All Strategy & Change articles – Page 14
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Products & Services
DT’s AI lead sees chatbots becoming user support ‘experts’
Powered by newly-developed large language model platform, operator plans to give Frag Magenta AI assistant a much freer role in terms of interacting with customers and internal functions, as well as extending the bot across its European footprint, says Group AI lead.
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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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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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Public Affairs
“Who the hell is giving these companies money?” — Höttges warns of investment crisis as big four unite
In a “historic” coming together of the heads of Europe’s four biggest operators, calls were made for changes in regulation, spectrum, and merger policy to support future investment. The EC appears open to change on all fronts, but not always as the operators wish.
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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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Weekly Briefings
Vodafonewatch Weekly: M&A, network milestones, and what next for VodafoneZiggo?
Latest in Vodafone: Liberty goes Dutch to prompt Vodafone review; a problem, a solution, and a proposal for M&A in UK, Portugal, and Italy respectively; Turkish DCs set for big investment through new JV; and much more across Europe, Africa, India…
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Network & Infrastructure
‘Focus and finance’: Telefónica sees UK NetCo adding fuel to fibre build
Virgin Media O2’s co-parent paints new, networks-focused UK business as an engine to accelerate roll out and monetisation of fibre connections.
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Network & Infrastructure
O2 Germany eyes capacity gains after 1&1 exit
German operator plans to use capacity freed up by 1&1 transition to boost its own customer base while also expanding wholesale relationships.
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M&A
DigitalBridge sees ‘pretty hot’ multiples driving more infra investor M&A
International fibre, tower, and data centre investment group has ‘ideas’ up its sleeve to ride new wave of consolidation in the digital infra asset manager space.
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Financial & Performance
O2 Germany targets market share, B2B to fill 1&1 hole — executional risk apparent
FY23: All-hands reboot to address hit from losing 1&1 to Vodafone — now chasing consumer volume plus booming B2B. Families targeted for economies of scale. Dividend parked while in recovery position, despite FY23 strength.
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Strategy & Change
MCR becomes BT Tower custodian in £275m hotel makeover
Iconic London landmark set for radical change of use in hands of experiential hotel operator MCR.
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Partnerships & Alliances
BT rolls out AWS AI programming tool after trial success
CodeWhisperer platform said to be automating 12% of software development work in early deployments as BT Digital commits to a suite of generative AI tools for product development.
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People
BT Consumer's Allera backs Kirkby after missing out on top job
Consumer CEO suggests he had plans to “do something really quite interesting” had he been picked for the Group’s top job, but backs Kirkby to bring telco nous to the role.
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Strategy & Change
Liberty builds Benelux HoldCo in pursuit of VodafoneZiggo−Telenet synergies
Liberty Global continues to dance around an unblinking Vodafone, which is said to be considering strategic implications of new Benelux holding company established to optimise stakes (adding potential tax efficiencies, management synergies and financial freedoms)… move also features fixed-mobile convergence, opportunistic infra monetisation, regional and other investor bait…
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Network & Infrastructure
Virgin Media O2 fibre NetCo carve out coming for Openreach (and ISP clients)
Potential number-two NetCo to be created by VM O2 and owners Liberty Global and Telefónica, with the aim of creating a scale wholesale fibre challenger; open to M&A consolidation; nexfibre remains arms length…
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Network & Infrastructure
Connectivity gaps in the spotlight as UK preps for automated vehicles
New study will explore the infrastructure needs for the deployment of connected autonomous vehicles in line with government 2025 goals, with connectivity at the core.
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M&A
Italy: TIM CEO would prefer Vodafone to combine with Iliad over Fastweb
Pietro Labriola considers the Italian market in need of “repair”, with Vodafone Italy deal with Iliad his preference.