More on EMEA Telco Leaders – Page 2
-
M&A
DT goes converged-only in Europe after OTE Romania exit wrapped up
OTE’s departure from Romania is officially complete, following recent regulatory green lights and formalisation of deals with buyers Digi and Vodafone. Group is now nearly exclusively focused on its home market after a near-15-year regional rollback. Parent DT has also now reached full fixed-mobile nirvana in Europe.
-
People
Katherine Ainley exits Ericsson after five years as UK&I CEO
Ex-BT exec departs the vendor with claims of a job well done: UK business grows, major 5G deals signed.
-
People
DT picks out Poland tech chief to fill key German CTO vacancy
T-Mobile Poland’s Alexander Jenbar selected to take on pivotal home-market technology job at DT, overseeing mega-initiatives around AI, 5G, and fibre.
-
Partnerships & Alliances
Telefónica taps OpenAI to give German customers an AI boost
Operator kicks off partnership with OpenAI with free, limited-time ChatGPT Plus subscriptions for existing customers, with plans to expand its relationship with the AI giant “in the coming months”…
-
Financial & Performance
Altice France clears €8.6bn in debt and opens door to SFR sale
Embattled French group firms up major business restructure seeing founder Patrick Drahi reduce his stake, group of creditors gain a 45%-holding, and former Vodafone CEO Nick Read join Board of Directors as part of a governance rejig.
-
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.
-
Venturing & Investments
DT adds security and AI scaleups to investment stable
Group’s investment arm T.Capital buys into Mondoo and Nscale, creating strategic tie-in for B2B arms Telekom Security and T-Systems.
-
M&A
MásOrange generates positive energy through Endesa tie-up
Spanish operator prepares to divest energy business to major national utilities provider, with distribution agreement signed in parallel, aiming to drive its diversification strategy forward, among other benefits…
-
Strategy & Change
Unions want input into Telefónica’s strategic reorg
Employee representatives are said to be seeking information on the likely impact of Telefónica’s upcoming strategic review on its workforce, and pushing for the new plan to include a tech-focused refresh of HR practices.
-
Suppliers & SCM
Vodafone’s procurement arm seeks grander scale with Telenor tie-up
Vague but apparently expansive, telco duo signs up to ‘leverage complementary footprint’ to avoid duplication and draw down unspecified ‘synergies’.
-
People
DT IoT chief reemerges to lead Vodafone US drive
Six months after leaving the German operator’s IoT operation Dennis Nikles is joining Vodafone IoT as MD for the Americas.
-
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.
-
Financial & Performance
Safaricom scaleup Circle Gas faces ‘severe but plausible’ funding crunch
Kenyan cooking gas investment continues to post substantial losses despite showing some fruit from a major restructure, with new funding required to ensure expansion plans can go ahead…
-
Products & Services
MásOrange goes live with ad biz, eyes €500m valuation
Spanish telco launches MásOrange Advertising, drawing on anonymised customer data and a new in-house platform to help brands reach audiences. The launch sees the operator press on with its diversification strategy aimed at unlocking new revenue streams…
-
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…
-
Innovation
Openreach taps VR startup for 3D fibre planning
Openreach adds another weapon to its fibre building arsenal through Glasgow startup, using VR mapping to accelerate the cable routing process.
-
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.
-
Financial & Performance
DT resets on cost and consumers, after German jolt
Q2 FY25: Enlarged, US-driven telco titan remains on track for near- and mid-term goals. But with DT experiencing a slowdown in competition-hit home market, and with macro worries pervading, execs indicate they may now push harder on cost reduction and AI-led transformation.
-
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…
-
Products & Services
MásOrange targets Spain’s autónomos with reworked convergence portfolio
Spanish telco launches fixed-mobile convergence portfolio targeted at freelance and self-employed workers, marking latest push into new segments to create future revenue streams…