All TelcoTitans.com articles in BTwatch #356
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Digital Reports
BTwatch Report #356 - July 2024
Key stories include: Slim joins as BT investor | BT holds firm against Vodafone-Three | AI buying bots on the agenda | ‘Platform thinking’ front and centre | PIA overhaul in the works
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Weekly Briefings
BTwatch Weekly: less tech, more outcomes for BT’s consumer and procurement teams
Latest from BT and its ecosystem, including calls from Consumer’s Kevin Lee to ‘forget the jargon’ and Chief Procurement Officer Cyril Pourrat on the centrality of AI to the future of buying. Infrastructure sharing in focus at Openreach; network executives exit; and Rivus folds after BT takes business elsewhere…
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Network & Infrastructure
Openreach initiates infra-sharing crackdown as altnets told to get compliant
So-called ‘whereabouts’ compliance must reach 90% for altnets to avoid potential eviction from Openreach networks, with three-month grace period before any action taken. Altnets also unhappy with current failings, and investors wary of compliance weakness. Read more…
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Suppliers & SCM
Battle of the bots: BT and Vodafone procurement chiefs forecast AI-driven buying
BT’s Cyril Pourrat and Vodafone’s Ninian Wilson discuss future of procurement, with AI at the core and negotiation bots taking on each other as tech matures. Read more…
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People
BT Peoplewatch: network architects, private cloud gurus, convergence charge
Several high-profile and strategic changes at BT Group, including a new Chief Architect; a fresh face to tackle the consumer convergence sticking point; and an executive exit in India as the Group talks up its presence in the subcontinent…
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Financial & Performance
Fleet manager Rivus folds and sells up after losing BT contract
Rivus, BT’s former fleet services provider and 2019 divestment, brings in administrators before selling up to new largest customer.
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Network & Infrastructure
BT activates ‘cell sleep’ tech to cut mobile energy use
BT has implemented a power-saving software feature in EE 4G sites that it hopes will save 4.5 million Kilowatt hours per year.
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Weekly Briefings
BTwatch Weekly: Kirkby earns Slim’s approval; Mehta ratchets transformation agenda
Latest from BT and its ecosystem, including Slim-affiliated investment and Kirkby priorities for asset monetisation. At DTW24, BT execs promoting transformation progress and shift to ‘platform thinking’ — also developments in innovation productivity, autonomous networks, quantum internet, ServiceNow integration, more…
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Operations
BT Digital lights ‘beacons’ in search for new ways of working to aid transformation
DTW24 – Ignite: Change is not easy for large telcos, but BT Group’s Digital has been exploring ways to accelerate product delivery through “lean-agile” teams.
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Network & Infrastructure
BT’s autonomous journey starts with decommissioning legacy products
DTW24 – Ignite: The industry’s dream of autonomous networks is some way off, but for BT’s R&D chief Gabriela Styf Sjöman, the first steps are to cut legacy products and adopt cloud-native principles.
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Strategy & Change
Allera, Mehta team up to bridge BT’s digital divide, drive ‘platform-thinking’
DTW24 – Ignite: Chief Digital & Innovation Officer Harmeen Mehta joined on-stage by Consumer CEO Marc Allera to hype transformation advances as Digital overhaul impacts EE platform-building.
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Network & Infrastructure
UK government shutters Huawei oversight committee despite continued presence
Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology states that examination of potential risks within Huawei’s equipment by a committee of NCSC and industry cybersecurity experts has ended, and been replaced with “stronger departmental governance arrangements”.
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M&A
BT outlines investment fears as Vodafone−Three merger tips spectrum scales
Operator overwhelmingly backs CMA’s decision to launch in-depth merger investigation and calls for closer attention to be paid to the unprecedented spectrum asymmetry that could follow. Ericsson, altnets, and trade unions also weigh in…
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M&A
América Móvil’s Slim buys into Kirkby’s vision for BT
Interests linked to the Mexican telecoms billionaire have acquired a 3.2% stake in BT, with BT remaining neutral on the development.
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Products & Services
New startup seeks to bring UK telcos into adtech
Industry veteran hopes to drum up UK operator support for a new aggregator platform to bring together ad sales and performance measurement powered by telco data.
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Strategy & Change
BT CEO prioritises scale as asset monetisation talks re-emerge
As BT considers options for BT Global, where scale was never achieved, CEO Allison Kirkby will use the same measure in discussions about potential portfolio changes elsewhere.
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Strategy & Change
BT’s Mehta hails India’s role as recruitment drive continues
BT’s Chief Digital & Transformation Officer talked up the role of BT’s Indian team in transforming the Group while promoting the business as a place to work. Indian operations may not be immune to looming job cuts and the offloading of Global, however…
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Weekly Briefings
BTwatch Weekly: policy in focus as BT execs make the General Election rounds
Latest from BT and its ecosystem, including discussions of a political nature from a handful of senior Group leaders in the build up to the UK’s General Election. The future of TV, planning policy for network expansion, and the need for pro-innovation and investment changes all earned a mention…
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People
BT switches ESN leadership as part of top-level changes in enterprise portfolio
Faisal Mahomed named Emergency Services Network Director, with Simon Warner his replacement as Director of UK Portfolio Business.