Public affairs – Page 46
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Public AffairsDRC: Vodacom denounces ‘arbitrary’ engineer arrest
Vodacom DRC formally protests arrest of engineer on allegations of fraud. Controversial mobile device registry at the centre of the row, which has in recent months seen marches on the streets of Kinshasa.
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OperationsFour-day weeks and home working at Telefónica
“Avant-garde” union deal writes in provisions for permanent hybrid working for 15,000 employees. Four-day week pilot promised for volunteer employees, with an accompanying drop in pay. 1% salary increase also flagged.
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Strategy & ChangeElsewhere in Telefónica Hispanomérica: Colombia FTTP drive; Telefónica Peru divests Red Digital stake
FTTP investment continues in Colombia; Telefónica exits digital transaction platform in Peru.
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Public AffairsNI report criticises past public broadband projects
Audit Office report cannot verify that two broadband projects “achieved value for money”. High service take-up rates suggest not all public funding was needed. NI expected to claw back £14m of public funds from BT. Hopes for £165m Project Stratum to deliver better outcome for rural broadband.
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Strategy & Change
Ethiopia: Kenyan president gets behind Safaricom entry
President Kenyatta urges Ethiopia to open up m-money market. Safaricom reveals planned ownership structure of future Opco, with Vodafone set to play a very limited role.
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Strategy & ChangeElection turmoil clouds Movistar’s Peruvian future
A left-wing candidate could become Peru’s next president with suggestions that nationalisation may be on the agenda.
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PremiumAGCM initiates probe into BT Italia divestment
Italy’s competition watchdog examining ins and outs of BT’s deal with TIM. Concern from competitors as TIM seeks to consolidate market position. BT to retain a presence in the country whatever the outcome.
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PremiumMixed Huawei 5G RAN messages remain in Europe
Vodafone Italy reportedly gets conditional approval to use Huawei 5G RAN equipment. Huawei’s position in Germany looks more vulnerable after IT Security 2.0 Bill becomes law.
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Strategy & ChangeElsewhere in Vodafone Europe: Unitymedia nearly integrated
German Unitymedia integration near completion; VfUK continues to target SME market with cybersecurity and data packages.
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Strategy & ChangeElsewhere in Vodafone Associates and JVs: Vi and Vantage on 5G
Vi and Vantage Towers Greece get involved in 5G trials.
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Public AffairsNational court backs Telefónica over Canal+ deal
Audiencia Nacional rejects claims made by Vodafone Spain and others that 2015 DTS acquisition impedes competition. Expresses confidence in regulator CMMC to monitor pay TV market.
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PremiumGreen light for Telefónica Costa Rica exit ‘take two’
Liberty Latin America purchase secures regulatory approval. Telefónica’s drawn-out Centroamérica exit takes another small step forward.
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M&AVM-O2 sets sights on BT as merger gets final clearance
CMA’s final approval should see deal completed by 1 June. Owners trumpeting investment opportunities with fibre InfraCo potential coming to the fore.
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Strategy & ChangeElsewhere in Vodafone Group: Legal advisory panel refresh; Adobe trumpets VPC ties
Vodafone cancels Arch Summit 2021; Group updates legal advice team; Adobe describes VPC ties as “crucial”.
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M&ACADE makes Vivo wait for share of Oi’s mobile assets
Industry watchdog still inspecting ins and outs of Oi divestment. Closure now expected in early-2022. Consortium partners still confident of being granted go-ahead.
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Public AffairsBT re-enters union talks, with strike action looming large
BT gets “serious” in negotiations with CWU and is said to have halted redundancies — for now. Union looking to secure assurances on job security for “all” members. Proposed ballot to go ahead in early-June if talks come to nothing.
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Public AffairsSees.ai gets all-clear for BVLOS drone flights
VfUK drone partner achieves UK-first permission. Tests to be carried out at three nominated sites. OpCo flags separate drone trial collaboration with Ericsson and Lidar tech for remote cell site inspections.
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PremiumElsewhere in BT Consumer: planning law change welcomed
Pricing revelations bring negative publicity; EE way down in customer satisfaction survey; UK government works to facilitate network expansion.
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Network & InfrastructureEE spins up spectrum to further 5G ambitions
New licences put to use minutes after being issued, in partnership with Nokia. BT pays an additional £23m after initial low-ball auction, but Group still bagged “an excellent price”, says Consumer CEO Marc Allera. EE open to future spectrum trades as O2 and Vodafone sign their own deal.
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Innovation (R&D)UK access to Horizon Europe unclear
Government offers to pay some of the costs, but not all, to access EU’s Horizon Europe scientific funding initiative. The successor to Horizon 2020, which BT has tapped into, Horizon Europe has an R&D budget of €95.5bn.