Middle East & Africa
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M&A
Saudi tower consolidation rolls on as state fund completes TAWAL buy
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF completes combination of existing tower assets with those of TAWAL, creating new player with 30,000-mast portfolio. Move marks another step towards achieving objectives of country’s Vision 2030 strategy…
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Weekly Briefings
EMEA Infrawatch Briefing: SatCos explore new options; subsea revamps
Spain’s Indra eyes bigger role in European satellite picture, while Eutelsat moves to bring space connectivity to Nigeria and (reportedly) Egypt. Meanwhile, fibre players have struck fresh deals in Ireland and Spain, while others consider if further buys are immediately necessary…
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Strategy & Change
Helios Towers CEO casts vision for ‘symbiotic’ telco–energy expansion in Africa
Tom Greenwood took to the Mission 300 Africa stage to promote mutual benefits of telco-energy provider partnerships, as both look to expand their respective footprints on the continent.
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People
MTN appoints new infra chief to drive AI strategy
Group CTIO Mazen Mroué named CEO for Digital Infrastructure, including Bayobab fibre and mobile hardware units.
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Network & Infrastructure
Telxius taps Ciena for wide-scale subsea network upgrade
Telefónica-backed subsea cable operator installs Ciena’s pluggable optics to enable transmission speeds beyond 100Gbps, moving beyond previous 70Gbps limit.
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Partnerships & Alliances
Eutelsat brings LEO services to Nigeria’s state SatCo
France-based SatCo ties with state-owned operator NIGCOMSAT in multi-year, multimillion-dollar deal.
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Weekly Briefings
EMEA Infrawatch Briefing: Spain in spotlight; TowerCo team-ups; M&A next steps
Latest on EMEA Infra: Spain flagged as a frontrunner in legacy switch-off progress, thoguh concerns on fibre overbuild remain; Cellnex mulls path to home market consolidation; TowerCos in Europe and Africa seek to expand rural and transport connectivity; more…
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Network & Infrastructure
Vodacom, Orange target rural 4G in DRC tower tie-up
Pair announce TowerCo joint venture with rural Democratic Republic of Congo communities in mind.
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Network & Infrastructure
Deep dive: international response to escalating subsea comms risk after Baltics disruption
Latest apparent act of network sabotage in the Baltics underlines heightened need for action to ensure resilience of critical global infrastructure, with UK, EU, and NATO looking to ramp security of increasingly vulnerable cables…
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M&A
IHS Towers exits Kuwait as part of $1bn asset sale plan
Deal sees cash-hungry tower group offload Kuwaiti asset it bought only four years ago, in mark of turnaround of sector fortunes and strategy.
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Public Affairs
Safaricom ‘calls for’ mandated MNO–SatCo partnerships as Starlink expands in Africa
Reports indicate Kenyan operator is pushing local Communications Authority to consider blocking solo foreign SatCo entrants and oblige them to form partnerships with licence-holding MNOs.
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Network & Infrastructure
US majors first, Vodafone next as SpaceMobile readies for launch
AST SpaceMobile backers AT&T and Verizon will beta test space-based cellular broadband initially, with Vodafone and Rakuten next on the list for commercial services.
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Network & Infrastructure
Vodafone links 2Africa subsea cable to UK hub
Vodafone onshores another section of 2Africa submarine cable, this time in Cornwall.
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Weekly Briefings
Infrawatch Weekly: Project Gigabit acceleration, African expansion, and 5G streetlights
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK and beyond, including: drone‑enabled 5G and IoT hidden in streetlamps; ongoing network and service building in Africa; Openreach eyeing under‑delivering Project Gigabit contracts; and plenty more…
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Financial & Performance
IHS Towers targets $1bn from asset disposals
Tower group’s chief executive announces ten-digit goal for proceeds from business sales, amid ongoing strategic review.
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Strategy & Change
American Tower eyes US expansion of Power as a Service in efficiencies pursuit amidst M&A hiatus
ATC looks to ship high ROI ‘Power as a Service’ learnings to US market, having proven benefits in Africa, and to transfer US automation credentials to other geographies. Hunt for global efficiencies may also lead to monetisation of sub-scale assets, with focus on operational excellence meaning “nothing compelling” to buy, for now…
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Financial & Performance
Helios swaps land-grab for lease-grab in strategy refresh
Middle East and Africa tower group makes a change-up of headline KPIs after shifting away from M&A-based expansion of tower footprint.
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Financial & Performance
IHS Towers hires advisers to assess ‘strategic alternatives’
Tower group’s annual results this week sees chief executive highlight initiation of a strategic review of its business, amid share price slump.
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Network & Infrastructure
Vodafone Turkey creates $100m infra JV for data centre expansion
Vodafone Turkey teams with UAE-based Edgnex Data Centres by DAMAC to invest in new Izmir data centre.
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M&A
Saudi’s stc continues international push with CMC Networks buy
Expansive center3 adds 110 points of presence to its footprint, with a focus on Africa.