All articles by Joe Purnell – Page 4
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Network & InfraVodafone bets on ‘hybrid’ future to tap growing sovereign cloud demand
Group’s CTO Scott Petty expects telcos to win when offering ‘hybrid’ sovereign cloud setups, operating hyperscaler tech in parallel with local controls and sovereign governance. How big is sovereign cloud opportunity? “The jury’s out”, he says…
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PeoplewatchBT Peoplewatch: UK rivals trade Networks R&D and SMB leaders
July 2026 edition, featuring: the introduction of VM O2’s Catherine Amran to lead BT’s small business segment; networks R&D fellow Maria Cuevas moving the other way; a new BT Mobile product lead being appointed, following the B2C relaunch; and Gavin Patterson picking up another boardroom seat.
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Operations‘Reimagine, rethink, rewire’: BT wants AI to go beyond mere cost-cutting
DTW Ignite: Peter Leukert, Claire Gillies, and Gabriela Styf Sjöman showcase BT’s effort to get to the true value of AI: new revenue streams, strengthened customer trust, and reimagined network operations…
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PeoplewatchVodafone Peoplewatch: another German reset
July 2026 edition: Vodafone Germany CEO gets nod of confidence, but changes elsewhere on challenged operator’s ExCo just two years after last “full reset”; plus 25+ senior and strategic changes across Vodafone’s European markets, Group HQ, and international outposts…
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Network & InfraVodafoneThree turns to video AI to streamline mobile network upgrade
UK network operator deploys Vyntelligence tech to enable remote site audits in a bid to improve safety and efficiency as it delivers a massive £11bn network integration and upgrade programme.
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M&AUK’s CityFibre exits off-net as O’Hagan readies for ‘serious’ wholesale expansion
Industry veteran Tom O’Hagan buys CityFibre’s Entanet with ambitions to launch renewed wholesale challenge ready to consolidate and grow. CityFibre, meanwhile, gets fully focused on on-net provisioning…
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M&ACMA uprates Netomnia–nexfibre investigation to Phase 2 as altnets call for ‘urgency’
Altnet buyer nexfibre gets pragmatic and skips straight to the in-depth competition review, keeping hopes alive for completion before the end of the year. The UK’s fibre scene is set to change, but the CMA will now decide the extent.
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M&AVodacom completes ‘high-growth market arc’ with controlling Safaricom stake
South African operator completes $2.1bn deal to take majority control of Safaricom, including its Ethiopian venture and m-money platform M-PESA. CEO Shameel Joosub considers it more than a mere bulk-up as Vodacom looks to leverage East African experience across the continent.
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M&ABT and Verizon pair up on $4bn multinational B2B venture
In depth: BT has finally found a partner for its troubled International enterprise business, striking a joint venture agreement with Verizon that could bring an end to years of strategic uncertainty while creating a new global connectivity player focused on multinational customers.
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Analyst BriefingVodafonewatch: AI, defence, and quantum strategies take shape
Analyst Briefing: Vodafone advances on multiple strategic fronts, from network integration and defence expansion to AI deployment and post-quantum security; plus another Tomorrow Street alumnus gets a Voda deal, Greek fibre plans, and SpaceMobile builds momentum…
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B2BVodafone chases defence opportunity with centralised German hub
European B2B chief Hagen Rickmann heads a move to consolidate and ‘bundle’ defence-related operations in Düsseldorf to target the sector “more strongly”, meet growing demand, and go head-to-head with rival telcos.
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Suppliers & SCMVodafone’s R&D chief urges infraco action as quantum threat presents ‘new normal’
DTW Ignite: Luke Ibbetson warns of post-quantum cryptography as a near-term priority for infracos, with a ground-up approach needed to ensure fixed, mobile, and satellite assets are protected…
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch: context-aware network mission gets moving
Analyst Briefing: Reza Rahnama has pitched the benefits of BT’s context-aware network ambitions for mission-critical comms; network slicing and L4S in the works as 5G SA the primary focus; EE’s lauded for role in ESN; Openreach lined up to bid on Welsh broadband mega-contracts…
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B2BVodafone, Ericsson set sights on military 5G SA use-cases after radio backhaul ‘breakthrough’
CCW 2026: Vodafone and Ericsson are advancing military-grade 5G capabilities to meet defence demands for isolated, interworking, and resilient networks that can operate beyond traditional infrastructure.
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Network & InfraBT maps strategic shift from GEO to LEO for rural backhaul
CCW 2026: Demand for low latency connectivity has prompted a shift to low-Earth orbit mega-constellations for ultra-rural mobile sites as BT’s priority LEO use-case. Consumer D2D services considered a future prospect, but mobile backhaul has a role now — and HAPS has re-entered the conversation too…
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Network & InfraUK ‘fortunate’ to have BT on board as mission critical comms project nears maturity
CCW 2026: Emergency Services Network (ESN) programme leadership talk up BT’s role in mission critical comms as the operator taps ‘shared benefits’, leans into commercial incentives and avoids ‘excessive’ legislation…
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M&AVodafoneThree networks chief: merger remedies more ‘asset’ than ‘burden’
Chief Network Officer Andrea Donà has framed strict regulatory remedies as an “engineer’s paradise” as the UK operator sets about its £7bn network integration programme.
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Partnerships & AlliancesBT gets in on sovereign frontier AI as gov pitches UK as ‘AI maker, not taker’
BT enters the sovereign AI breach as one of a cohort supporting Cosine’s Lumen Sovereign project to build and train a frontier AI model exclusively on UK soil. Government gets in on the action by providing crucial sovereign compute resource, along with a wave of parallel sovereign AI announcements…
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch: BT gets its AI wings, swoops on enterprise opportunity
Analyst Briefing: CEO Allison Kirkby happy with progress at the Group in the FY, but with the usual room for improvement across all divisions. B2B gets busy with AI, cybersecurity, and MVNOs at the fore; B2C gets mobile; and the ‘transformation’ machine rolls towards another 40,000+ job cuts…
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PeoplewatchBT Peoplewatch: Plusnet chief expands brief as multi-brand strategy makes mark
June 2026 edition: BT taps the banking industry for digital and transformation expertise; the renewed multi-brand strategy prompts pivots at Consumer; Openreach beds in nascent CX division; and a Data & AI vacancy opens up at BT Digital…