Headlines – Page 153
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Strategy & Change
Telefónica progresses centralisation of Hispam
Milagros Montenegro takes on what appears to be a new purchasing role at the Hispam unit. More growth is reported for Q3, but it’s still early days for Hispam.
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Strategy & Change
O2 brand to appear in Movistar shop window
Reports indicate Movistar will trial O2-branded fixed and mobile services in its Telyco stores ahead of a potential broader rollout. News comes after loosened regional restrictions, allowing discounted O2 services in hundreds of new municipalities.
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Strategy & Change
Elsewhere in Telefónica Group: €100m spent on HQ digital refurb
Telefónica splashes out €100m on HQ digital refurb; Prosegur plots LatAm expansion with “ally” Telefónica.
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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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Vendor Voice
Interdependence Day — taking testing out of the lab
Test and assurance specialist Spirent spoke to TelcoTitans’ Vendor Voice and highlighted how the ongoing reinvention of telecoms networks is necessarily being accompanied by a reset regarding resilience. With cloud-native services and applications becoming the new standard as next-generation networks gain prominence, Spirent is urging operators to ‘take testing ...
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Venturing & Investments
Höttges: “All options open” for BT stake
Patrick Drahi free to make bigger move on BT from 11 December. French billionaire is planning to increase BT stake, reports Reuters. Sources say any move likely to involve DT. Höttges keeps cards close to chest.
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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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Network & Infrastructure
Höttges seeks to bring balance to future tower tie-up
Deutsche Telekom CEO seeks to lure tower partner with promise of hands-off approach to managing the business, allowing it to flourish “independently”. Picky operator unenthusiastic about approaches taken by rivals to tower extraction, including Vodafone’s Vantage Towers IPO earlier in the year.
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Financial & Performance
Accenture taps into DT’s tech revamp with ERP takeover
DT CEO highlights “specific” outsourcing move as an example of Group’s progress and focus on cost reduction. Deal forms part of €100m–€200m IT value chain recalibration DT planning by FY24. Q3 results see DT continuing US-led growth, raising guidance on back of revenue and cash flow boost.
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Partnerships & Alliances
BT Group appoints pensions advisory partner
XPS Pensions Group will support BT’s established in-house team.
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Strategy & Change
Telefónica preps for 2,000+ job cuts — reports
Spanish operations look set for voluntary redundancy scheme rollout, according to multiple sources. Continuation of ongoing headcount reduction programme expected to be in place by mid-2022 following union negotiations later this month.
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Venturing & Investments
Wayra buys into robotics startup
UM Autonomous Systems attracts €2.3m investment. Wayra additionally backs software solution developer Cobrainer.
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Suppliers & SCM
T-Mobile applies margin pressure on partner Assurant
Insurance services player bags multi-year extension deal with T-Mobile. Deal includes commitment to offer in-store same day device repairs at 500 T-Mobile stores across the USA. Assurant President expects margin squeeze from new arrangement, offset by higher volumes through addition of Sprint customers.
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Vendor Voice
The Telco-Techco differentiator: unleashing strategic data — Teradata
The value of data multiplies significantly once you integrate it. Breaking down silos to seamlessly orchestrate data can deliver a virtuous circle of customer experience improvement and operational efficiency, presenting a springboard for strategic reboot. Embracing data as mission-critical must be led from the top. Hyperscale partnerships provide an ...
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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.
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M&A
Vodacom expands into Egypt with Vodafone stake switch
Vodafone to increase its stake in Vodacom to more than 65% following the transaction. Internal deal follows STC’s failed mission to buy Vodafone Egypt during 2020.
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Financial & Performance
Safaricom confident on Ethiopia despite ‘staff evacuation’
Staff safety and security a priority in Ethiopia, says Safaricom’s Peter Ndegwa, but progress remains on track despite distractions. Break-even forecasts braced for impact of conflict. Employees evacuated from Addis Ababa, according to reports.
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Financial & Performance
Telefónica prescribes digitalisation as Europe’s inflation antidote
Telefónica’s Argentinian inflation battle shows digitalisation value in markets facing cost challenges. Group management also seeks to ease qualms over rising energy costs and wage inflation in Europe through digitally driven efficiency drive.
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Vendor Voice
Ciena: Adapting the network mindset for the new digital world
Speaking to TelcoTitans’ Vendor Voice, key figures within Ciena underline the foundational role of networks in transitioning to the digital platform future that is now permeating telcos’ operational and customer functions. However, they also note that the embrace of models more familiar in an IT setting is causing some ...