All Legal (compliance, regulatory) articles
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M&ATelefónica seeks suitor with Chile exit in pipeline
Speculative report suggests Group is ready to relinquish interest in a key pillar of its Hispam unit as monetisation plans evolve. Liberty flagged as front runner, although may face regulatory challenges, and other runners and riders not ruled out.
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Financial & Performance
Vi eyes $2bn cash injection
Reports suggest Vodafone’s Indian joint venture will announce funds from a consortium of investors imminently. Fundraising initiative began in September to ease Vi’s debt burden, with 4G expansion also expected to get a boost.
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M&A
T-Mobile ties up another Sprint loose end with Swiftel buy
US NatCo buys Sprint ‑branded wireless assets operated by Swiftel Communications, leaving Shentel as the last remaining Sprint affiliate.
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M&A
Vodafone Albania quietly plans second cableco buy
OpCo looking to add another string to its convergence bow through a takeover of cable TV player ApNet. Takeover another signal of continued Vodafone commitment to Albania despite recent exit rumours and suggestions by Group leadership that more asset sales could be in pipeline.
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Public Affairs
eir’s fury over BT’s NI PSSN contract award reignited
BT hit with substantial fine for misinformation that may have affected the outcome of a £40m government contract. Irish operator “ considering our options ” on prized PSSN contract, although Ofcom found no deliberate breaches.
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M&A
BT retreats in Italy as court date looms
TIM snaffles SME and public sector accounts business, but BT maintaining a presence for large enterprises as well as multinationals. Taint of accounting scandal lingers, with former Global executives set for trial in 2021.
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Interview
Droniq COO: BVLOS flight within sight
Ralph Schepp talks regulatory hurdles, market potential, and use‑cases. DT‑DFS JV sets high ambitions for traffic management platform. Partners brought in, with DT staying close.
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Suppliers & SCM
UK tightens screws on telcos over Huawei
Government plans to tackle lack of diversity in upcoming new 5G strategy.
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Public Affairs
Vodafone takes political heat over customer complaints
Ministers scold eir and Vodafone Ireland for poor customer service during pandemic. Following meetings, outage disrupts VfIr data services.
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Network & Infrastructure
Ofcom hints at ten‑year “fair bet” timeframe for BT
Openreach to be unconstrained on full‑fibre pricing until 2031 under proposed plans from the regulator. Jansen claims he would rather have a cap on returns, and more time. Fellow infrastructure builders happy with clarity, but Openreach customer TalkTalk unhappy with impact on wholesale. Regulatory clarity may ...
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Network & Infrastructure
Vodafone Portugal grudgingly files 5G auction application
Portuguese OpCo indicates legal battle over auction rules is ongoing.
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Operations
BT picks Belfast for legal relaunch
Multi-million-pound investment goes towards revamp of Group’s legal presence. Another BT function chooses to switch activities across Irish Sea.
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Strategy & Change
Elsewhere in Vodafone Europe: 5G tested across the bloc
German rivals jump on campus bandwagon; physical and digital security launches; 5G use-cases explored in Netherlands , Spain , and UK .
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Network & Infrastructure
UK gets on with life after Huawei
New 5G Diversification Strategy and Telecommunications (Security) Bill expected to introduce tough new network security expectations on operators, while attempting to reduce the risks associated with over‑reliance on Ericsson and Nokia. Government backing open standards, and particularly open RAN , to create a diverse supply chain, ...
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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.
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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.
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Network & Infrastructure
Government backpedals on fibre: industry on its own
Improbable goal of universal gigabit coverage abandoned by UK government. £5bn investment plans massively watered down in latest Spending Review . BT critical of retreat. Regulatory environment and sketchy plans for gigabit BDUK could play into Openreach hands.
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Public Affairs
BT calls for broadband USO rework amid pricing row
Ofcom investigating excessive costings for new connections. BT fires back with calls to make rural connectivity a viable shared endeavour. State-salvaged OneWeb satellite service namechecked as potential enabler. BT also calls for clarity on £5bn rural full-fibre subsidy.
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Strategy & Change
Elsewhere in T-Mobile US: 6G gets nod
T‑Mobile US joins 6G alliance with industry bigwigs, and foots a Sprint bill for Lifeline abuse.
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Innovation (R&D)
German operators jump on campus 5G bandwagon
Once-dissenting operators now planning to use licence-based campus networks for service and technology development. Steady growth in 5G local frequency allocations maintained, reaching 88 organisations in the first year. Verizon also enters scene.
