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Telecom News

BT creates a B2B unit called BT Business

By Aiste Kryzanovske December 22, 2022

BT, the UK’s largest telecommunications company, has announced plans to restructure its business by consolidating its Global and Enterprise divisions into a single unit called BT Business. The aim of this move is to cut costs and improve the performance of underperforming businesses. As part of this restructuring, BT will eliminate various product portfolios and management and support positions, with the goal of saving £100 million by 2025. The combination of the two divisions is expected to increase simplicity by eliminating unnecessary duplication and allowing the company to offer a single service to both corporate and public sector clients. This restructuring comes after the company announced in April that it would rebrand all of its consumer operations as EE, with BT becoming the flagship brand for its corporate units. In addition, the enterprise division has experienced a series of poor quarters, with a 23% drop in the first…

Telecom News

Canada sets out conditions for Rogers – Shaw merger

By Aiste Kryzanovske October 26, 2022

A multibillion-dollar merger between Shaw Communications and Rogers Communications Inc., two of the biggest telecommunications businesses in Canada, was officially rejected by the federal industry minister. “Today, I officially denied that request. My decision formally closes that chapter of the original proposed transaction,” said Canadian Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. The US$19 billion merger between the two businesses was revealed in March, but it was met with opposition because it may limit consumer choice and drive up mobile costs. Shaw’s wireless spectrum licenses would have been completely transferred to Rogers as a result of the acquisition. Shaw’s ownership of Freedom Mobile has been largely viewed as the biggest impediment to the deal’s ratification. Videotron, located in Montreal, agreed to purchase it for $2.1 billion earlier this year. Champagne stated that he wanted two specific commitments before approving the Videotron merger. Videotron would have to agree to maintain the…

Telecom News

Australia approves merger between Viasat and Inmarsat

By Aiste Kryzanovske October 19, 2022

Inmarsat, a major supplier of international mobile satellite communications services, and Viasat, a worldwide communications company, have announced that the Australian Government’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) has stated that it has no concerns about the intended merger of the two companies. The proposed deal has already received numerous important regulatory approvals, most notably from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and from the UK Government under the National Security and Investment Act. The most recent permission for the deal is the FIRB’s clearance of Viasat’s proposed acquisition of Inmarsat under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act of 1975. Australia is a large market where the two businesses have substantial consumer and commercial ties. Inmarsat and Viasat announced that they will merge their two businesses to become a new global communications powerhouse in November 2021. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second…

Telecom News

Vodafone UK in talks for merger with Three

By Aiste Kryzanovske October 5, 2022

Vodafone and CK Hutchison are in negotiations to merge their companies in the United Kingdom in order to establish a market-leading mobile network that may advance the roll-out of 5G services and boost Internet accessibility. Combining Vodafone UK with Hutchison’s Three, Britain’s third and fourth largest networks, would result in a company with around 27 million mobile subscribers. Vodafone stated that CK Hutchison would hold 49% of the business and Vodafone would own 51%, an arrangement that would be accomplished by altering debt ownership rather than by trading cash. Reports of a possible partnership between the two companies surfaced earlier this year. The global corporation CK Hutchison stated that no legally binding agreement for such a merger has been entered into, but the proposed acquisition is expected to require that both businesses would integrate their UK companies. CK Hutchison further said that there is no guarantee that any…

Telecom News

Telecom Italia and CDP start network talks

By Aiste Kryzanovske April 5, 2022

Following an internal reorganization, Telecom Italia (TIM) has signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the state investment bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) to begin talks on a possible merger of its fixed network with the state-backed company Open Fiber. This initiative is aimed at reviving a long-standing goal to establish a single fiber network company in Italy. The notion of combining the networks of the two businesses to create a single national broadband network for Italy has been discussed for at least two years. The government-owned CDP, which has a 60% investment in Open Fiber and a 10% stake in TIM, has long advocated for such an alliance . The government has determined that establishing a unified network will allow for a faster rollout of fiber technology, avoiding an overbuild and maximizing the use of European recovery funding. The decision comes as TIM CEO Pietro Labriola pushes…

Telecom News

TIM to begin KKR talks and Open Fiber merger

By Aiste Kryzanovske March 15, 2022

Telecom Italia (TIM) said it will begin official discussions with KKR nearly four months after the US investment firm made a non-binding offer of $11.8 billion for the business. TIM said it has invited its CEO and chairman to speak with KKR to learn more about its prospective proposal after an almost six-hour board meeting on Sunday. TIM noted in a statement that its board of directors had directed CEO PietroLabriola and chairman Salvatore Rossi to conduct formal conversations with KKR in addition to those already held by its advisers in order to maximize shareholder value in respect to other potential interested parties. The release went on to say that the goal was to get information on the financial and industrial appeal and execution of KKR’s offer, as well as to define the length and breadth of the applicable confirmatory due diligence sought by the fund prior to a…

Telecom News

Vodafone and Iliad might merge their Italian units

By Aiste Kryzanovske January 25, 2022

Vodafone and Iliad are in negotiations to merge their respective businesses in Italy. Such a merger would provide advantages for both corporations in one of Europe’s most competitive markets and should be positive for the industry in general. Discussions between the two corporations are ongoing, and both sides are actively looking for ways to connect their separate businesses together in Italy. If the merger is approved, it will create a telecommunications giant with over 36% mobile market penetration and combined sales of nearly $6.80 billion. Vodafone and The Iliad both declined to comment on the negotiations. The talks take place as the local incumbent, Telecom Italia, continues to evaluate a $12.25 billion acquisition offer from US investor KKR aimed at taking Italy’s largest phone business private. Industry leaders have frequently recommended the pursuit of four-to-three telecom mergers, which may generate cost synergies and boost margins by reducing…

Telecom News

CMA raises concern over Nvidia–Arm merger

By Aiste Kryzanovske August 24, 2021

After the British Competition & Market Authority (CMA) uncovered and voiced severe competition concerns, the planned 40-billion-dollar merger between American chipmaker Nvidia and Arm is at risk. The CMA has expressed apprehension that the proposed relationship between Nvidia and the UK chip specialist Arm might be motivated by and be able to limit or even restrict access to the intellectual property (IP) of Arm. Currently, this technology is utilized to make semiconductor chips by firms that compete with Nvidia. The potential absence of competition could interfere with innovation in various industries, including data centers and the Internet of Things (IoT). This might lead to products that are more costly or of reduced quality. The CEO of the CMA Andrea Coscelli said: “We’re concerned that Nvidia controlling Arm could create real problems for NVIDIA’s rivals by limiting their access to key technologies, and ultimately stifling innovation across a…

Telecom News

AT&T announces a merger between WarnerMedia with Discovery

By Aiste Kryzanovske May 18, 2021

The US giant AT&T and Discovery have announced a deal to merge WarnerMedia’s entertainment, sports and news assets with Discovery’s international entertainment and sports companies to create a unique, high-end global entertainment company. In accordance with the agreement, AT&T will receive a total of $43 billion of cash, debt and the retention of certain debts of WarnerMedia. If approved by regulators, AT&T shareholders will receive 71% of the shares in the new company, while Discovery shareholders will own 29%. It is expected that the deal will deliver significant value to both AT&T and Discovery shareholders. This merger will bring together the strongest teams of media business leaders and content creators, and include industry-leading libraries of films and series. The merger will create a new business that could be valued $150 billion, including debt. This transaction gives AT&T and its shareholders the opportunity to leverage the value of…

Telecom News

A quick roundup of the news in Telecoms | Week #7

By Vilija Simkiene February 14, 2020

Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica and Orange test blockchain technology Deutsche Telecom is testing a blockchain solution that can be used to generate and sign secure inter-operator roaming discount agreements. T-Mobile US, Telefonica, Orange and the GSMA are collaborating to test the software that will reduce the complexity of the current process, which usually involves drafting, signing and manually implementing the contracts. Deutsche Telecom said that this is the first time operators are able to jointly test blockchain as a solution that also incorporates a corresponding legal framework, governance model, and integration into corporate IT infrastructures. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/rpwsegx The world’s biggest phone show has been canceled due to coronavirus concerns The GSM Association (GSMA) has canceled the world’s largest mobile phone show, Mobile World Congress (MWC), in Barcelona due to concerns related to the growing coronavirus pandemic. The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide uniting more than 1,200…