More on EMEA Telco Leaders – Page 177
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Partnerships & Alliances
SpaceMobile lines up 2022 trials with Vodacom
Chairman Abel Avellan says six-month interconnection and testing programme will follow launch of BlueWalker 3 prototype. Lift-off of giant spacecraft may see slight slippage. US startup adds more MNO partners to go-to-market ahead of 2023 debut.
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Vendor Voice
Oracle: Cloud evolution must be business-led for digital SPs
For many years, the telecoms industry has been attempting the balancing act of managing the decline of traditional services while extracting the full value of decades of massive investment in the operational systems that enable them. The challenge of escaping this ‘technology debt’ has now been heightened by a ...
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Operators sign second mobile pact for NRW
North Rhine-Westphalia steps up ambitions to be Germany’s leading 5G location. Markus Haas said operators have agreed to build 1,000 new sites in exchange for faster permits. Tower lease costs rising in line with expectations as network expands. CFO Rolle signals caution on FTTP buildout.
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Strategy & Change
O2 brand to appear in Movistar shop window
Reports indicate Movistar will trial O2-branded fixed and mobile services in its Telyco stores ahead of a potential broader rollout. News comes after loosened regional restrictions, allowing discounted O2 services in hundreds of new municipalities.
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Strategy & Change
Elsewhere in Telefónica Group: €100m spent on HQ digital refurb
Telefónica splashes out €100m on HQ digital refurb; Prosegur plots LatAm expansion with “ally” Telefónica.
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Financial & Performance
Vodafone: DT and Orange are ‘credible’ tower merger partners
Read confirms either of Vodafone’s big European rivals could end up being an ally as noise continues to increase around an “industrial merger” for Group’s Vantage Towers business.
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Venturing & Investments
Höttges: “All options open” for BT stake
Patrick Drahi free to make bigger move on BT from 11 December. French billionaire is planning to increase BT stake, reports Reuters. Sources say any move likely to involve DT. Höttges keeps cards close to chest.
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Network & Infrastructure
Vantage states ‘clear interest’ in Cornerstone buyout
Vodafone’s European TowerCo eyes opportunities in Netherlands and UK as partners Liberty and Telefónica look to cash in on wireless infrastructure assets. Strategic tie-up between Vantage and another MNO TowerCo also remains a possibility.
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BT people moves: new chief at BT Defence
Cole takes reins from retiring Boyle at BT Enterprise’s Defence division. Architecture directors named at BT Digital. EE’s Bennett joins host of former BT execs at challenger Freshwave. Shuter’s innovation and investment arm Division X makes two senior changes.
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Network & Infrastructure
Höttges seeks to bring balance to future tower tie-up
Deutsche Telekom CEO seeks to lure tower partner with promise of hands-off approach to managing the business, allowing it to flourish “independently”. Picky operator unenthusiastic about approaches taken by rivals to tower extraction, including Vodafone’s Vantage Towers IPO earlier in the year.
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Partnerships & Alliances
BT Group appoints pensions advisory partner
XPS Pensions Group will support BT’s established in-house team.
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Strategy & Change
Telefónica preps for 2,000+ job cuts — reports
Spanish operations look set for voluntary redundancy scheme rollout, according to multiple sources. Continuation of ongoing headcount reduction programme expected to be in place by mid-2022 following union negotiations later this month.
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Vendor Voice
The Telco-Techco differentiator: unleashing strategic data — Teradata
The value of data multiplies significantly once you integrate it. Breaking down silos to seamlessly orchestrate data can deliver a virtuous circle of customer experience improvement and operational efficiency, presenting a springboard for strategic reboot. Embracing data as mission-critical must be led from the top. Hyperscale partnerships provide an ...
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Partnerships & Alliances
Vodacom in talks over rural wireless alliance
Operator scoping out partners to share investment in thousands of extra sites across its sub-Saharan African footprint. Venture adds to wider technology and business model experimentation by Vodacom, to fund network expansion.
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M&A
INWIT continues to fill M&A kitty
Growing Italian TowerCo building up a €1bn platform for deal-making at end of its latest strategic cycle, in FY23. Expansion plans could give co-parent Vodafone another runner in European TowerCo race, beyond main vehicle Vantage Towers.
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M&A
Vodacom expands into Egypt with Vodafone stake switch
Vodafone to increase its stake in Vodacom to more than 65% following the transaction. Internal deal follows STC’s failed mission to buy Vodafone Egypt during 2020.
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Financial & Performance
Safaricom confident on Ethiopia despite ‘staff evacuation’
Staff safety and security a priority in Ethiopia, says Safaricom’s Peter Ndegwa, but progress remains on track despite distractions. Break-even forecasts braced for impact of conflict. Employees evacuated from Addis Ababa, according to reports.
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Financial & Performance
Telefónica prescribes digitalisation as Europe’s inflation antidote
Telefónica’s Argentinian inflation battle shows digitalisation value in markets facing cost challenges. Group management also seeks to ease qualms over rising energy costs and wage inflation in Europe through digitally driven efficiency drive.
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Vendor Voice
Ciena: Adapting the network mindset for the new digital world
Speaking to TelcoTitans’ Vendor Voice, key figures within Ciena underline the foundational role of networks in transitioning to the digital platform future that is now permeating telcos’ operational and customer functions. However, they also note that the embrace of models more familiar in an IT setting is causing some ...
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Premium
Telefónica people moves: Tech configures board
Cerdán inaugurated as President, with Colchero, Eguiron, and Prendes in tow at Telefónica Tech. Telefónica Peru names new CFO in effort to align business with the Group’s regional vehicle Telefónica Hispam. Virgin Media O2 continues to confirm team, with senior VM figures retaining titles.