All articles by Telefónicawatch – Page 22
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M&A
Fries on VM-O2 merger: don’t mention the tax breaks
Liberty Global anticipates substantial opportunities for savings by injecting Virgin Media tax losses into O2, but Fries wary that such behaviour may not chime with goal of creating new UK “national champion”.
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M&A
Telefónica wraps up Atresmedia content JV
New joint venture Buendía Estudios is to be 50% owned by each partner.
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Strategy & Change
O2’s Haas lukewarm over Germany’s rural wirelessco
Operator predictably wary over the potential of planned mobile infrastructure company to disrupt MNOs, despite rural-focused mandate.
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Suppliers & SCM
Telefónica in a bind as US pressures Brazil on Huawei
US Ambassador warns of financial cost to Brazil of permitting Huawei 5G presence, while talking up favourable loans for Ericsson and Nokia kit. Comments follow fulsome praise for Chinese vendor from Telefónica|Vivo CEO as an innovative and trusted partner.
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Enterprise (B2B)
Telefónica veteran lights Rio with Smart Luz tender
Smart Luz consortium wins tender to overhaul Rio street lighting; Consortium includes High-Trend, founded by ex-TBS CEO Juan Revilla.
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Network & Infrastructure
O2 UK expands Ericsson’s 5G brief
Swedish vendor gains backing role as O2 goes west with 5G network.
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M&A
Telefónica Deutschland confirms tower switch
German operating business to transfer 10,100 sites to Telxius for €1.5bn. Transaction to reduce Telefónica’s net debt by €500m between 2020 and 2021, but won’t slow down its accelerated capex drive. Telxius portfolio has doubled since 2016.
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Network & Infrastructure
UK rail connectivity on the right track with O2 partnership
Newcastle to Edinburgh route gets connectivity boost thanks to LNER-O2 UK partnership.
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Partnerships & Alliances
Telefónica links Osasuna with football tech
Smart shin pad provider Humanox nets deal with Club Atlético Osasuna and Telefónica for Spanish grassroots rollout.
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M&A
MásMóvil equity deal may spark Spanish consolidation
The private equity acquisition of Spain’s number four operator may see a short-term spike in competition, but could ultimately lead to consolidation, easing pressure on Telefónica and Vodafone. Opportunities could emerge for Telxius to pick up MásMóvil masts in the aftermath.
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Network & Infrastructure
Televisa pits Izzi against Telcel dominance
Cut-price offering from quad-play service provider is the latest attempt to dethrone Carlos Slim in Mexico. Televisa making use of Mexico’s wholesale-only LTE infrastructure at a time when mobile competitors are re-examining business models to drive efficiency.
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Network & Infrastructure
O2 Germany picks Ericsson for 5G core
Operator chooses to rely on European partner for ‘security-relevant’ 5G core. Huawei and Nokia expected to have equal share of RAN. Government appears close to finalising security guidelines for 5G.
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Innovation (R&D)
O2 joins call for UK to step up self-driving tests
O2 UK, Cisco, and partners recommended a UK cyber test facility for connected and autonomous vehicles, complete with allocated spectrum and a core and fibre backbone.
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M&A
EU court ruling could revive network consolidation
Commission found to have been wrong to block O2–Three merger, based on commitment to upholding four-player mobile markets in larger countries. While not yet final, the court’s decision may fire the starting pistol for a renewed wave of consolidation among telcos struggling to manage competition. Commissioner Vestager side-steps comment ...
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Venturing & Investments
Telefónica activates startup tech programmes
AI, blockchain, IoT, and carrier billing streams open for applicants, with free tech integration and potential Wayra investments on the table.
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Products & Services
Telefónica picks new banking buddy
Commerzbank’s comdirect to support refresh of O2 Germany’s O2 Banking service, after break-up of relationship with launch partner Fidor Bank.
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Content & TV
Movistar Chile overhauls IPTV service, integrates Netflix and Amazon
Operating business gives pay-TV service a major refresh with platform of platforms feel.
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Partnerships & Alliances
Internet para Todos ties with everis for OSS
Consultancy flags development of flexible, open source platform to power the IpT vision of extended wireless access.
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Premium
Big Four providing a solid foundation
‘Show me the money’ the key message in Spain. Positivity in Germany and UK. Brazil trading up. LatAm carve-out progressing.
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Premium
‘Resilient but not immune’ Telefónica takes its medicine
Plans for a Telefónica joint-venture with Virgin Media provided the big news, while smaller steps taken on wider digital transformation plans. COVID-19 inflicts a manageable early hit, but Group cautious on longer-term prospects. Scrip dividend offered as Group aims to carefully manage its cash and discretionary spending.