Vodafone Regulatory & Compliance – Page 9
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M&A
VHA starts new slate as TPG Telecom
Berroeta keeps CEO role post-merger; Teoh watches on closely as non-executive Chairman. Mobile and fixed network “synergies” a priority. Vodafone brand sits alongside slew of TPG sub-brands.
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Public Affairs
SA preps plunger for 4G/5G spectrum blockage
Vodacom’s long wait for more network resource in its home market appears to be coming to an end, although false starts have been seen before in SA.
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M&A
EU: Vestager nod set to prompt regional consolidation race
Vestager distracts from four-to-three merger demands by highlighting potential for creation of pan-European big beasts. But is this feasible in any imminent iteration of Europe, beyond cross-border infrastructure ventures envisaged by Orange?
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Partnerships & Alliances
Vodafone Idea to trial drone-based food delivery
VfI joins ClearSky consortium to test BVLOS drone operations with Airmap, Curl Analytics, TechEagle, and Zomato. Indian regulator targets commercialisation of drone flights with 13 POCs from cross-industry consortia.
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Public Affairs
Vodacom: 2019 arrests in Tanzania were “troubling”
Shockwaves have evidently not yet subsided from strikingly severe treatment of executives in April 2019 incident.
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Premium
Vodafonewatch roundup — June 2020
Deals and updates from across the Vodafone Group include the latest CNTT release, Vodafone Business partnership with Energy Web, and a coordinated Track and Trace effort from European telcos. Vodafone Idea flagged collaborations with Nokia, Red Hat, and Mavenir. Vodafone Greece launched ToBi; Ireland expanded its relationship with Exclusive ...
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Strategy & Change
O2’s Haas lukewarm over Germany’s rural wirelessco
Operator predictably wary over the potential of planned mobile infrastructure company to disrupt MNOs, despite rural-focused mandate.
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Strategy & Change
Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone clap €130bn German stimulus
Massive €50bn pot set aside for ‘future’ technologies, including 6G, open RAN, AI, and quantum computing. New, €5bn mobile infrastructure company appears to take heat off mobile operators. Thinly veiled threat issued to network suppliers over ‘openness’ and interoperability.
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Partnerships & Alliances
Can new telco group bridge COVID tracing’s digital divide?
New rapid response specifications group, E4P, aiming to facilitate interoperability across European track-and-trace apps through a focus on privacy and security, with standards ready by end-summer 2020. Conflict between centralised and decentralised approach to developing tracing apps may prove a stumbling block, however.
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Premium
Vodafone could face long wait for spectrum
Rival O2 remains vexed by how Ofcom has structured mid-band licence sell-off.
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Premium
Italian tower meld completed
Fusion represents a key milestone in Vodafone’s infrastructure separation and cash-raising plan, but does not come without exposure.
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Premium
Vodafone Business co-pilots private 5G for Lufthansa
Apparent pragmatic row-back on opposition to private spectrum allocation.
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Premium
Vodafone bags 5G spectrum; other OpCos have to wait
Hungarian business secures rights in three new bands. Digi plans legal action over ‘unfair’ 5G auction. 5G auction plans topple in Europe due to COVID-19.
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Suppliers & SCM
Rebel MPs push for Huawei ban
Attempt to kick out Huawei from UK infrastructure within three years fails to secure backing of Commons. Government considering tougher demands on HRVs to head off rebels, who are expected to return with reinforcements in the summer.
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Public Affairs
Supreme Court offers Vodafone scant hope
Top court in the land calls halt to operator self-assessment on fees. Irate judge threatens bosses with jail if liabilities not paid in timely manner. Read meets with India government ministers to seek assistance. COVID-19 lockdown measures provide temporary reprieve.
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Public Affairs
Vodacom plays ball with CompCom on data pricing
Compromise found to help SA’s low-income groups access mobile data. Price elasticity expected to take sting out of sharp price cuts. Auction of 4G- and 5G-friendly spectrum still slated for late-2020.
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Public Affairs
Vodafone Germany and rivals to face fines for 4G shortfalls
BNetzA confirmed that Vodafone Germany (VfD) and rivals face financial penalisation if they do not quickly address 4G coverage shortfalls.
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Public Affairs
Vodafone Hungary back in court for “special taxes”
VfH was knocked back by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CoJ) in relation to a long-running challenge against post-sovereign debt crisis “special taxes”.
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Public Affairs
Vodafone UK, TalkTalk fail in Ofcom challenge
Vodafone UK and rival TalkTalk failed in an initial appeal to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), challenging findings in regulator Ofcom’s 2019 Business Connectivity Market Review.
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Premium
“Troubling indications” Telefónica Group destroyed evidence in Phones 4u case
There was a further twist in legal action against three of the UK’s mobile network operators, including Vodafone UK (VfUK), over the collapse of mobile retailer Phones 4u.