Public affairs – Page 52
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Operations
Magyar Telekom looks for lodgers in new HQ
Operator looking to mitigate overheads after opting to permanently shift to a hybrid working model. 5,500-strong workforce largely remote since spring, bar brief return. Sub-letting to partners on the cards. Wider Group-level philosophy changes take effect.
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Public Affairs
Cosmote drops the ball on call data
Greek operator under fire, locally, over vulnerability leading to large-scale loss of customer details.
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Network & Infrastructure
Telkom calls for Rain-check on Vodacom spectrum tie-up
Complaint to South African Competition Tribunal calls time on spectrum-sharing agreement. Claims competition is at risk, ahead of upcoming spectrum auctions. Vodacom adamant that deals are “pro-competitive”.
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Partnerships & Alliances
Government comes clean on SAP–T Systems corona app costs
Health Ministry reveals that some costs were lower than expected but encounters criticism in parliament over how the contracts were awarded to SAP and T-Sys.
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M&A
Vodafone gets India tax break from The Hague
International arbitration court rules against India in long-running tax dispute surrounding 2007 Hutchison Essar acquisition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government reportedly mulling an appeal, pending legal advice. In separate tax news, India’s Supreme Court calls for ten-year payback period on outstanding AGR dues.
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Public Affairs
Huawei on retreat as US dials up European pressure
German coalition cabinet reportedly approves measures in IT security bill that, if passed, will effectively ban Huawei from 5G RAN market. Revision looks set to hurt Vodafone’s planning in largest market. Vodafone Greece also looks set for disruption as Pompeo visit increases pressure for a local ban.
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Public Affairs
US dials up European pressure on Huawei
German coalition cabinet reportedly approves measures in IT security bill that, if passed, will effectively ban Huawei from 5G RAN market.
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Partnerships & Alliances
BT opens up about Alibaba Cloud ties
Two providers cooperating on international network/cloud services. Alibaba Cloud’s UK cloud service is hosted in a BT data centre.
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Public Affairs
Vodacom fights Lesotho decision to revoke license
Urgent interdict sought over license revocation and “staggering” fine. Insisting still business-as-usual for customers. Lesotho crisis adds to troubling incidents across Vodacom Group.
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Suppliers & SCM
Brexit and COVID: BT’s twin supply chain headaches
Group continuing to scrutinise status of 450 key partners, amid logistical and financial turmoil wrought by pandemic. Spread of critical partners under consideration to create greater resilience post-coronavirus and split from EU. Telcos, traditionally known for squeezing suppliers to the max, now focused on keeping them afloat.
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Strategy & Change
Elsewhere in Openreach: innovation in the crosshairs
Openreach targets innovation, Vodafone launches gigabit services, superfast stymied by capacity gap.
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Premium
Elsewhere in BT Global: McAfee flags BT role
Financial services business grows, US military renews contracts, McAfee flags BT role.
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Strategy & Change
Openreach fine as is — Lowth
BT CFO maintains Openreach contribution to the Group is undervalued, but that greater clarity and continued messaging on the progress of the fibre rollout could change perceptions. With all physical network assets tied to the BT pension and Openreach now effectively a services business, any attempt to bring in ...
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Suppliers & SCM
Vodafone Greece facing possible Huawei ban
OpCo appears more vulnerable than main rival Cosmote to US pressure on Greek government for a clearout of Huawei network kit.
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Public Affairs
TalkTalk takes pot shot at Openreach FTTP pricing
CEO calls for longer-term, discounted full-fibre wholesale deals. Harrison claims BT’s alleged fears of breaching UK competition rules is “red herring”, while incumbent maintains it needs to appease all stakeholders.
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Suppliers & SCM
Deutsche Telekom’s Huawei gamble looking iffy
German coalition cabinet reportedly approves measures in IT security bill that, if passed, will effectively ban Huawei from 5G RAN market. Revision looks set to hurt DT, despite recent brave talk of “multi-vendor strategy”.
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Public Affairs
Read rails against states flouting EU law
Group CEO used a sponsored posting on the Politico website to demand, once again, a level playing field for Europe’s telecoms players, while bemoaning steps taken by several EU governments to sidestep European competition legislation. Article does not suggest Read’s bid for a reset of regulatory relations in Europe ...
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Network & Infrastructure
BT’s Nokia pick points to renewed virtualisation drive
Nokia to become 5G infrastructure top dog as Huawei fades. Virtualisation opportunities abound as BT and Nokia commit to expanding open RAN ecosystem, and imminent developments on the network edge are anticipated.
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Premium
Airtel–Telkom merger falls through
Let-off for Safaricom as its two major mobile competitors remain marooned in sub-scale no-mans-land.
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Public Affairs
Deutsche Telekom: reports of China 5G scheme are nonsense
Group dismisses claims of a plan to scale up its Chinese presence off back of geopolitical manoeuvres. Government’s decision on 5G network suppliers could be imminent.