In collaboration with technology giants like HPE, Casa Systems, Mavenir and Dell Technologies, Orange Spain launches Open RAN nodes allied with a cloud-native 5G SA core network. This pilot project notches a triumph in network deployment within an hour, brandishing the power of automation in modern technologies. While this showcases POTENTIAL for end-to-end virtual networks management and elevates energy efficiency, a sense of guarded optimism is needed, given a drop in Open RAN and vRAN revenues in Q2 2023.
European Commission’s concerns over the Orange-MasMovil merger in Spain may hinder the deal, potentially affecting competition within the country’s telecommunications market. Remedies, such as wholesale access to virtual players, could be proposed to address objections and prevent price increases for consumers.
Vodafone explores potential sale of its Spanish operations as the European Commission investigates Orange Spain and MasMovil merger, impacting competition in the telecom sector. The outcome could influence Vodafone’s decision, with potential investors such as Apollo Global Management and Apax Partners being considered.
Spanish wireless infrastructure giant Cellnex Telecom has acquired the Portuguese telecommunications tower and site operator OMTEL, owned by Altice Europe and Belmont Infra Holding. This agreement is worth around EUR 800 million, and the acquisition includes the projected deployment of 400 new mobile cell sites in the next four years, adding to the 3,000 sites that OMTEL currently operates in Portugal. Cellnex said that to facilitate the upcoming 5G roll-out in Portugal, the company has been rapidly expanding, and its build-to-suit (BTS) program could involve constructing a further 350 sites for third parties by 2027. The estimated investment for this BTS plan is expected to be EUR 140 million. The Spanish towerco anticipates that this acquisition will increase the company’s sales backlog by EUR 2.5 billion to EUR 38.5 billion. Tobias Martinez, CEO of Cellnex, said, “With OMTEL, we are not only integrating one of the leading independent…