EMEA Telco Leaders – Page 147
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Public Affairs
Vodafone gains partial victory against former ONO execs
La Audiencia de Madrid rules that ONO execs accused of tax fraud before Vodafone takeover should pay VAT fees siphoned off cableco’s books. Ruling falls well short of €140m in damages Vodafone was originally seeking.
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People
Mahomed leads raft of changes at BT Media & Broadcast
Director Faisal Mahomed takes on broader portfolio role across Enterprise units. Commercial, Portfolio, and Sales leadership changes at broadcasting division.
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People
New CEO in at Tesco Mobile
Change of leadership at UK’s largest MVNO. New CEO again drawn from ranks of Virgin Media O2 co-parent Tesco.
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People
Telekom’s broadband partnering guru exits
Dido Blankenburg, who has piloted Telekom Deutschland’s fibre agreements for the past four years, says his work is done. Broadband Cooperation unit to be dissolved. Telekom CEO Gopalan calls Blankenburg a “valuable sparring partner” on recently refreshed strategy.
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Public Affairs
BT: UK can beat EU to TechCo network contributions
While Europe’s ‘fair contribution’ row on network investments intensifies, BT’s Policy & Public Affairs Director Alex Towers underlines opportunity for UK to “get there first”.
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Network & Infrastructure
OTE passes 650,000 premises with full fibre
Plan to pass three million premises by 2027 looks on track. Broadband upgrades to premises outside FTTP footprint gather momentum. Rival Vodafone Greece announces “acceleration” of fibre access rollout.
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People
BT’s supply chain digitiser ships out
Adam Brown, exec behind BT’s Digital Procurement Garage initiative and wide-ranging buying operations overhaul, leaves to join Maersk.
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M&A
TPG sells towers to Canadian pension fund
CEO Berroeta claims balance sheet boost is “strong outcome” for shareholders. Enterprise value set at AU$ 950m. After transaction costs and tax, TPG will bank a more modest sum of between AU$ 350m and AU$ 400m. Transaction includes 20-year master services agreement.
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Partnerships & Alliances
DT expands SKT tie-up to metaverse and beyond
Deutsche Telekom and SK Telecom map out new areas for cooperation. Tests of SKT’s metaverse platform expected in Germany by end 2022.
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Network & Infrastructure
Slovakia prepares for 5G with 3.6GHz spectrum auction
Country’s four operators take home near-equal shares of available frequency.
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Operations
Indus seeks to move on from “nail-biting” Vi crisis
Indian tower giant sees “discomfiting” client payment worries subsiding
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Premium
Elsewhere in Vodafone Africa: Telkom SA settles with ICASA
Telkom SA reaches out-of-court settlement with ICASA over spectrum auction; Vodacom granted appeal in Please Call Me case.
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Partnerships & Alliances
BT continues “dramatic simplification” with cloud-first AWS deal
Five-year agreement adds to recent contract with Google Cloud to advance operator’s digital transformation and simplification drive. AWS named preferred cloud provider for internal applications.
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M&A
Telefónica Tech acquires German data services player
Deal for data analysis outfit completed in transaction worth up to €350m.
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M&A
Telefónica wants €1bn for 49% stake in Spanish rural FibreCo
Group issues sales prospectus for new fibre JV. “Host of possible interested parties”, according to Spanish media outlets, with winner to be decided by the end of the year.
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Network & Infrastructure
Modular IT estate will make BT a ‘digital talent magnet’
Consumer Digital MD Kevin Lee labels in-house skills and capabilities a priority as BT aims to attract talent in UK and India. Commitment to “reuse” approach to development as part of Group’s digital transformation, with heightened reliance on collaboration. Challenges at Consumer include complex legacy architecture, with simplification deemed ...
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Premium
Elsewhere in Vodafone Europe: Ofcom calls out UK operators
Vodafone launches device financing and insurance scheme in Spain; regulator slams VfUK for lack of social tariff.
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Premium
Vodafone Turkey commits to ‘build not buy’ tech model
CIO Seker shares Group ambition for unified Technology teams.
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Public Affairs
“If you’re a bully, you get a pasting”: union continues BT bashing, confirms action ballot
Communication Workers Union Annual Conference galvanises members as it takes fight to BT. Industrial action ballet to go ahead “as soon as possible”. “These people have no integrity” says Deputy General Secretary Andy Kerr.
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Innovation (R&D)
Telefónica taps IDEMIA for quantum-secured SIM pilot
Quantum-safe 5G SIM proof-of-concept showcased for Telefónica’s Spanish customers. Partnership set to expand to consumer eSIM offerings. Operator aims to stay ahead of quantum cyberthreat curve.