All articles by Ken Wieland – Page 16
-
People
Vantage Towers CEO says he’s no Vodafone lackey
Vivek Badrinath emphasises operational and strategic independence from Vodafone. CEO claims Europe is 20 years behind the USA in commercialisation of towers. Newspaper interview used to defend upcoming listing on Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
-
Network & Infrastructure
Deutsche Telekom allies with European peers on open RAN
Telco grouping aims to generate greater economies of scale for smaller suppliers through common procurement parameters. Lobbying European governments for open RAN funding high on the agenda.
-
Network & Infrastructure
T-Mobile US goes Nordic (again) for 5G expansion
Longstanding partners Ericsson and Nokia sign “multi-billion-dollar agreements”. Operator makes concerted 5G push at 2.5GHz to complement 600MHz rollout. Nordic duo also tasked with providing “advanced technical capabilities”, including voice over NR, NR carrier aggregation, network slicing, and multi-user massive MIMO.
-
Network & Infrastructure
T-Mobile US looks to top up kitty amid C-Band feeding frenzy
Operator issues three tranches of Senior Notes. Says C-Band auction “may” have something to do with it, as bidding reaches an eye-watering $80.7bn.
-
Network & Infrastructure
Vodafone bulks up Vantage Towers with Cornerstone
Vodafone UK and Telefónica UK give each other freedom to “commercialise” their 50% stakes in Cornerstone JV. Transfer of Vodafone’s shareholding to Vantage Towers to take place within weeks. Important (and long-awaited) addition to Vodafone’s European TowerCo ahead of upcoming IPO.
-
People
Legere considers running for office after Capitol Hill “craziness”
Outspoken ex-CEO of T-Mobile US says he “can’t stand by”. Tweets that somebody needs to “help real Americans find change”.
-
Network & Infrastructure
BT Labs leans on AI/ML for RAN revamp
Targets transformation in design and operation of 5G RAN architectures. Envisages shift from cellular-centric to user-centric networks. Aim not simply to reduce costs and handle more traffic, but to unlock new revenue streams through service differentiation.
-
Network & Infrastructure
Australia’s mobile network operators pitch for 5G funding
TPG, Telstra, and Optus angle for lion’s share of spoils from the government’s Australian 5G Innovation Initiative. They caution against allocating funds to niche 5G projects and players, arguing it will produce poor returns on taxpayers’ money. Trio advocates MNO-led partnerships as best-suited applicants.
-
People
Openreach seeks people power to fuel full-fibre
BT infrastructure division announces 5,300 new jobs for 2021, although 2,800 of them will be created within subcontractors. Capacity needed to increase weekly rate of full-fibre premises passed from 40,000 to 50,000.
-
Network & Infrastructure
Vodafone Germany CEO Ametsreiter on 5G ramp-up mission
Vodafone Germany ups 5G coverage targets but still lags Telekom. Draft IT Security Act 2.0 under fire from former Head of Cybersecurity at the Ministry of the Interior.
-
Partnerships & Alliances
Vodafone clicks with Amazon on 5G edge service
Vodafone Business’ year-long collaboration with AWS on distributed MEC close to bearing fruit. First commercial services in UK, Germany slated for spring 2021. Vodafone and AWS initiate Edge Innovation Programme to develop PoCs.
-
Strategy & Change
Liberty likes idea of VodafoneZiggo listing
Vodafone partner’s CFO argues that an IPO would command “premium valuation” in comparison with incumbent KPN. Bracken casts Vodafone as “wonderful partner”, and that the JV has done a “great job” in cutting costs and increasing revenue. Talks enthusiastically about VodafoneZiggo as “national FMC champion”. ...
-
Network & Infrastructure
INWIT ties up loose ownership end
Telecom Italia sells remaining direct stake in TowerCo, co-controlled with Vodafone, to Canson Capital Partners.
-
Network & Infrastructure
Openreach consults with CPs on exchange closures
BT infrastructure arm continues prep for shutdown of 4,600 local exchanges. “Exchange evolution” programme may last 20 years, although early-2030s to see most dramatic change. Purchase of copper broadband services now halted in Salisbury.
-
Network & Infrastructure
Vodafone Italy CEO wants government help on 5G
Bisio claims country’s operators unfairly handicapped after heavy outlays on spectrum. 5G development projects completed in Milan. CEO voices caution again about Italy’s plan for a single broadband infrastructure company.
-
Strategy & Change
Telefónica Tech changes shape ahead of carve-out
Reorganisation sees cybersecurity and cloud businesses merge. Telefónica IoT & Big Data Tech registered as a Telefónica Tech company.
-
Public Affairs
BT Italia accounting scandal to court, as Group retreats
Court of Milan fixes trial date in 2021. 20 defendants in the dock, including two former senior BT execs. Alvarez spared. Patterson concedes BT was an absent parent. TIM snaffling SME and public sector accounts, but BT retaining MNC presence and local assets.
-
Public Affairs
Openreach Monitoring Unit report card: pass
Monitoring unit warns against complacency in safeguarding strategic independence. Pricing and PIA implementation remain areas of concern.
-
Partnerships & Alliances
BT makes managed SD-WAN play with VMware
New “cloud-optimised” SD-WAN management solution aims to give MNCs more control, boost performance, and enhance security. VMware SD-WAN supported by BT consultants tasked with advising customers. Just the start of the partners’ software-defined network services collaboration.
-
Network & Infrastructure
Vodafone Germany prioritises HFC over FTTP in Gigabit push
OpCo reallocates FTTP budget to finance HFC upgrades and expansion. Cable seen as giving better return on investment. VfD commits to fulfilling existing pipeline of FTTP projects. DOCSIS 4.0 in the wings.