Ken Wieland
Ken has been writing about developments in the fixed and mobile markets for over twenty years. He has been a contributor to TelcoTitans since 2015.
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Public AffairsBT ‘foodbank’ stokes union ire ahead of strike vote
CWU leaders angrily cite food donations for EE call centre staff as an example of employees struggling to make ends meet.
- Network & Infrastructure
5G refarming ‘requires incentivisation’
Telefónica’s Javier Domínguez Lacasa flags unacceptable lack of certainty on licence duration.
- Network & Infrastructure
Private equity firms make joint bid for Deutsche Funkturm
KKR‑led consortium reportedly submits binding offer for controlling stake in Deutsche Telekom’s German towers business.
- Network & Infrastructure
Vodacom in network-sharing talks with Axian in Tanzania
Discussions kick off after Axian Telecom’s recent acquisition of Millicom’s mobile network operations. Axian talks of “significant investment” in Tanzania over next five years.
- Strategy & Change
Drahi returns to BT spotlight amid fresh takeover speculation
All eyes on French billionaire as six‑month ban on BT takeover bid expires tomorrow.
- Network & Infrastructure
Bangor University wins £4.2m state funding for rural 5G FWA rollout
Vodafone and local fibre infrastructure players Fiberspeed and ITS involved in 18‑month project.
- Network & Infrastructure
O2 Germany in regulator’s crosshairs over coverage lag
BNetza report says operator well behind rivals Telekom Deutschland and Vodafone in rolling out antenna transmission speeds of at least 100Mbps.
- Network & Infrastructure
Deutsche Funkturm rumours continue as bidding enters second phase
Unnamed sources parade panoply of Deutsche Telekom monetisation options for German towers business, apparently valued at around €20bn (including debt).
- Strategy & Change
Teoh tipped to flee TPG once escrow period ends
Operator’s main shareholders Vodafone and Hutchison free to sell shares after 12 July. So too is founder David Teoh, seen likely to up sticks first. Morgan Stanley analyst doesn’t foresee same share price carnage as when Teoh sold 3% stake last December.
- Network & Infrastructure
Comcast’s shadow over FWA, but Sievert bullish
Cable operator CEO says T-Mobile’s 5G FWA service has had no impact on churn.
- Operations
Vodafone targets hundreds of OSS apps with “aggressive” cull
Group sets five-year target to whittle 1,200 OSS apps down to 600.
- Financial & Performance
OTE feels heat of rising energy bills
Greek operator sees €10m hike in energy costs during Q1 FY22; another €10m rise expected in Q2.
- People
Chanel allure forces BT Board change
Leena Nair to step down from BT Board, following recent appointment as Global CEO of Chanel.
- Public Affairs
Vodafone gains partial victory against former ONO execs
La Audiencia de Madrid rules that ONO execs accused of tax fraud before Vodafone takeover should pay VAT fees siphoned off cableco’s books. Ruling falls well short of €140m in damages Vodafone was originally seeking.
- Network & Infrastructure
OTE passes 650,000 premises with full fibre
Plan to pass three million premises by 2027 looks on track. Broadband upgrades to premises outside FTTP footprint gather momentum. Rival Vodafone Greece announces “acceleration” of fibre access rollout.
- M&A
TPG sells towers to Canadian pension fund
CEO Berroeta claims balance sheet boost is “strong outcome” for shareholders. Enterprise value set at AU$ 950m. After transaction costs and tax, TPG will bank a more modest sum of between AU$ 350m and AU$ 400m. Transaction includes 20-year master services agreement.
- M&A
Telefónica wants €1bn for 49% stake in Spanish rural FibreCo
Group issues sales prospectus for new fibre JV. “Host of possible interested parties”, according to Spanish media outlets, with winner to be decided by the end of the year.
- Operations
Vodafone exec hails big data benefits of Google Cloud
Ignacio Garcia says Vodafone collaboration with Google Cloud Platform has helped improved customer satisfaction and lower TCO. Platform processed more than 100 exabytes from Group operations in 2021.
- Partnerships & Alliances
Vodacom signs “exclusive” deal with Visa in South Africa
New contract builds on similar deal between Safaricom and Visa for M‑PESA. Visa payments option likely to be available as a virtual card integrated into the recently launched VodaPay Super App.
- Operations
Telekom Deutschland CEO urges regional decision making
First meeting of five ‘Regio Circles’ takes place in Berlin. Gopalan keen to empower local customer‑facing units to improve end‑user experiences. Fibre and 5G services a priority.
