All Legal (compliance, regulatory) articles
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Public Affairs
UK Court of Appeal sides with operators in latest Phones 4u ruling
The UK Court of Appeal has decisively ruled against Phones 4u’s long-running allegations of collusion among major operators, leaving the retailer to consider its final legal options and face substantial costs…
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Weekly Briefings
Vodafonewatch Analyst Briefing: far-flung fibre deals
Latest from Vodafone as it secures antitrust commission support for a fibre move in South Africa and cements an Australian fibre sale; Portugal CEO vents M&A frustration; group lends support to AI RAN Alliance as open RAN overhaul continues; build up to Q1 earnings…
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Strategy & Change
DT holds firm on diversity as T-Mobile US ditches DEI to secure M&A deals
Deutsche Telekom says its approach is unaffected as T-Mobile adapts to policy changes and scraps diversity, equity, and inclusion to win approval for two pending acquisitions.
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M&A
Telefónica to take control of FiBrasil JV in €132m deal
Telefónica’s Brazilian business has agreed a deal to buy out its fibre joint venture partner in a further sign that the Spanish group is now keen to up consolidation and control over past infrastructure side-ventures.
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Venturing & Investments
UK gov allocates €163m to Eutelsat fundraising
UK government earmarks sizeable contibution as part of French satellite operator’s €1.5bn funding round. Eutelsat plans to expand OneWeb LEO constellation, shift towards enterprise- and government-focused go-to-market model. Read more…
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M&A
Vodacom welcomes antitrust reversal as fibreco deal revived
Maziv merger, which will see Vodacom take a 30% stake in a standalone South African fibre operator with Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa, now back on the table after remedies appease Competition Commission.
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Strategy & Change
Telefónica to take more ‘calculated risks’ in new strategy, says Murtra
Telefónica’s strategic review is now expected in the fourth quarter this year, as Executive Chairman Marc Murtra envisions more risk taking and calls for a “social contract” with the European Commission that enables national consolidation in exchange for investment.
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M&A
Telenor seeks Norwegian expansion with GlobalConnect fibre buy
Norwegian telco to acquire B2C division (and associated fibre assets) from GlobalConnect. Telenor said the move forms a “key building block” in strategy to strengthen its Norwegian fibre business, while GlobalConnect seeks to shift its focus onto B2B and wholesale. Read more…
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Interview
Fibrus founder decries PIA “margin squeeze”, calls out Ofcom to fix rural fibre build
Interview: Northern Ireland FibreCo hero says Openreach’s duct and pole sharing terms “just wrong”, undermining rural fibre investment. Outspoken chair Conal Henry proposes “fair bet” pricing overhaul, calls on Ofcom to fix its error in latest sector Review…
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M&A
Portuguese telco CEOs question ‘vision’ of regulator in crowded market
Vodafone, MEO, and NOS leaders question regulatory direction, with Vodafone Portugal CEO Luís Lopes calling ANACOM’s approach to consolidation ‘very peculiar’.
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M&A
TPG secures final approval for fibre sale to Vocus
Australian operator receives final, unconditional regulatory approval for its sale of fixed infrastructure assets to Vocus Group, leaving only certain “remaining conditions” for the pair to finalise the transaction. Read more…
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People
Magyar Telekom selects CEO of wireless infra carve-out
Hungarian operator names wholesale expert Sándor Markovics CEO of planned tower spin-off after shareholders voted for the creation of the new unit at a recent EGM.
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M&A
Vodafone, Three complete UK merger to create ‘multi-dimensional’ mobile leader
Combination creates new UK mobile top dog with more than 27 million subscribers. Vodafone’s Margherita Della Valle has declared her European reshaping programme as ‘complete’ as the Group locks in VodafoneThree’s financial plans…
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M&A
Intelsat–SES merger gets green light from UK competition watchdog
Satellite majors receive thumbs up from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority to go ahead with $3.1bn merger, clearing a major regulatory hurdle in their mission to build a “stronger and more competitive” multi-orbit satco.
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Strategy & Change
Orange’s Heydemann says message getting through on need for change in Europe
Speaking to shareholders, Orange’s CEO indicates intent to keep up the pressure on European regulators for change, while welcoming signs that repeated lobbying by telco leaders is starting to bear fruit.
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Partnerships & Alliances
IHS Towers seeks military help to tackle infra vandalism in Nigeria
London-based wireless infra operator forms “strategic partnership” with Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, aiming to help overcome problem of vandalism and theft of assets.
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Public Affairs
Vodafone’s £120m legal battle with franchisees reaches High Court
Lawsuit filed by nearly half of Vodafone UK’s retail franchisees proceeds to High Court, after failing to reach a resolution through a mediation process.
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Financial & Performance
South Africa: energy challenges push rivals Vodacom and MTN to collaborate on power
Vodacom FY24–25: operators in early stages of infra-sharing under Energy Users regulation.
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Premium
OTE sees light at end of Romanian escape tunnel
Greek operator says it could be a “couple of months” away from completing a deal to offload Telekom Romania Mobile after a four-year effort to offload the business.
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Technology
Cellnex recruits AI in fightback against dodgy landlords
CEO of Europe’s largest tower group highlights use of data analytics to identify strategic risks affecting its 120,000+ sites across region, amid ‘indecent’ moves by land aggregators.