All articles by Joe Purnell – Page 8
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch Analyst Briefing: CEO issues warning ahead of Budget, regulatory review
Latest from BT as CEO Allison Kirkby raises concern at the tax burden and regulatory red-tape faced by UK infra owners; Openreach crosses 20 million prems milestone; Netomnia boss eyes scaled BT challenge; more from around the Group…
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Suppliers & SCMSamsung secures berth in Vodafone’s open RAN squad
Questions remain about the scope, scale, and suppliers of Vodafone’s open RAN future, but Samsung is the first to publicly declare its success in the procurement process.
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PeoplewatchKatherine Ainley exits Ericsson after five years as UK&I CEO
Ex-BT exec departs the vendor with claims of a job well done: UK business grows, major 5G deals signed.
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Suppliers & SCMVodafone’s procurement arm seeks grander scale with Telenor tie-up
Vague but apparently expansive, telco duo signs up to ‘leverage complementary footprint’ to avoid duplication and draw down unspecified ‘synergies’.
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Analyst BriefingVodafonewatch Analyst Briefing: Group pitches role in driving European investment
Latest from Vodafone as execs add their voices to calls for pro-investment, pro-competition regulation in Europe; VodafoneThree names key vendors for UK network upgrade; 2G on the way out; Safaricom investment faces funding crunch…
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Financial & PerformanceSafaricom scaleup Circle Gas faces ‘severe but plausible’ funding crunch
Kenyan cooking gas investment continues to post substantial losses despite showing some fruit from a major restructure, with new funding required to ensure expansion plans can go ahead…
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InnovationOpenreach taps VR startup for 3D fibre planning
Openreach adds another weapon to its fibre building arsenal through Glasgow startup, using VR mapping to accelerate the cable routing process.
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Strategy & ChangeFrom upstart to fibre-mobile powerhouse: Netomnia CEO plots BT take-down
Connected Britain: Jeremy Chelot refreshes provocative vision for fibreco segment, with fixed-mobile convergence latest outcome of choice. The ultimate prize could be a scaled altnet merging with VodafoneThree, or a new MNO — creating a new heavyweight contender to BT/Openreach…
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Public AffairsBT’s Kirkby pulls no punches in review of UK regulatory, fiscal policy
Connected Britain: Allison Kirkby lets loose on Downing Street policy, with greater fiscal certainty needed to fund much-needed infra investment and AI adoption. Regulatory policy comes in for inevitable criticism too, as the BT boss sets the scene for the Chancellor’s upcoming Budget and Ofcom’s pending Telecoms Access Review…
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch Briefing: reputational change expert joins BT top-brass
Latest from in and around BT, including the latest Executive Committee change as Allison Kirkby looks to shore up cultural and reputational change efforts; BT co-develops anti-fraud APIs; BT Ireland fibre assets formally sold off; more from Openreach, BT Business, elsewhere…
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Products & ServicesUK MNOs collab to take fraudsters to task with new APIs
BT, Three, Virgin Media O2, and Vodafone jointly launch tech to enable age verification and fraud protection, leveraging MNO data.
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Analyst BriefingVodafonewatch Analyst Briefing: Group spends billions on UK network upgrade; millions on Romanian bulk-up
Latest from in and around Vodafone, including the first £2bn investment of VodafoneThree’s network infra upgrade programme; Della Valle’s latest ‘right-sizing’ initiative in Romania; and significant ExCo changes at Group and OpCo level in Europe and Africa…
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Suppliers & SCMEricsson, Nokia win big as VodafoneThree opens wallet for £11bn network investment
UK MNO names core network vendors to underpin its MOCN upgrade and rollout project. Ericsson secures role as merged operator’s senior core network vendor, while Nokia steps up for RAN delivery, and the pair set to cover the “majority, but not the entirety” of VodafoneThree’s eight-year network build…
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M&AVodafone, Digi seal Telekom Romania takeover deal
OTE Group exits Romania, with Digi taking €40m worth of assets and Vodafone Romania splashing €30m on the rest.
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PeoplewatchVodafone Peoplewatch: HR overhaul at HQ and beyond
September 2025 edition: series of changes to HR, regulatory policy, external affairs, and legal leadership positions make for refreshed Executive Committees in Europe and Africa; plus senior and strategic appointments at Group and OpCo level around Vodafone…
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Partnerships & AlliancesIndia’s Vi taps TCS for ‘AI-driven’ systems overhaul
Struggling operator extends Tata Consultancy Services relationship for five years, this time majoring on AI solutions for customer experience gains.
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Strategy & ChangeVM O2 unifies fixed wholesale in latest B2B rejig
Operator combines consumer and business wholesale functions into a single entity in a bid to reduce complexity and ease customer journeys.
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch Analyst Briefing: Bharti pulls up a pew
Latest from BT as its part-owner Bharti further cements its strategic position with a pair of boardroom seats; EE taps Ericsson tech to bolster 5G strengths; Ofcom prepares to allocate more spectrum; BT wins in Edinburgh…
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PeoplewatchBT Peoplewatch: Corporate Affairs & Brand chief steps onto the BT ExCo
Latest senior and strategic changes across BT, including a new ExCo member for Allison Kirkby, charged with driving brand transformation and reputational change; Openreach boardroom swaps; BT International rework continues; more…
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Strategy & ChangeIndian magnate joins BT board to give long-term investor Bharti a voice at the top
BT Group’s largest shareholder Bharti Enterprises firms up relationship to secure two boardroom seats.