More latest insight – Page 20
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Strategy & Change
stc secures stake (and strategic say) at Telefónica
Saudi operator increases its holding in Spanish operator to just below 10%, following government approval for controversial move in November. Share buy to be accompanied by a Board of Directors seat, confirming stc’s position of influence over Telefónica, alongside Spanish government, as Group changes complexion. Read more…
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Innovation (R&D)
BT to create unified innovation function as Division X, Etc. combine
Group seeks to “sharpen” connectivity focus and meet evolving customer needs with new innovation team, under the watch of Tom Meakin’s Strategy & Change team. Longstanding Etc. chief Tom Guy leaves the Group, while Business’s Division X joins forces with the ‘startup from within’…
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M&A
Telefónica seeks to win regulatory nod for Colombia exit
Telefónica and Millicom have asked Colombia’s competition authority to review a proposed deal that would seal the Spanish operator’s retreat from the challenging market.
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Strategy & Change
BT ‘remains committed’ to diversity despite dropping DEI calculator
BT’s decision to drop the diversity, equity, and inclusion targets from its management bonus scheme comes as the corporate world reassesses the benefits of DEI measures. BT claims to be ready to move on with DEI already embedded, but has it reneged on commitments without first meeting targets?
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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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Financial & Performance
Vodafone exports Turkish innovations as OpCo flexes digital muscle
Q3 FY24–25: Group CEO Margherita Della Valle says Vodafone Turkey ‘outperforming’, setting a blueprint that can be applied elsewhere. CFO Luka Mucic namechecks Egypt as one market that might take lessons, but sees opportunity to pull market-specific levers, too…
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Suppliers & SCM
Orange re-ups with Nokia for 5G upgrade in France
Orange France plans broader trial of Nokia’s cloud RAN technology as part of an extended contract to upgrade parts of its network with the vendor’s AirScale products.
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M&A
BT offloads Irish B2B unit to Cordiant’s Speed Fibre
BT strikes deal with investment group to sell enterprise and wholesale units to Speed Fibre, with completion expected later this year. Move advances CEO Allison Kirkby’s agenda to pare back BT’s international presence, following earlier news of Irish data centre sale…
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Venturing & Investments
Deutsche Telekom invests in voice AI startup ElevenLabs
Group’s corporate venture arm T.Capital splashes out on a strategic stake in UK-based artificial intelligence voice startup ElevenLabs with intentions to roll out the popular tech to customers.
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Weekly Briefings
BTwatch Weekly: patience required after more mixed results
Latest from BT, including an in-depth look at the Group’s Q3 earnings, the new BT Business CEO, and Openreach’s broadband vulnerability; Ireland divestment confirmed; rural Scotland build rolls on; more…
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Suppliers & SCM
Virgin Media O2 puts Hansen on five-year tech revamp mission
Australian software provider Hansen to support UK joint venture on digital transformation and wider business revival plan.
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Suppliers & SCM
Crnogorski Telekom re-hires Amdocs on revenue tool update
Montenegrin telco to replace and upgrade CRM and billing systems from a previous tie-up with Amdocs.
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Financial & Performance
Vodafone’s German problems take root as OpCo flounders
Q3 FY24–25: insipid performance of largest OpCo overshadows promise elsewhere, spooking investors, with forced cable TV unbundling only part of mushrooming problems. There is light at the end, if management is believed, but tunnel keeps getting longer…
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M&A
Indra to create integrated European satellite player with Hispasat buy
Spanish defence and IT group firms up plans for €725m purchase of Hispasat, with plans to form “most integrated” SatCo in Europe. Indra’s Executive Chairman Angel Escribano says deal is “key” to reaching target of at least €1bn total space sector revenue by 2030…
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People
GSMA seeks new Chair to replace former Telefónica CEO
The GSMA begins hunt for new chair after swapping out deposed Telefónica boss José Maria Álvarez-Pallete. Marc Murtra takes a board seat, with Bharti Airtel’s Gopal Vittal stepping to take the chair in the meantime…
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Financial & Performance
BT Q3 Highlights: is the tanker beginning to turn?
Q3 FY24–25: 12-months in and CEO Allison Kirkby continues to impose herself on the Group with yet more executive changes, but the needle on KPIs has scarcely twitched. Management remains optimistic about prospects at Consumer and Openreach, but latest Business reboot smacks of overseas defeat, as Q3 trading update builds on now-familiar ‘wait and see’ mantra…
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Financial & Performance
BT Q3 Guidance: confident but under pressure
Q3 FY24–25: Having reduced revenue targets last quarter, BT now expects to hit FY goals even if under pressure to deliver in final three months.
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Financial & Performance
BT Q3 Spend: savings on track thanks to job cuts, network upgrades
Q3 FY24–25: Efficiencies delivered through headcount cull and fibre migrations, with BT on track to hit financial savings targets…
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Financial & Performance
BT Q3 In-depth: talk is good, but seeing will be believing
Q3 FY24–25: CEO Allison Kirkby remains optimistic about FY despite shaky Q3, but goalpost-moving last quarter left expectations low. The headlines are much the same: Consumer’s woe; Business’s rebirth; Openreach’s fibre charge. While the latter is still BT’s source of good news, there are awkward questions over each of the Group’s CFUs…
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Financial & Performance
Egyptian star rises: Vodacom heralds strength of most recent import
Vodafone Egypt cements status as Vodacom’s second-largest market, with currency stability and network-sharing portending next 5G chapter. South Africa remains solid overall, as the International segment sees data and smartphone growth offsetting geopolitical challenges.