All articles by Alex Birkhead
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Network & InfrastructureTDC NET, Blue Planet trailblaze hybrid network inventory management
North American trend hits Europe with hybrid fibre-5G twist, as Macquarie-backed Danish incumbent NetCo advances IT/OSS and network modernisation, and Ciena’s Blue Planet network automation cloud arm builds momentum. Register to read more…
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M&AAltnets Netomnia-Brsk merging into UK FibreCo unicorn tier
This weekend sees confirmation of top-ten FibreCos combining into top-five integrated challenger with uprated three million footprint target, wholesale differentiation, prep’d for further M&A. Read more, including our updated market overview…
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InterviewFibrus preps off-net retail expansion, asserts leadership in own footprint
CEO interview: having achieved FTTP leadership and segment-topping KPIs within own fibre footprint, altnet now challenging traditional incumbents on own turf. Northern Ireland a case study in high-penetration and how hyperlocal majorly disrupts network, ISP status quo…
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Deep DiveProfile: WightFibre closes in on Gigabit Island dream; Openreach relegated to wannabe
Isle of Wight operator edges towards completion of Gigabit Island build. Now to deliver on hefty financials. Petri dish to watch Openreach play (very distant) challenger to hyperlocal with real moat. Read on to find out more…
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InterviewCEO Interview: CityFibre on M&A watch, competition bottlenecks, BT economic rationale questioned
‘BT’ called out for obstinate, irrational, anti-competitive behaviour that penalises own shareholders — needs to prioritise copper shutdown to deliver fibre payback, and start serving consumers outside Openreach footprint. Also CityFibre’s M&A tracking/ranking and NetCo purism, big-3 ISP lockout, regulator told to keep sharp, and more…
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M&AFTTP buyer’s guide: consolidation rife among UK altnets
Fibre-building upstarts and established incumbents target multimillion-premises infrastructure within next several years, putting M&A on agenda for many.
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InterviewTIP’s Tenorio on the state of open RAN
Organisation’s chair says open RAN’s highest purpose for operators can be considered ‘optionality’.
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EventwatchFÿuz 2022 preview: ‘Back in your (proprietary) boxes, naysayers’ — open RAN is delivering on optionality
Ahead of the Telecom Infra Project’s three-day Fÿuz event in Madrid (25–27 October), the organisation’s leaders briefed TelcoTitans on the current state of play and what to expect on the ground, from where we will be filing reports covering key sessions.
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InterviewArch Summit 2022 — the (chief) executive briefing
Tomorrow Street CEO briefs Vodafonewatch on what to look forward to at October’s third Arch Summit being hosted by Tomorrow Street and Luxembourg.
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PeopleOpinion: Networks’ succession the final piece in recasting ‘New BT’
Domineering Chief Architect understood to be moving on; ironically, next stop rumoured to be IT-land. (Departure not yet officially confirmed, but follows months of rumours.) Updated to include coverage of Neil McRae’s own chronicle of his time and achievements at BT.
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PeopleWibergh at Vodafone: CTO’s legacy of unescaped telco legacy
Effective telco nightwatchman but existential digital challenges remain unaddressed.
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PremiumVodafone Q1 FY22–23: overall resilience masks in-country patchwork and continuing M&A hiatus
Familiarly solid set of results met with familiar lack of notable strategic activity.
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M&ADiscovery JV: BT Sport to be unbundled from BT
Another twist to the tale as BT and Discovery enter exclusive discussions. Jansen indicates agreement encompasses Eurosport UK and ‘Discovery app’, hinting at sports content tie-up; says deal has “no downsides”. The move could be a huge blow to DAZN, which appeared to have secured an $800m buyout.
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Financial & PerformanceBT Q3: king of a still-wobbly hill
Corporate weakness postpones recovery, with BT Global recuperating and BT Enterprise still in surgery. Rational rivals embraced, but warned of “Armageddon scenario”, with Sky current BFF. Discovery tie-up a win-win for BT Sport (but what about for BT itself?). Openreach charges on, hitting new records for FTTP connections and ...
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Network & InfrastructureTelefónica España shifts data analytics to cloud with Teradata
Teradata’s Vantage said to have offered “fastest and lowest-risk” cloud analytics migration project. Extends long-term Teradata relationship to migrate from on-premise. Taps into Group’s Google Cloud data lake.
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PremiumQ1 FY21–21: Consumer slips into recover mode
Work in progress to deliver on the converged, addvalue dream. Initial pandemic bounce back benefits BT Sport, but mobile still in hibernation. Strong performance on FTTP, but rivals stepping up.
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PremiumQ1 FY21–22: Enterprise down but not out
Bad ‘old’ still swamping the ‘new’. Positives in an order book rebound and improved EBITDA. Shuter has a huge task to pivot the division, but clear opportunity for ‘New BT’.
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PremiumQ1 FY21–22: Global retains Jansen’s support in adversity
Digging beneath the barrel to find positives in Q1. Jansen a true believer who sees Global keeping pace with peers, buffeted by forces beyond its control, and well placed along with Enterprise to boost BT when corporate and public sector business bounces back.
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PremiumQ1 FY21–22: Openreach shines again
It just looks so easy to upgrade and migrate the nation to fibre and IP while keeping a pack of massively funded jackals at bay. Even the odd slip looks like a sign of inherent strength. All key KPIs improving … and Gfast, too.