All articles by Joe Purnell – Page 7
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch: security, sovereignty take centre stage
Analyst Briefing: BT is expanding its UK sovereignty push with new services and capacity plans; security also gets a nod via a major leadership change said to enable ‘focus and scale’; and changes in the fibre world mean more subsidised build for Openreach…
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InterviewChelot: wholesale scale is ‘mission impossible’ without nexfibre-Netomnia deal
Interview: “I have a wholesale platform, but I have no wholesale customers”. Jeremy Chelot’s Netomnia hit a structural ceiling, with bowing out the only way to progress the Openreach challenge. Firing back at nexfibre deal critics, he asks for alternatives to his Plan B, deeming consolidation the best route and reflecting on the challenge of leading a business through a sale.
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Products & ServicesBT commissions Nscale, Rackspace to advance UK ‘sovereign’ AI ambitions
Group expands its Sovereign Platform product suite and builds up the underlying AI data centre capacity via deals with Nscale, NVIDIA, and Rackspace Technologies.
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Strategy & ChangeBT rejigs central security leadership as Tristan Morgan exits
BT Security MD leaves for US role with responsibilities split in two as BT looks to tap B2B security opportunity.
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PeoplewatchEMEA telco veteran Rob Shuter bolsters KKR’s digital infra squad
KKR has added heavyweight telco leader Rob Shuter to its advisory panel, tapping his ‘rare’ blend of fibre and telecoms expertise as the firm looks to scale its digital infra stable.
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Analyst BriefingVodafonewatch: carving a quantum niche
Analyst Briefing: Vodafone gets to work cementing a spot in the quantum-secure networking future, as its Tomorrow Street accelerator onboards Arqit as a portfolio member, and JV Pairpoint works on cryptographically secure financing for tower-based edge compute use-cases. Plus, senior and strategic moves across the Group, retail investment in the UK, and potential infra sharing in India…
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Network & InfraVodafone’s Pairpoint plots tower-based edge compute to meet AI demand
Vodafone’s Web3 joint venture partners Nillion and Chainlink to remove financing as a blocker to cell tower-based edge data centre build, providing ‘trusted’ returns to investors and ‘balancing’ the AI economy…
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Financial & PerformanceMacquarie takes a hit as it considers KCOM exit
Investment group writes down more than half a billion pounds on Hull-based operator as reports swirl of imminent sale.
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PeoplewatchVodafone Peoplewatch: Vi appoints AI chief to lead ‘intelligent techco’ transition
April 2026 update, including: new AI Strategy Architect gets a wide-ranging transformation brief in India; Safaricom fills two-year IT Director vacancy; senior departures in business resilience, external affairs, and the Vodacom boardroom; Vodafone IoT Americas further strengthened; and more…
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Suppliers & SCMTomorrow Street fast-tracks quantum techco Arqit into Vodafone orbit
Quantum-safe security scaleup Arqit has been named a Tomorrow Street portfolio company after graduating from Scaleup X programme, seeking closer Vodafone ties and enterprise opportunities…
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Financial & PerformanceUK fibre: lenders seize control of Gigaclear following debt restructure, Infracapital wipeout
In depth: rural provider handed over to lenders in sweeping recapitalisation, following £0.5bn+ debt and equity write-down, with cashflow inflection point said to be on the horizon. Investors zeroed out, following abandoned trade sale, with spotlight also on National Wealth Fund sector exposure…
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch: turning to AI for legacy migrations, future autonomy
Analyst Briefing: BT’s embrace of AI stretches to network autonomy and engineer scheduling; EE adds a Starlink tie-up to improve ESN emergency comms; and the Group finalises the Scottish WAN migration project…
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OperationsOpenreach onboards AI agents in bid to cut missed appointments
Customer service lead Chris Herbert talks up ‘unified, proactive, AI-powered’ customer engagement strategy, underpinned by NiCE agents.
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Network & InfraBT adopts NVIDIA’s telco LLM in pursuit of autonomous, intent-based networks
NVIDIA’s large telco model is playing a ‘significant’ role in BT’s journey to network autonomy, providing a data sandbox in which the Group can conduct AI R&D. Data & AI lead Séainín McCoy considers the use of synthetic data to be paramount for maximisation of RoI and mitigation of risk…
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Strategy & ChangeAge of outcomes: Gamma empowering SPs with global expansion, portfolio diversification
As turn-of-the-decade markets mature, communications platform provider Gamma is charting a new course for its service provider partners, leveraging strategic expansion into Asia-Pacific and promoting portfolio diversification to differentiate and unlock new revenue streams.
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Analyst BriefingVodafonewatch: Group exposed to Italian towers upheaval
Analyst Briefing: Vodafone faces turbulence as Italian towers market threatens to implode; Vi pushes on with 5G rollout catch-up; Partner Markets gets a branding and leadership refresh; and B2B M&A looks to be paying off in Germany…
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Network & InfraVi accelerates 5G rollout with ‘strategic densification’ model
CTO Jagbir Singh outlines a “phase and calibrated” 5G rollout approach as India’s Vi attempts to close the gap to its faster-moving rivals.
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Partnerships & AlliancesVodafone gives Partner Markets a fresh lick of paint, installs new leadership
Jan Holzberg replaces Petr Dvořák to lead Partner Markets, which has been rebranded to Vodafone Partners.
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PeoplewatchBT Peoplewatch: data and API commercialisation brought under new leadership
March 2026 edition: a wave of end-FY changes sees BT tap Verizon for a Group-level strategy appointment; bring in a new network procurement lead; and move data and API commercialisation under fresh ownership. Significant changes at Consumer and Openreach, while BT alumni pick up exec roles elsewhere…
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Network & InfraEE refreshes ESN fleet with Starlink connectivity
Operator rolls out upgrades its rapid response vehicle fleet with Starlink LEO service onboard as it looks to build Emergency Services Network resilience.