‘Loosen the leash’: Telefónica’s Murtra repeats call for telco M&A rethink

Richard Agnew2026-03-03T11:35:00

Source: MWC

MWC26: Spanish group’s Executive Chairman Marc Murtra again urges European regulators to loosen the shackles on telco deal-making.

This article includes:

Themes: AI‑driven technological change; Digital Networks Act (DNA); European champions; Market consolidation; Merger and acquisition (M&A); Regulatory reform; Sovereign technology; Strategic technological sovereignty; Telco investment capacity; Telecoms consolidation.
Events: Mobile World Congress (MWC).
People: Jean‑François Fallacher; Marc Murtra; Tim Höttges; Ursula von der Leyen; Vivek Badrinath.
Geographic: China; Europe; Germany; Spain; United Kingdom; United States.
Organisations: 1&1; Deutsche Telekom; El Español; European Commission (EC); Eutelsat; GSMA; Telefónica; United Internet; Virgin Media O2; Vodafone; nexfibre

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