All articles by Joseph Purnell – Page 12
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People
Vodafone Peoplewatch: Vinod Kumar’s new Dubai digs, fresh faces in shared services…
20+ high-profile moves in and around Vodafone, including: new private equity digs for Vinod Kumar; Group Technology exits; VodafoneZiggo top-team (and ‘value-creating’ exec at part-owner Liberty); plus more across the Group…
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People
BT Peoplewatch: data, AI, cybersec, Adastral in the spotlight
March 2024 update: high-profile moves include data and AI changes at Digital and Etc., finance leadership swaps in India, new Data Services CTO and cybersec alliances lead at Business; inaugural Fellows and Adastral reset within Tech…
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Weekly Briefings
Vodafonewatch Weekly: CEO claims reset success on Italian offload; now for the internal re-jig
Latest from ecosystem: confirmation of Italian exit triggers major overhaul of Group structure and ExCo. Elsewhere: German fibre disputes; M&A in Czechia; more from Africa, Europe, and much beyond…
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M&A
Vodafone’s Della Valle claims retrenchment is complete after Italian sale confirmed
CEO Margherita Della Valle has declared the Group’s Italy retreat to be the ‘final step’ of her right-sizing campaign, leaving it smaller but purportedly ready to chase growth in markets that matter. Deal prompts wholesale structural change stretching beyond Europe — ExCo swaps, B2B priorities, shared services overhaul — but Vodafone is left a far cry from its former superpower status…
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Weekly Briefings
BTwatch Weekly: Adastral refocused as Networks domain; One Touch Switch Glitch; Biz boosters…
Latest from BT ecosystem: reassurance that R&D hub remains critical to Group operations; slammed again over One Touch Switch delays; Broadpeak, Sprinklr join roster; Business boasts renewal; and much more…
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Strategy & Change
Adastral Park: BT R&D hub shifts leadership, strategy as Networks takes precedence
Suffolk network, technology, and research campus being moved under wing of lead tenant Networks, said to reflect evolving strategy under CSNO Howard Watson and CNO Greg McCall. Adastral has been undergoing changes, but BT assures it remains ‘critical’…
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Public Affairs
Netomnia: UK’s One Touch Switch ‘hijacked’ by BT, VM O2 as scheme delayed again
Altnet CEO Jeremy Chelot tells TelcoTitans that the UK’s One Touch Switching hub is unviable under current governance, with BT and Virgin Media said to be dragging feet and over-complicating proceedings. A new date has been set, but concerns remain. The alternative? ‘I’ve built it, and it took me three weeks’…
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Weekly Briefings
Vodafonewatch Weekly: Oz modernisation mix step, Indian rejuvenation?
Latest from Vodafone, including TPG transformation stunted by failed asset offloads; Vi’s funding update raises more questions than answers; and a €1bn Berlin fibre build. More from across the Group’s footprint, from Cape Town to Canberra, Berlin to London…
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Network & Infrastructure
UK gov pledges satcomms R&D investment for ultra-rural homes
Spring Budget adds £160m to LEO connectivity funding pot days after warnings that UK SatCos require fresh funding to stay afloat. BT, Vodafone, VM O2 have named their partners, and early trials are beginning to emerge…
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Weekly Briefings
BTwatch Weekly: BT plays long game on 5G SA, enterprise multi-cloud ramps up
Latest from BT and its ecosystem, including an exclusive interview with Business CTO Colin Bannon as the division sets about promoting its multi-cloud Global Fabric platform; Group CTSO Howard Watson tempers 5G SA expectations but sets vague timeframe; more from Openreach, Consumer, elsewhere…
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Weekly Briefings
Infrawatch Weekly: net-sharing, consolidation and deal-making in UK and Europe
Latest from the UK and Europe’s digital infra scene, including interviews and OpEds from Fibrus and nexfibre; big talk from Liberty’s CEO; and DigitalBridge’s Marc Ganzi teasing M&A to come. Plus much more from altnets, European infra players, and investors…
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Network & Infrastructure
BT’s Watson teases 5G SA ‘this year’, but willing to wait to get it right
MWC: Chief Security & Networks Officer Howard Watson is eyeing a 5G SA launch later in 2024, as the “green shoots” of enterprise use-cases begin to emerge. Meanwhile Watson set out the final steps to take on the Huawei replacement programme…
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Weekly Briefings
Vodafonewatch Weekly: Della Valle calls for EU rethink as Group begins Italy retreat
Weekly Briefing: Vodafone CEO looks likely to get rationalisation wish granted as Italian escape nears, days after she presented a united front at MWC with European peers to demand change on the continent. Other developments showcased in Barcelona include an XR headset demo and open API momentum…
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Financial & Performance
TPG accelerates simplification, but infra stutters make for a bumpy ride
Australian operator posts progress on modernisation and simplification in FY23, and tees up more product and systems culls for FY24. Attempts to rationalise TPG’s physical infrastructure portfolio, though, have proved difficult…
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Strategy & Change
Vi attempts to convince investors with massive fundraise plan
Vodafone’s Indian JV makes progress on fundraising plans at long last, but questions remain about debt and dues as deadlines loom. Is INR 450bn/£4.3bn/€5bn enough to recuperate the flailing operator?
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Weekly Briefings
BTwatch Weekly: Allera hunts relevance, networks evolve, iconic Tower falls
Latest from BT and its ecosystem as MWC takes hold of the industry and Consumer chief Marc Allera takes advantage to lay out plans for EE relevance, resonance; back home BT checks out of Tower and flicks NB-IoT switch; more from Digital, Networks, Openreach, elsewhere…
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M&A
Vodafone lines up Italy escape, taking €8bn in Fastweb cash
Margherita Della Valle’s M&A-led rationalisation programme marches on; Italy set to become second major European market Vodafone exits under new CEO’s regime… but how does the Swisscom deal compare with the Iliad proposal Vodafone turned down?
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People
Ex-BT CEO Patterson takes board seat at altnet aggregator X3T
Interconnect platform operator X3T bolsters board with UK telecoms hall-of-famers Gavin Patterson and O2 UK’s Derek McManus.
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Consumer (B2C)
BT’s Marc Allera: putting relationships first as operators strive for ‘resonance and relevance’
MWC: BT Consumer CEO lays out focus on building a “relevant” EE brand that prioritises connectivity-adjacent services, before leveraging BT’s network strengths once relationships are built.
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Network & Infrastructure
Mavenir, Red Hat flaunt ORAN go-live for Vodafone’s Vi
Indian operator sets commercial open RAN live as co-parent Vodafone initiates ‘mega tender’; vendors looking to stake claims in crowded partner ecosystem…