All Competition articles
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Venturing & InvestmentsGermany sees altnet investment decline amidst financing challenges
Trade organisation BREKO flags 2025 as having the first decrease in annual altnet fibre investment since 2017, marking the latest sign of financial struggle for national fibrecos.
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Financial & PerformanceCounting the costs: G.Network reveals the daily economics of running a subscale fibreco
London altnet G.Network’s administration process provides an unusually detailed case study in the realities of operating a subscale fibre provider and the challenges of converting network footprint into sustainable profitability.
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Financial & PerformanceSFR takeover: French telcos hold nerve as deal spooks customers
The proposed SFR break-up is still a year from completion, but commercial consequences are being felt as Altice admits customer retention challenges.
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Strategy & ChangeColao and Niel join Draghi-led push for Europe’s competitive revival
Ex-Vodafone CEO and French telecoms mogul join Mario Draghi’s new think tank pushing for “urgent action” around European competitiveness, as the continent moves to reset telecoms regulation…
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Network & InfraTelefónica venture freed to make Gigafactory bid
Operator gains EC nod to establish AI data hub joint venture with Spanish partners including Santander, Multiverse Computing, and ACS.
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M&ATelecom Argentina preps offload deal to secure Telefónica assets — reports
Telecom Argentina is reportedly working on a divestment of fixed and mobile customers to enterprise-focused Metrotel, with aim to meet regulatory conditions attached to its 2025 acquisition of Telefónica Argentina. Move could mark an entrance for Metrotel into the consumer telecoms market…
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Network & InfraFrance’s fibre players told to raise quality game as market shift looms
Regulator’s latest quality-of-service scorecard scolds some fibrecos, even as France boasts fibre market leadership among European peers. Further reset imminent as SFR takeover progresses…
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M&ABouygues CEO says SFR review could stretch into 2028
Olivier Roussat appears less confident than his opposite at Orange that the deal will be completed before the end of next year, as originally hoped.
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Strategy & ChangeOrange bets on MásOrange as Spain’s price war rages
MásOrange CEO Meinard Spenger is confident the business will hold its own in a bruising battle as rivals employ increasingly aggressive tactics.
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Network & InfraOfcom wields TAR in move to block Openreach fibre discounts
For the first time, the regulator intends to direct Openreach to withdraw proposed new fibre customer pricing, citing an ‘unfair’ and ‘aggressive’ approach from the incumbent. Ofcom puts the Telecoms Access Review into action, altnets welcome the move, and Openreach accuses the regulator of protecting rivals’ “poor business models”. Final decision pending…
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Financial & PerformanceVodafone Romania advances in Telekom asset integration
Operator says customer migration and network consolidation after TRMC asset buy is progressing ahead of schedule, but “higher competitive intensity” has seen a decline in customer numbers and continued pressure on ARPU…
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Deep DiveStarter for No 10: the key digital infra demands awaiting the UK’s new Prime Minister
Deep dive: Andy Burnham built his political reputation around regional growth in Manchester. Digital infra leaders now want to know whether those principles will translate into a coherent national strategy for fibre, mobile networks, data centres, and digital infrastructure investment, as the industry enters a pivotal moment…
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Public AffairsGermany finally gets ducts in a row with new BNetzA regs
Networks watchdog firms up contractual framework for access to incumbent Telekom Deutschland’s underground assets, following several years of industry arguments. Regulator claims to have “removed the obstacles to duct access” for altnets, and handed a much-needed boost to Germany’s pressured fibre infra sector. But not everybody is happy…
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Strategy & ChangeKPN may rethink fibre ambition after Delta buy blocked
Dutch incumbent’s Chief Executive Joost Farwerck calls watchdog’s decision to thwart bolt-on purchase of fibre assets from rival Delta “very strange”, and warns it may prompt a rejig of its footprint expansion goal for 2030.
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M&AMásOrange denies Vodafone Spain RANco project amidst reports of further talks
MásOrange says there is “currently no active project” to form a RANco with Vodafone Spain, despite reports of fresh talks emerging. Pair said to be targeting synergies and seeking to monetise more infra assets, but questions remain around potential impact on rumoured Telefónica takeover of Vodafone Spain assets…
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M&AEC cedes oversight of SFR takeover to French authorities
Iliad’s SFR transaction was a potential sticking point, but the EC has agreed to refer it to France, with discussions already underway with Bouygues Telecom and Orange.
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Public AffairsTowerco-telco tensions: Italy’s INWIT trades blows with reluctant anchor tenants
Fastweb and TIM claim early victories in the INWIT dispute as they attempt to terminate contracts, but the challenged towerco insists the core issues remain unresolved. The battle could have significant implications for tower economics, tenant relationships, and Vodafone-backed Vantage Towers.
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Public AffairsEU’s DNA faces pushback, with MVNOs wary of spectrum rule changes
MVNOs World: With the upcoming Digital Networks Act, the EC aims to create a fresh start for the region’s telecoms industry and provide a much-needed boost to the bloc’s competitiveness. But it seems few see the norms, as proposed, as likely to deliver the galvanising force the Commission intends, with challenger players remaining concerned they will have to take one for the team as the EU bids to shore up their incumbent network operator rivals.
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M&ACMA uprates Netomnia–nexfibre investigation to Phase 2 as altnets call for ‘urgency’
Altnet buyer nexfibre gets pragmatic and skips straight to the in-depth competition review, keeping hopes alive for completion before the end of the year. The UK’s fibre scene is set to change, but the CMA will now decide the extent.
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M&AVodafoneThree networks chief: merger remedies more ‘asset’ than ‘burden’
Chief Network Officer Andrea Donà has framed strict regulatory remedies as an “engineer’s paradise” as the UK operator sets about its £7bn network integration programme.