EMEA Infra – Page 36
-
M&A
Vi cashes in from Indus Towers–Infratel merger
Vodafone’s loss-making JV in India gets a much-needed cash boost from sale of Indus stake. Vi reportedly in talks with private equity investors to raise more funds.
-
M&A
Telxius prepares subsea business for sale — report
Telefónica TowerCo Telxius reportedly poking investors to see who bites. €2bn valuation for 100,000km-long submarine cable arm. Telxius’s terrestrial portion has seen continued growth, potentially readying for a pivot.
-
Network & Infrastructure
Telefónica links with Allianz on FTTP infrastructure
50:50 wholesale JV targets rural and semi-rural areas with fibre rollout. Majority of $5bn investment to be raised by bank loans. “Non-consolidated structure” reduces Group exposure.
-
Network & Infrastructure
Orange CEO open to pan-European TowerCo idea
Stéphane Richard sees “interesting opportunity” in possible tie-up with Deutsche Telekom or Vodafone. CEO wants to do “something smarter” with tower assets than selling masts to accumulator Cellnex.
-
Network & Infrastructure
Deutsche Telekom takes rain-check on full-fibre target
Rethink on mix of German next-gen deployment will see Group need a year more than expected to get up to full roll out speed.
-
Strategy & Change
Elsewhere in Telefónica Infra-Tech: Cisco partnered for Galician 5G
ElevenPaths ups game in Galician region; Telefónica flags renewed connected-car focus.
-
Network & Infrastructure
Vodafone Hungary spins out its tower operation
New Hungary TowerCo mirrors recent moves across European businesses. Another foundation stone laid for Vodafone’s Vantage Towers float. Gergő Budai takes CEO spot.
-
Financial & Performance
Openreach fibre thrives but volume deal prospects fade
A strong quarter and half-year for the access services business demonstrates building momentum for fibre services in the face of the pandemic. Anticipated long-term volume deals may not materialise, but associated competitive pressure may help BT arguments on the need for a ‘fair bet’ from Ofcom.
-
Network & Infrastructure
Lowth downplays tower monetisation benefits
BT is continuing to buck the trend of creating TowerCos as it continues to value control over infrastructure assets.
-
Network & Infrastructure
Vodacom pins 5G hopes on Nokia
South African Group reiterates multi-vendor strategy even as it extends Nokia alliance. Long-awaited 4G and 5G spectrum auction process now underway.
-
Network & Infrastructure
AI-equipped drive-bys help Deutsche Telekom snip fibre costs
Group continues to shop around for cost-saving innovations and lauds AI as a way to drastically reduce FTTP planning times and costs.
-
Network & Infrastructure
Allianz emerging as Telefónica’s German fibre buddy
Report suggests that project ‘Beethoven’ aims to exploit Telefónica’s Spanish fibre expertise.
-
Partnerships & Alliances
T-Systems talks up mainframe business and IBM ties
New mainframe training programmes in place to replace old hands who will shortly retire. T-Sys has “thickest deal pipeline” in mainframe business since 2012.
-
Premium
Indus Towers–Infratel merger finally moves forward
Rejigged agreement offers a safety net for TowerCo amid ongoing questions over Vi’s future.
-
Strategy & Change
Elsewhere in Telefónica Infra-Tech: ElevenPaths partners Subex; TIWS taps Hivelocity
TIWS links with Hivelocity; Telefónica backs airport digitalisation; Enovate brings utility-focused AI to Colombia.
-
Partnerships & Alliances
Telefónica renews Deutsche Telekom deal as fibre plans accelerate
Renewed and expanded wholesale volume deal will remove the handbrake on Telefónica’s broadband products, and drive TDE investment. While DT network currently focused on urban areas, Telefónica’s plans for a €5bn rural fibre network are reportedly nearing completion.
-
Consumer (B2C)
BT ends inflation-only price hikes to fund fibre
CPI + 3.9% set as new price rise formula across BT’s consumer products. Covering increased infrastructure investment is the party line, but move is an awkward reversal of recent commitment to inflation-only increases. Liberty Global’s CEO Fries describes the switch as a “whoops” moment for the rival to his ...
-
Network & Infrastructure
Scotland: Openreach full-fibre plan’s unique challenges
Scotland has hardest to reach rural communities. Increased FTTP activity intensifies competition for skilled engineers. Scottish government pumps funds into rural broadband.
-
M&A
MBNL’s future up in air as Three ponders mast sale
Both MBNL and Cornerstone, UK MNOs’ two tower joint ventures, appear on the verge of an ownership revamp. Three exit could tie with moves by CK Hutchison to establish a separate TowerCo.