All articles by Anne Morris
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Analyst BriefingsOrangewatch Analyst Briefing: MásOrange’s grand plans, 2G sunset in France, and OpenAI in Africa
From finalising the French 2G sunset and expanding its OpenAI partnership for African markets, to navigating a complex competitive landscape in Spain, Orange Group is again making significant strategic moves. We break down the key developments in this essential briefing for Orange insiders.
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Partnerships & AlliancesSky peppers Swiss fibre and mobile with Salt
Pay TV provider Sky Switzerland is partnering with Xavier Niel’s local telco redoubt to introduce converged offerings and challenge market leaders Swisscom and Sunrise. Amidst backdrop of pending Sky DACH acquisition by Bertelsmann’s RTL…
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Deep DiveTelefónica’s Huawei gambit calls out Spain v US (and EC)
Deep Dive: Reported extension of 5G contract with Huawei ignites firestorm. Latest China procurement by a Spanish telco skirts EU recommendations and escalates geopolitical tensions, placing government and its flagship operator in a precarious position between deeply-rooted American and emerging Chinese spheres of influence.
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Strategy & ChangeMásOrange puts energies into new biz in pivotal year for the Spanish JV
Energy, insurance, and security alarm systems are seen as three key growth areas for the JV, with energy a particular field of interest.
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Network & InfraOrange firms up French 2G sunset timeline
Operator plans to retire its 2G network by end of 2026, with Anglet, Bayonne, and Biarritz set to be the first locations for the switch-off next year.
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Partnerships & AlliancesBT expands AWS deal for five more years
The cloud services giant flags the latest strategic agreement with BT as a critical step towards network autonomy.
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M&ADigi seeks to regain momentum in Belgium after taking control of local JV
Things have not gone as planned for Digi Belgium in its first six months of operation, but its parent group hopes a recent “simplification” of its management structure (and assumption of majority control of the unit) will put it back on track…
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Financial & PerformanceQ2 FY25: DT looks ahead to life without Romania
DT’s leadership hails progress on European M&A as the sale of unwanted Romanian mobile business gains approval.
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Financial & Performance1&1 taps fingers as it awaits spectrum sharing offer from rivals
Following regulator’s ruling in March, 1&1’s CEO Ralph Dommermuth says it’s not yet clear when the operator will be able to secure a deal to access low‑band spectrum.
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Partnerships & AlliancesOrange expands OpenAI tie-up to add weight to Africa focused models
Orange claims to be the only telco to be given early access to OpenAI’s latest open‑weight reasoning models.
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M&ACellnex ‘not exposed’ to looming telco M&A in France, says CEO
Marco Patuano underlines towerco’s strong market position in France, and said it would be a critical partner in any MNO consolidation moves.
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Analyst BriefingsOrangewatch Analyst Briefing: H1 results, M&A in France, and interviews with Orange Business execs
Latest from Orange, including the analysis of the Group’s recent earnings call; ongoing speculation about M&A in France and the future of SFR; interviews with a series of senior execs; and the latest from Spain…
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Network & InfraBelgium’s fibre catch-up plan: Orange and Proximus team in south
Telco pair formalise a mutual fibre buildout arrangement covering less urban areas of Belgium’s Walloon Region.
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Financial & PerformanceOrange ‘ready to engage’ in M&A talks in France — Heydemann
H1 FY25: Orange remains convinced of need for consolidation in France, although potential sale of SFR remains up in the air ahead of a court decision on Altice France debt restructuring plan.
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InterviewInterview: Chief Trust Officer on Orange Business’ ‘gold’ standard for secure cloud services
Orange’s B2B unit has beaten its Bleu cloud JV to the punch by obtaining France’s SecNumCloud 3.2 qualification for an IaaS offering. The Group is now one of nine providers in France to have obtained this trusted cloud security visa.
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Network & Infra‘Being Level 4’: Telefónica CTIO eyes 2030 hyper-automation goal
Deep dive: Tech boss Andrea Folgueiras indicates Telefónica has now got several high-level autonomous networking projects up and running, delivering tangible business impact. But autonomy has still only been achieved in pockets, and the operator remains in the early stages of a transformation journey targeting near-full Level 4 status by 2030…
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Public AffairsCNMC ruling ignites spat over Telefónica wholesale price hike
CNMC’s attempt to recalibrate duct access pricing under MARCo regulation has triggered outrage across Spain’s telecoms sector…
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Financial & PerformanceAiralo becomes eSIM sector’s first unicorn
DT, Orange, and Telefónica‑backed provider breaks ground as the first unicorn in the eSIM sector, with perceived value pushed beyond the billion mark…
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InterviewInterview: CDIO on Orange Business’ pivot to greenfield, ‘AI first’ tech stack
Exclusive: Hriday Ravindranath explains thinking behind ambitious shift onto entirely new B2B IT stack for AI-era products as Orange Business reinvents itself built on digital-first, AI-native platform principles, underpinned by ‘design partnerships’ with Blue Planet, CSG, ServiceNow and Splunk…
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Network & InfraSlovakian 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.