T-Mobile’s fruitful Q2 performance exhibits impressive growth with an increase of 760,000 postpaid phone customers and 509,000 Fixed Wireless Access home Internet customers. On the financial front, a 2.8% YoY service revenue hike pushed their accounts to $15.7 billion, despite a minor 2.6% dip in overall revenue. The telecom giant further asserted its prowess with a record low postpaid churn of 0.77%, prompting an upward revision of its yearly customer addition expectations.
Four powerhouse telecom companies have forged an alliance to harness the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI), revolutionizing customer experiences and uncovering potential business opportunities. This alliance, brought to life in Seoul, South Korea, promises to co-develop a Telco AI Platform, pioneering new AI services, like digital assistants and super apps. The initiative has been seen as a forward-thinking response to the escalating global interest in AI within the telecommunications industry. Imminent discussions at the Total Telecom Congress will shed more light on this transformational feat.
As telecom giants Ooredoo, Zain and infrastructure expert TASC Towers embark on exclusive negotiations to form a massive mobile towers firm, the telecommunications landscape beckons a potential shift. Combining assets from Qatar, Kuwait, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, and Jordan, they plan on creating an autonomous company with a whopping portfolio of approximately 30,000 towers, directly rivaling industry leaders. Their strategic vision embraces a dual approach: stimulate shareholder value and reduce the MENA region’s carbon footprint.
Unveiling the turbulence in UK’s telecommunications landscape, Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) unfolds its significant workforce reduction strategy. This controversial move, intertwined with dwindling customer base and towering debts, sets a profound impact on the telecom titan’s ascension in the telecom market. Yet, amidst customer attrition, VMO2’s sturdy quarter reports defied setbacks leveraging raised prices, raising critical discussions within the industry.
Taking dynamic major strides in the quantum computing sector, T-Systems, Deutsche Telekom’s IT wing, is partnering with IQM Quantum Computers, offering its customers unique access to the complexities and potential of IQM’s quantum infrastructure. Leveraging the power of quantum mechanics and harnessing the elusive ‘qubits’, this promising collaboration forms a critical intersection of cloud technology and quantum computation, manoeuvring towards transformative problem-solving capabilities.
The enigmatic billionaire Patrick Drahi is reportedly considering a bold move to hit an astounding 29.9% stake in UK’s telecom titan, BT, which naturally raises eyebrows and fuels speculation. Tracing Drahi’s relationship with BT, it started just last year with a humble 12.1% stake acquisition. Despite BT’s cautious response, Altice, Drahi’s representative, remained adamant about any takeover intentions. Today, a quarter of BT already belongs to Drahi, drawing closer government scrutiny under the freshly enacted National Security & Investment Act.
In an exciting leap forward for 5G technology in Europe, Ericsson and O2 Telefónica in Germany have joined forces to accomplish a remarkable feat in the development of 5G Cloud RAN technology. Their groundbreaking Proof of Concept (PoC) deployment at O2 Telefónica’s Wayra innovation hub in Munich showcased the immense capabilities of Ericsson’s first 5G Cloud RAN installation on the continent. The PoC utilized cutting-edge mmWave frequency and a centralized control unit (CU), achieving an impressive end-to-end speed of over 4 gigabits per second.
Unprecedented in telecommunications, the Amitié subsea cable system, an alliance effort of Aqua Comms, Meta, Microsoft, and Vodafone, provides a major boost to international connectivity. This groundbreaking line, stretching an impressive 6,783 km, links Boston directly with Europe, heralding a new era for cross-continental communication. Equipped with unmatched versatility and a notable capacity of 400 Tbps, this project paves the way for a more connected digital future globally.
Liberty Global has strategically increased its shareholding in Belgium’s Telenet to 93.23%, investing an estimated €763 million. This move intensifies Liberty Global’s pursuit of full ownership, enhancing their position in a dynamically changing communication market. They are now prepped to reopen the tender offer, inviting more shareholders to participate. This could result in Liberty Global’s complete acquisition of Telenet, provided some conditions are met, illuminating growth opportunities amidst increasing competition.
In a recently revealed Q2 report, Nokia showed flat sales at €5.7 billion year over year, suggesting reduced capital expenditure by operators. Interestingly, while a 5% sales growth in Nokia’s Mobile Networks unit occurred, a troubling 6% decline at the Network Infrastructure division offset this boost. With stark contrasts across regions, North American sales notably dropped by 42% as 5G deployments slowed, while energetic 5G deployments in India couldn’t adequately balance the losses. Mirroring these figures, Ericsson too reported a 9% year over year decrease in Q2 revenue. A gloomy yet realistic outlook from Nokia’s CEO Pekka Lundmark, coupled with analyst firm Dell’Oro’s forecast on the shrinking RAN predictions, suggests telecommunications could be in for a turbulent few years.
