom welcomes antitrust reversal as fibreco deal revived
Maziv merger, which will see Vodacom take a 30% stake in a standalone South African fibre operator with Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa, now back on the table after remedies appease Competition Commission.
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Partnerships & Alliances
Sky marks CityFibre go-live with 5Gbps launch
UK ISP launches new Full Fibre Gigafast+ offerings, supporting speeds of up to 5Gbps for premises connected to CityFibre’s infrastructure. CityFibre CEO Greg Mesch says the deal will help to “deliver a healthy, competitive market for the long-term”…
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Network & Infrastructure
Case study: Telenet adopts network digital twins to break automation glass ceiling
How can operators achieve genuine network autonomy? Telenet’s Stijn Eeckhaut and Celfocus’s Carla Penedo reveal their phased approach, leveraging network digital twins and a cognitive operations layer, as well as empowering engineers to build trust in new data-driven processes.
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Strategy & Change
Telefónica to take more ‘calculated risks’ in new strategy, says Murtra
Telefónica’s strategic review is now expected in the fourth quarter this year, as Executive Chairman Marc Murtra envisions more risk taking and calls for a “social contract” with the European Commission that enables national consolidation in exchange for investment.