EMEA Telco Leaders
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Innovation (R&D)
BT opens up key testing platform to startups 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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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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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.
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Public Affairs
‘A major contradiction’: Orange’s Heydemann joins criticism of Palais de la Découverte closure
Christel Heydemann supports calls to save a popular and influential science museum amid fears it is to be closed or reopened in a reduced format.
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M&A
Portuguese telco CEOs question ‘vision’ of regulator in crowded market
Vodafone, MEO, and NOS leaders question regulatory direction, with Vodafone Portugal CEO Luís Lopes calling ANACOM’s approach to consolidation ‘very peculiar’.
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People
T-Systems expands AI team to strengthen B2B portfolio
Deutsche Telekom’s business services unit has hired Liberty exec Magdalena Jonczak as Global Head of AI & Data, to bolster ambitions around AI-led services and efficiencies.
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Suppliers & SCM
Vendor rebellion: why major operators are ditching Oracle and VMware support contracts
BT and Telefónica are the first of numerous telcos to go on the record challenging software vendor dominance by shifting legacy IT support to third-party specialists. This analysis explores how Spinnaker Support is helping them slash costs, extend end-of-life IT, and reallocate resources…
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People
giffgaff seeks new CEO as Schofield steps down
Ash Schofield is to step down from the helm of VM O2 side-brand by the end of 2025, kicking off a succession hunt.
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M&A
Telefónica ‘mulls Vivo stake sale’ to fund European M&A
News that Telefónica is considering selling some of its stake in Brazilian operating business Vivo to raise funds is latest sign of Spanish group’s strategic pivot to Europe under Executive Chairman Marc Murtra.
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People
MásOrange appoints new IR head in prep for ‘potential IPO’
Juan José Gaitán moves from Cellnex to take on investor-facing responsibilities at the Spanish operator, with a valuation for a possible IPO and the sale of a stake in the fibre JV with Vodafone Spain on his to-do list.
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Enterprise (B2B)
Brazil’s Vivo wants more joined-up tech thinking with B2B rejig
Operator mimics parent Telefónica by bringing all B2B activities under one roof and seeking to bring operational and commercial synergies in its enterprise growth push.
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Financial & Performance
Safaricom Ethiopia ticks past 10m customers as startup operator marches towards scale
Greenfield operator moves past a customer base milestone four years after receiving a licence to operate in the country.
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Network & Infrastructure
Vodafone Turkey CEO open to role in potential Turksat fixed spin-out
Engin Aksoy, Vodafone Turkey CEO, said the OpCo would “consider” getting involved in a process to separate cable assets from state-owned satellite operator in latest call for a shake-up in the country’s fibre market.