All articles by Joe Purnell – Page 3
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Analyst BriefingsBTwatch Analyst Briefing: regulatory give and take
Latest from BT as the group benefits from spectrum licence fee savings, but warns of potential competitive damage if TAR changes go through as proposed; Simon Lowth reportedly on his way out; 5G SA rollout updates…
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Analyst BriefingsVodafonewatch Analyst Briefing: deals driving network, security upgrades
Latest from Vodafone, including a spectrum fee reprieve; SecOps potential with $1bn partner Google Cloud; DOCSIS development in the Netherlands; more from Turkey, Kenya, South Africa, elsewhere…
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M&AVodacom’s Maziv JV clears hurdle to create $3.4bn South African fibre giant
Four years in the making, CIVH partnership looks back on track with new commitments securing regulatory approval. Deal will cement Maziv as South African retail and wholesale fibre leader…
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PeopleBT CFO Simon Lowth readies for departure — report
Succession planning underway as reports indicate Lowth will leave within a year, closing out a decade-long tenure and teeing up yet another change to Allison Kirkby’s executive leadership team…
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Network & InfraTAR 2026: altnets, Openreach rail against ‘puzzling’ regulatory misstep
In a rare show of alignment, Ofcom’s Telecoms Access Review re-zoning proposals get a sledging from altnets and the incumbent as the UK’s fibre industry unites to vent frustration at potential regulatory framework update…
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Public AffairsOfcom yields, slashes UK spectrum fees — MNOs demand more
£60m annual reduction sees regulator modify ALF regime and tease softening of spectrum trading regime, but fails to silence criticism that move does not go far enough. Operators lobbying for Treasury to reinvest remaining £270m windfall back into rural 5G…
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B2BVodafone building SecOps platform with $1bn partner Google Cloud
Group cybersecurity architecture lead Emma Smith updates on the $1bn deal with Google Cloud as the pair work on security operations services for both internal and commercial users.
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Analyst BriefingsBTwatch Analyst Briefing: moving network tests to the real world
Latest from BT as network slicing, 5G SA, and DAS go live; UK fibre challenger CityFibre raises its game with new funding and M&A potential; Adastral Park’s Gemini platform welcomes first quantum startup; and EE and friends earn collusion clearance in Phones 4u case; plus more…
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PeopleBT Peoplewatch: Consumer and Business bosses take boardroom seats
30+ senior and strategic changes at BT, including a treasury replacement; more International swaps as the new B2B division gets settled; new boardroom digs for Marc Allera; more…
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Network & InfraVodafoneZiggo picks Teleste to support bet on next-gen DOCSIS
VodafoneZiggo partners with Teleste for a nationwide 1.8GHz upgrade, advancing its DOCSIS-led broadband future…
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Analyst BriefingsVodafonewatch Analyst Briefing: far-flung fibre deals
Latest from Vodafone as it secures antitrust commission support for a fibre move in South Africa and cements an Australian fibre sale; Portugal CEO vents M&A frustration; group lends support to AI RAN Alliance as open RAN overhaul continues; build up to Q1 earnings…
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Partnerships & AlliancesVodafone adds Euro-heft to unbalanced AI-RAN Alliance
Vodafone’s entry into the AI-RAN Alliance takes the still-young vendor- and academic- and Asian-operator-heavy consortium past 100 members. With the AI-RAN market forecast to reach $10bn by 2030, the move underscores the strategic importance of efficiency gains and new revenue opportunities through autonomous networks.
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InnovationBT opens up key testing platform to startup as it pursues quantum collaboration
Sheffield-based quantum encryption hardware specialist Sitehop tests and integrates its solution on the Gemini facility at Adastral Park.
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Analyst BriefingsBTwatch Analyst Briefing: the scale of the altnet challenge
Latest from BT, including a look at the threat faced by Openreach as fibre altnets mature; PIA in focus as Fibrus co-founder questions the incumbent’s duct and pole access pricing; BT Group’s embrace of third-party IT support tools in a bid to cut costs, drive digital transformation; more…
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M&AVodacom welcomes antitrust reversal as fibreco deal revived
Maziv merger, which will see Vodacom take a 30% stake in a standalone South African fibre operator with Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa, now back on the table after remedies appease Competition Commission.
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M&APortuguese telco CEOs question ‘vision’ of regulator in crowded market
Vodafone, MEO, and NOS leaders question regulatory direction, with Vodafone Portugal CEO Luís Lopes calling ANACOM’s approach to consolidation ‘very peculiar’.
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Analyst BriefingsVodafonewatch Analyst Briefing: four years in, Ethiopian experiment continues its charge
Latest from Vodafone as Safaricom Ethiopia turns four and passes ten million customers; VodafoneThree confirms spectrum handover to rival; European satcomms JV picks Luxembourg for HQ; group prepares for new neighbours at Newbury home…
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Deep DiveUK Fibre: altnet optimism vindicated over time as take-up erodes incumbent dominance
In depth: Eight Advisory’s latest Tracker shines light on altnet challenge to Openreach, with mature cohorts reaching parity and fibre insurgency continuing amidst land-grab tactics. TelcoTitan’s analysis explores linear trajectory of upstarts, impact of overbuild, continued testing of investor patience, and whether the UK can truly sustain more than two major platforms…
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Suppliers & SCMVendor rebellion: why major operators are ditching Oracle and VMware support contracts
BT and Telefónica are the first of numerous telcos to go on the record challenging software vendor dominance by shifting legacy IT support to third-party specialists. This analysis explores how Spinnaker Support is helping them slash costs, extend end-of-life IT, and reallocate resources…
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Analyst BriefingsBTwatch Analyst Briefing: state-backed infra advances with varying success
Latest developments from BT, including: varying pace of public-backed projects ESN, Project Gigabit, R100, and SRN; buying chief Cyril Pourrat on AI momentum; RCS innovation with Brand Assure; Middle Eastern DHL deal; more…