Group
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Financial & PerformanceVodafone close to settling €2.4bn tax dispute with India
Group offers New Delhi a deal after retrospective tax legislation scrapped. Dispute harks back to Vodafone acquisition of Hutchison Essar in 2007. Indian stand-off has long cast a shadow over Group finances, despite recent legal victories.
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Network & Infrastructure
SpaceMobile confirms slippage on BlueWalker 3 launch
Deployment of prototype satellite rescheduled for next summer. SpaceX-supported launch is precursor to integration and testing programme with Vodafone and other partner MNOs.
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Suppliers & SCM
OpenBNG unveils winners of multi-operator RFI
TIP initiative to disaggregate the broadband network gateway makes strides. RFI process, initiated by BT, Deutsche Telekom, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, and Vodafone, identifies shortlist of suppliers for OpenBNG-compliant products. Altran, Benu Networks, Casa Systems, and RtBrick emerge victorious in software category. APS Networks, Delta, Edgecore, and UfiSpace winners in ...
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Strategy & Change
Vodafone ponders risk of depopulated city centres
Operator flags potential threat from fewer people living and working in cities. Population changes affect network planning and investment returns. Analysts say Vodafone not alone in thinking about potential impact.
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Innovation (R&D)
Vodafone connected mobility platform nears launch
Road safety‑focused V2X platform STEP set for early‑2022 commercial launch. Vodafone drives connectivity via edge network, with HERE and Porsche among a stable of partners.
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Suppliers & SCM
Mitie set to cash in on Huawei ban after DAEL buy
FM group indicates it is picking up more business from BT and Vodafone. DAEL Ventures UK brings in ADC capabilities for cell towers.
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Network & Infrastructure
Home networks “don’t really have resilience”: Wibergh on Wi-Fi pain points
Vodafone CTO talks end-to-end-experiences, pandemic challenges, and IoT growth.
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Network & Infrastructure
Regulator: don’t let Ethiopia unrest slow network rollout
The Ethiopian Communications Authority has told STE to “expedite the project rollout” amid ongoing conflict in the country’s north. No wiggle‑room in Q1 commercial launch deadline, despite Safaricom staff evacuation and national state of emergency.
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Innovation (R&D)
New TelcoX research from TelcoTitans: state-of-play with Vodafone’s data drive
Survey provides exclusive insight into Vodafone executives’ perceptions of key suppliers. Including special focus on where operator is at with data adoption, to drive efficiencies and speed to market. Top ongoing challenges include organisational and technical bottlenecks.
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Strategy & Change
Telco leaders converge on Bilbao for ‘secret’ strategising
Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica, and Vodafone represented at the latest European Round Table event. Behind‑closed‑doors discussions focused on decarbonisation, skills transformation, and single market competition.
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M&A
Vodafone New Zealand said to initiate tower spinout
Former Vodafone OpCo’s parents reported to have hired advisors to guide them through separation and monetisation. Move comes with regional tower market heating up. Both Spark and Vodafone NZ moot interest in infra-sharing.
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Strategy & Change
Spain’s ‘big three’ agitate for consolidation
Top execs at Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone indicate ‘enough is enough’ in Spain’s hyper‑competitive market. Telefónica Group COO says Spanish incumbent can play “facilitator role” for consolidation in a market that is “not sustainable”. Vodafone CEO’s patience running out on low returns from southern Europe; looking to “actively engage” ...
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Strategy & Change
Vodafone seeks experts for skills hubs in Dresden and Málaga
Recruitment process currently looks more active in Málaga than Dresden.
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Network & Infrastructure
Vodafone CEO open to fibre JVs in Germany
Read exploring off‑balance sheet financing and infrastructure partnerships to meet FTTP demand. Retains the love for HFC, however; believes network upgrades across cable footprint will meet consumers’ broadband requirements for some time yet. Della Valle pointedly notes that mid‑term capex fixed guidance does not include FTTP buildouts.
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Partnerships & Alliances
SpaceMobile lines up 2022 trials with Vodacom, other MNO allies
Chairman Abel Avellan says six‑month interconnection and testing programme will follow launch of BlueWalker 3 prototype. Lift-off of giant spacecraft may see slight slippage. US startup adds more MNO partners to go‑to‑market ahead of 2023 debut.
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Vendor Voice
Oracle: Cloud evolution must be business‑led for digital SPs
For many years, the telecoms industry has been attempting the balancing act of managing the decline of traditional services while extracting the full value of decades of massive investment in the operational systems that enable them. The challenge of escaping this ‘technology debt’ has now been heightened by a ...
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Financial & Performance
Vodafone: DT and Orange are ‘credible’ tower merger partners
Read confirms either of Vodafone’s big European rivals could end up being an ally as noise continues to increase around an “industrial merger” for Group’s Vantage Towers business.
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Network & Infrastructure
Vantage states ‘clear interest’ in Cornerstone buyout
Vodafone’s European TowerCo eyes opportunities in Netherlands and UK as partners Liberty and Telefónica look to cash in on wireless infrastructure assets. Strategic tie‑up between Vantage and another MNO TowerCo also remains a possibility.
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Partnerships & Alliances
Vodacom in talks over rural wireless alliance
Operator scoping out partners to share investment in thousands of extra sites across its sub-Saharan African footprint. Venture adds to wider technology and business model experimentation by Vodacom, to fund network expansion.
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M&A
INWIT continues to fill M&A kitty
Growing Italian TowerCo building up a €1bn platform for deal-making at end of its latest strategic cycle, in FY23. Expansion plans could give co‑parent Vodafone another runner in European TowerCo race, beyond main vehicle Vantage Towers.
