All Legal (compliance, regulatory) articles
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Network & Infra
UK MNOs bag equal share of mmWave spectrum in £39m auction
BT, VodafoneThree, and Virgin Media O2 share the spoils in Ofcom’s delayed auction, each committing £13m for 26GHz and 40GHz spectrum, but not all MHz are equal…
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Public Affairs
Clearing the Eir: Irish operators criticise ‘excessively lax’ access rules
Industry body ALTO, representing operators such as BT, Vodafone, Enet, and Sky, calls for review into regulation of incumbent.
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Analyst Briefings
Telefónicawatch Analyst Briefing: Group vs Gloop as strategy unveil nears
With less than a month to go before Telefónica’s big strategy reveal, the Group continues to appear set for a battle to push through the new agenda, whether with unions and government on cost-cutting plans in Spain, or European decision-makers on consolidation. Exec Chair Marc Murtra has been in Brazil, meanwhile, to raise support for the new plan. Read more…
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People
Telefónica Peoplewatch: new era dawns at O2; Innovation Digital goes ‘cutting edge’
The latest strategic and senior changes at Telefónica, including news that long-serving Germany chief Markus Haas is stepping down after nearly a decade in the job, and just months after signing a new deal…
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Public Affairs
India considers Vi reprieve to promote UK trade, foster relations — report
Vodafone-backed Indian operator Vi may benefit from UK-India trade negotiations as reports emerge that the New Delhi government may waive some debts.
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Public Affairs
‘Enormously aggressive’: nexfibre leads altnet complaints against Openreach copper-to-fibre discounting
Connected Britain 2025: As Openreach pulls levers to combat massive broadband losses, and drive fibre adoption alongside, altnet leaders have called out the discount pricing strategy as unsustainable. nexfibre execs have called it an exploitation of the incumbent’s significant market powers, CityFibre warns of structure advantage, plus views from other altnets, rivals…
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Network & Infra
DT links to Germany’s broadband portal in bid to cut fibre red tape
Deutsche Telekom urges all municipalities to get on board the Breitband Portal and calls on other operators to make use of the digital platform.
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Public Affairs
Orange Poland could see last regulatory shackles removed, if rivals allow
Regulator UKE plans to remove Orange’s local loop unbundling and bitstream access wholesale obligations in move likely to be closely watched by European telco giants, amid calls for looser rules.
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Eventwatch
Industry maps next steps for UK’s One Touch Switch
Connected Britain 2025: TOTSCo to focus on two key areas over the next year to further improve and streamline OTS, with BT, Hyperoptic, and Grain Connect among those highlighting the system’s consequences and potential improvements…
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Eventwatch
Telco CEOs turn up heat on Europe’s regulators as Draghi report turns one
FT Connect Europe Forum: Discussions turn technical as telco CEOs call for fundamental changes to the way sector regulations are applied, including a move from ex ante to ex post.
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Public Affairs
BT’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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Public Affairs
Orange pushes ahead with its own agenda as regulatory change drags on
Christel Heydemann points out that Orange is not waiting for EU merger guidelines to be revisited before considering measures that would create synergies, as it did in Spain.
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M&A
Telefónica’s Hispam roll-back continues
Spanish group has now firmed deals to offload more than half of its regional business in Hispanoamérica, after gaining a nod from competition regulators for exits from Ecuador and Uruguay. Four further operations remain on Telefónica’s to-sell list as it re-directs resource and attention towards Brazil and Europe.
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M&A
Telefónica cleared to exit Uruguay
Uruguayan government clears path for Telefónica to close sale of local business to Millicom, furthering the Spanish group’s busy deal-making agenda.
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Public Affairs
German government looks to speed up fibre build to flats
Fibre industry organisations and players back key measures proposed by the German government to accelerate fibre rollout to multi-dwelling units, but indicate further procedural changes are needed to remove “bureaucratic hurdles”…
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Network & Infra
UK takes step closer to D2D satellite services go-live
Regulator Ofcom to launch a framework that will permit direct-to-device satellite services next year, using BT, VodafoneThree, and Virgin Media O2 spectrum.
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Network & Infra
Indus Towers eyes Airtel’s Africa markets in first move beyond India
Indian towerco’s Board of Directors gives the go-ahead to move into Africa, starting with three markets, with a helping hand from longstanding customer and controlling shareholder Bharti Airtel…
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Public Affairs
Union slams Capita’s offshoring plans for Virgin Media O2 contract
Contact centre provider Capita has sparked outrage at the Communication Workers Union over plans to move 150 jobs that support Virgin Media O2 from the UK to South Africa.
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Public Affairs
Openreach lobbies for regulatory flexibility as fibrecos take market share, struggle with debt
Openreach’s regulatory lead is twisting Ofcom’s arm to give it pricing freedom in regions where it faces two rivals. VM O2 and CityFibre contend that a firm hand is required to protect still fragile competition. While altnets are winning market share, their lenders are nervous…
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Public Affairs
Ruling looms in DT’s €80m outsourcing row
ISS, DT’s facilities management supplier in Germany, indicates a tribunal ruling on long-running disagreement between the pair is close.