Spain
All the latest key telecoms and digital infra insight, news and analysis from Spain.
Interview
From telecoms to national security: Orange DD&S champions dual-use tech with Drone 360º detection
Interview: As Direction Défense & Sécurité celebrates its one-year anniversary, Director Nassima Auvray speaks with TelcoTitans Orangewatch about the Business division’s sovereign counter-drone ecosystem solution for critical infra, and what’s up next…
Partnerships & Alliances
New Spanish resilience regs said to prompt expanded Telefónica-Cellnex tie-up
Operator reportedly extends Cellnex energy backup partnership to cover up to 1,000 additional sites. Deal comes as Spanish telcos face more stringent redundancy requirements from the government, following last year’s major electricity grid outage…
Technology
MásOrange brings Cyan cyber products to three more brands
Spanish operator expands cybersecurity deal with German specialist, extending protection services to three more brands as demand for telco-delivered security services continues to rise.
Financial & Performance
Eutelsat/OneWeb: UK’s £500m LEO satellite bet loses two-thirds of value in six years
As now-parent Eutelsat painfully pivots from geostationary to low Earth orbit infrastructure, the UK’s £342m loss on its controversial OneWeb rescue faces fresh scrutiny. Despite the substantial loss of value, government officials maintain that LEO commitment remains crucial to the nation.
M&A
MásOrange 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…
Analysis
Reality check: assessing telco claims of Europe’s High-Risk Supplier crackdown cost — Strand Consult
Guest analysis: with 30% EU exposure remaining, concentrated on 5G RAN, specific countries and three big telcos, John Strand considers media and industry warnings of HRS rip-and-replace costs overstated, evidencing Denmark, the UK and other European markets as showing transition can be managed without derailing 5G rollout. In an age of national security, he also deems it essential for securing future mission-critical contracts.
Venturing & Investments
Wayra backs MITO AI as it pursues value-focused vision
Telefónica’s venturing division backs generative AI content platform provider as a startup “capable of generating value” for the Group, in line with new strategic focus.
M&A
Telefónica said to reboot sale of subsea cable interest Telxius
Operator and investor partner Pontegadea reportedly kick off talks to divest Telxius at a €1.2bn valuation. Move aligns with Telefónica Group’s recent reconfiguration of infra assets under Transform & Grow strategy, and follows rumours of previous, unsuccessful sale talks…
Financial & Performance
Spanish upstart Digi goes public, nets €150m for expansion
Low-price disruptor Digi Spain bolsters its challenge to rivals Telefónica, MásOrange, and Vodafone Spain with an over-subscribed stock market float.
Analyst Briefing
Telefónicawatch: core market cutbacks
Analyst Briefing: Round-up of developments at Spanish incumbent, including cost reduction plans in Spain and Germany, and B2B tie-ups with CrowdStrike, Crout, Thales, and others. Read more…
Innovation
Spain’s MásOrange puts rapid RoI at top of its AI priority list
The Spanish operator puts quick, tangible financial return at forefront of AI push, saying it is better to focus on developments with clear, direct P&L impact, and build momentum, than to ‘overthink’ and over-complicate.