All articles by Sam Patterson – Page 2
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Venturing & Investments
DT’s hubraum buys into in-building player PHYTunes
In-building coverage solutions specialist secures funding from hubraum.
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Public Affairs
Telekom Deutschland’s regional fibre JV rocked by court ruling
Düsseldorf court backs claims by Vodafone and rival altnet that Deutsche Glasfaser is “hindering competition” in FTTP space. 2019 regulatory clearance overturned. Operations progressing as normal, however.
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M&A
Deutsche Telekom quietly exits Dynamic Signal
DTCP divests 2018 investment, which has merged with SocialChorus.
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People
Vodafone picks Microsoft exec to upgrade purchasing ops
Experienced US buying executive bulks up Vodafone Procurement Company’s supply chain leadership team.
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M&A
Telefónica nearing Uruguay exit?
New suitor emerges as Telefónica considers bid for Uruguayan unit. Local politician leading acquisition push on behalf of consortium partners. Reported bid falls some way short of independent valuation.
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Innovation (R&D)
BT ties with Sweden’s Skydome on emergency response
VR leveraged by embryonic Skydome for incident monitoring purposes. Startup’s R&D partners include Intel. Potential for deployment at BT’s network of smart ports.
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Premium
CityFibre bags fresh cash injection
Openreach challenger announces fresh funds through stake sale and bond issue. Capital “enables” Project Gigabit ambitions. CityFibre’s FTTP rollout reaches 650,000 premises. Altnet momentum builds with an estimated £8bn in investment publicly promised.
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Venturing & Investments
Wayra UK sets up fundraising support initiative
UK incubator leans on expertise of outside consultancy to launch Wayraise scheme. Mountside helping ensure Wayra businesses are “investor-ready” and works to facilitate greater flow of VC into startup ecosystem.
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M&A
Telefónica joins Liberty in move towards UK tower sale
Goldman Sachs reportedly handed reins to examine prospective Cornerstone share sale.
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M&A
OTE takes full ownership of Romanian mobile business
OTE’s near-100% absorption of mobile business a regulatory prerequisite for sale of its fixed sibling to Orange. Telekom Romania’s 30% holding given €59m price tag. Previously the subject of sale speculation, TRMC now fully focused on organic growth, with new Bucharest headquarters portrayed as “fresh start”.
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Premium
Openreach bulking up in Northern Ireland
Openreach Northern Ireland ramps up recruitment, with 16 new openings in nascent civil engineering division. Pressure is on to meet near-term FTTP rollout target. NI tops UK for ultrafast coverage.
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Partnerships & Alliances
SoftBank: New DT tie-up not a threat to longstanding Vodafone partnership
Japanese telco claims structural separation between strategic agreements with two European majors. Vodafone quiet on the tie-up’s future.
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M&A
T-Systems offloads South African remnant
Deutsche Telekom’s enterprise unit wraps up SA exit after selling training and development provider. Continuation of T-Systems slimming drive
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Partnerships & Alliances
Telefónica expands into satIoT with Astrocast
Group flags testing of satIoT platform at Wayra hub in Germany. LEO venture expanding “reachability” of Group’s asset tracking systems into remote regions.
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People
Telekom Deutschland’s fibre JV fills co-CEO vacancy
Glasfaser Nordwest taps co-parent EWE for new leadership appointment. Former incumbent swaps one German FTTP specialist for another. Telekom–EWE business expands product marketing to new locations.
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Strategy & Change
Vodacom-owned XLink lays groundwork for new MD
Fleet-footed 2016 acquisition on the lookout for new leader. MD incumbent yet to reveal next step. Recent re-positioning sees provider embrace cloud and up focus on finance and retail markets.
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Network & Infrastructure
Telefónica Argentina and Sion buddy up on provincial fibre
Argentinian OB to lean on third-party infrastructure to extend connectivity to harder-to-reach communities. Movistar looking at expanding reach of its city-centric FTTP footprint.
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Operations
Vivo Empresas gets hiring to accelerate digital sales
B2B unit to ramp up commercial activity through New Talents scheme. Hybridised work schedule on offer to applicants.
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M&A
CityFibre eyes fresh cash injection
Press reports suggest Openreach challenger will announce fresh funds through stake sale and bond issue.
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Premium
BT soothes relations with disgruntled CWU
BT finds common ground with workers’ union by making series of job security assurances. CWU’s Count Me In campaign bears fruit, with 2022 pay rise in pipeline for staff. Group transformation roadmap unaffected.