All articles by Richard Agnew
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Network & InfraVM O2 plans ‘mini macro’ sites to boost city bandwidth
MWC26: UK operator has engaged tower companies on buildout of new, lower-footprint site form factor as part of ongoing, £700m-per-year Mobile Transformation Plan…
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PeoplewatchVivo CFO David Melcon switches over to Virgin Media O2
Telefónica slots long-serving and notably senior exec into position overseeing UK joint venture’s finances at a time of significant change at the business.
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M&A‘Loosen the leash’: Telefónica’s Murtra repeats call for telco M&A rethink
MWC26: Spanish group’s Executive Chairman Marc Murtra again urges European regulators to loosen the shackles on telco deal-making.
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Partnerships & AlliancesDT and SoftBank seek partners for ‘global’ IoT platform play
MWC26: MNO partners want to extend ‘all-in-one’ IoT connectivity solution into new markets beyond Europe and Japan.
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TechnologyDT throws lot in with T-Mobile on ‘open’, ‘AI-native’ 6G
MWC26: DT moves into the slipstream of its American powerhouse on AI-focused 6G development work, setting up a basis for R&D collaboration and backing the ‘open 6G’ vision of T-Mobile’s close tech partner NVIDIA.
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Suppliers & SCMTelefónica taps Red Hat’s OpenShift for cloud-native modernisation in Spain, Brazil
MWC26: Amidst a raft of telco deals worldwide, the open-source leader confirms strategic IT and network migration contracts with Telefónica in Spain and Brazil, driving cloud-native modernisation from virtualisation to containerisation with OpenShift, and teasing an automated, AI and edge future.
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Public AffairsGerman broadband regs shift prompts altnet angst
German broadband providers show unease over regulator’s move to refocus onto regional markets when gauging incumbent Telekom Deutschland’s market power, and potentially relax the operator’s regulatory obligations in four cities.
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Venturing & InvestmentsDT and Porsche venture into autonomous construction tech
Jointly backed investment house Incharge Capital Partners joins funding round in US scaleup Bedrock Robotics, which focuses on automating machines used in construction.
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Financial & PerformanceOrange searches for €1bn down back of supply chain sofa
FY26–FY28 Trust the Future strategy: French group targeting substantial savings on vendor budget as part of new mid-term strategic vision. Move forms part of broader efficiency and cost reduction programme taking in AI, legacy network shutdown, and centralisation of platforms and services across Orange.
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M&ABrazil’s Vivo eyes fibre deals in bid for Total loyalty
Operator’s Chief Executive Christian Gebara cites continued interest in acquisitions that would boost its position as Brazil’s number-one fibre provider, and save cost on build. Identifying a good deal within the country’s huge mass of broadband players remains a challenge, however.
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Suppliers & SCMDT in fresh bid to settle €80m outsourcing row
ISS, DT’s facilities management supplier in Germany, indicates the pair have entered discussions over a deal that would end their long-running contract dispute.
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Analyst BriefingDeutsche Telekomwatch: T-Mobile’s bid to stay different
Analyst Briefing: A run-through of T-Mobile US’s strategy update, as the Un-Carrier re-expresses belief in its ability to outdo rivals on network quality and value, and backs it up with higher financial and commercial targets. In Europe DT refreshes its satellite IoT service through new partnerships, and flags research work on quantum…
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M&AUK’s nexfibre goes big, gets Substantial
Deep dive: nexfibre’s planned takeover of Substantial Group, parent of infra rival Netomnia, is the UK’s first billion pound-plus fibre altnet transaction and may open the floodgates to long-anticipated consolidation in the fragmented, scale-hungry sector. Chief Executive Rajiv Datta speaks to TelcoTitans about how the deal boosts its challenge to incumbent Openreach on wholesale fibre.
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Financial & PerformanceUnveiled at T-Mobile: The Gopalan Grow Plan
Capital Markets Day: New T-Mobile US CEO Srini Gopalan re-commits (with some tweaks) to the medium-term strategic plan outlined by the operator in 2024, following his recent appointment to job. Amid ongoing Wall Street wobbles over the competitive picture facing US operators, he assures the Un-Carrier has plenty of fuel in the tank.
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Network & InfraDT adds LEO trio to refreshed satellite IoT platform
German group adds Sateliot, OQ Technology, and Iridium to satellite IoT platform ecosystem, diversifying beyond existing relationship with Skylo and creating an extra LEO layer for deeper/wider coverage.
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PeoplewatchTelefónica Peoplewatch: innovation duo’s departure
The latest strategic and senior changes at Telefónica, as the reorganising Group reports departures of top execs at Wayra and Telefónica Tech, and reshuffles in Hispam after another pair of operating business sales.
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Financial & PerformanceDT moves to up T-Mobile ownership
Group’s CEO Tim Höttges says DT will use T-Mobile’s massive share buyback programme to up its stake in the operator this year.
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Financial & PerformanceEuroTeleSites positive on CEE tower landscape; ups spend on Austrian rollout
Boss of regional wireless infra player does not yet see any threat emerging from MNO client mergers within its footprint. Reporting FY25 results, towerco points to healthy flow-through of orders from new customers and rejigs spend to carry out an extra ‘special project’ from main partner A1.
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Network & InfraBelgium yet to finish off its fibre Plan B
Orange Belgium CEO indicates it may not gain clarity on pivotal fibre tie-up with incumbent Proximus until late-2026. Their plan forms part of a major planned reorg of sector that was initiated back in 2023 but remains locked in regulatory review.
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M&ATalk of Greek infra mega-merger played down
State utility PPC denies suggestions it is in talks over a deal that could turbo-charge its recent assault on the Greek telecoms market.