Headlines – Page 47
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M&A
Vodafone−Three welcome deal’s security clearance as focus turns to antitrust
UK government green-lights merger (with caveats) after conducting security review, but Vodafone−Three are far from celebrating as the CMA’s investigation steps up a gear and leaves consolidation in doubt…
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Financial & Performance
Safaricom dials down Ethiopia spending plan as loss drags Group profits
FY23–24: Safaricom slashes five-year investment target for Ethiopia, commits to tightened spend to weather challenging macro environment, but remains positive on progress and outlook.
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People
BT Peoplewatch: as Kirkby ups the transformational ante, ex-CEO Patterson goes boardroom ‘goliath’
40+ senior/strategic appointments across BT Group, including: new CEO Allison Kirkby making mark with more transformation-focused imports; ex-CEO Gavin Patterson makes it boardroom berth number-eight; and major changes at revamped BT Business. Fibre build remains priority at Openreach, while Consumer beds in fresh device and marketing leadership. Read more…
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Partnerships & Alliances
Telefónica signs fresh Digi Spain wholesale deal
Group appears to have achieved its objective of a win‑win deal that allows it retain Digi as a network client, and is set to be completed in weeks.
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Network & Infrastructure
Telefónica misses deadline on copper shutdown
Q1 FY24: Group remains at work, switching off retail copper lines in Spain, having missed initial April 2024 target. Effort to replace legacy lines drives increase in capex in first three months of the year. Vilá highlights operational benefits expected…
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Financial & Performance
1&1 continues to push back against calls for German auction rethink
German challenger is at odds with established MNO rivals over how to allocate soon‑to‑expire spectrum rights.
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Financial & Performance
Inwit boss hopes wave of Italian telco deals will halt sector decline
Wireless infra player’s General Manager Diego Galli sees prospective wave of Italian market consolidation as good news for operators’ suppliers, including TowerCos, by strengthening telcos’ cash position and arresting recent slump in spend.
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Network & Infrastructure
Four years in the making: O2 Germany activates cloud-based 5G core
Telefónica’s German operating business takes Nokia-AWS 5G cloud core to first million subscribers. Seen especially benefitting 5G standalone use cases…
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Financial & Performance
UK’s Digital 9 reshapes boardroom, weighs Arqiva options as wind-down progresses
Former Bank of Scotland exec Eric Sanderson named Chair to lead wind-down process, with one or more other Non-Execs to be added in near future. Steps made in asset sale but future of Arqiva stake not yet decided.
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People
BT adds transformation expertise to board, seeks out ‘operational resilience’
Ex-Barclays finance chief Tushar Morzaria appointed to BT Board of Directors, with Chairman Adam Crozier lauding ‘corporate change’ specialism and adding further transformation expertise to the BT boardroom.
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Network & Infrastructure
German telcos expand 4G coverage on Berlin’s U-Bahn
O2 Germany, Telekom Deutschland, and Vodafone Germany extend 4G subway network to cover all nine lines and 175 stations. 5G upgrade already in the works, as operators aim to meet Germany’s wider coverage targets along transportation corridors. Read more…
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Partnerships & Alliances
Nokia bags new fibre kit deal from Deutsche Glasfaser
Finnish vendor claims to be swapping out two competitors in fibre network provider’s installed base.
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Strategy & Change
American Tower eyes US expansion of Power as a Service in efficiencies pursuit amidst M&A hiatus
ATC looks to ship high ROI ‘Power as a Service’ learnings to US market, having proven benefits in Africa, and to transfer US automation credentials to other geographies. Hunt for global efficiencies may also lead to monetisation of sub-scale assets, with focus on operational excellence meaning “nothing compelling” to buy, for now…
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Interview
Brace for ‘AI tidal wave’: Kao Data urges UK data centre step change
Next-gen specialist discusses Manchester Data Centre of the North investment sweetspot, need to prep for AI-fuelled tsunami of demand (nowhere in Europe ready). Read more…
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Financial & Performance
Infra investors line up for stake in Virgin Media O2’s new NetCo
Q1 FY24: Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries says Boston Consultancy Group and Deloitte hired for financial and project planning, as investors appear interested in fibre spin-out plans. Despite confidence in fibre growth opportunity, VM O2’s fixed customer base declined in an overall uneasy quarter for the operator…
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Consumer (B2C)
EE’s £6m bricks-and-mortar retail investment brings more customers, better connections
EE’s newest Experience store opened in Bristol, with nine more to follow in the next year as part of £6m retail investment.
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Network & Infrastructure
O2 Germany, Samsung switch on first ‘commercial’ ORAN site
Deployment marks first of eight planned ORAN and vRAN sites in Landsberg am Lech, as O2 seeks to enable automation, accelerate infra rollout, and enable use-cases for businesses. Move plays into Telefónica’s wider capital intensity reduction strategy. Read more…
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M&A
T-Mobile swallows Mint in up-to-$1.2bn deal
DT’s American NatCo adds Mint and Ultra to its value brand portfolio following FCC approval.
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M&A
Merged Vodafone−Three ‘incentivised and able’ to ‘frustrate’, ‘harm’ BT — CMA
Merger-critical Competition & Markets Authority investigation is damning on logic and impact of combination, dubious of benefits. Network-sharing joint venture MBNL is at heart of concerns and may become a focus for any forthcoming ‘remedies’. Read more…
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Strategy & Change
TowerCos move to defend turf against ‘very aggressive’ land bankers
Real estate-poor European TowerCos brace for land bank predators. Not-a-TowerCo Cellnex taking initiative with creation of Celland LandCo. Yet another area where the US sets the pace. Read more…