News

The share price of TPG Telecom has risen by 12% since the news 

Vocus has made a non-binding offer of AU$6.3 billion ($4.2 billion) to buy rival TPG Telecom’s enterprise, government, and wholesale assets.

“Discussions between the parties remain incomplete and transaction terms are subject to ongoing negotiation,” said TPG in a statement. “Securityholders should be aware that the Board of TPG has not made any decision to accept any offer, and there is no certainty an agreed transaction will eventuate. If a transaction is able to be agreed, it would also remain subject to a range of conditions, including relevant regulatory approvals.” 

Last year, this unit made up 18% of TPG Telecoms’s total fiscal revenue, at AU$5.52 billion ($3.65 billion). 

The deal includes the company’s wholesale fixed infrastructure arm Vision Network, which covers roughly 410,000 premises with a combination of fibre-to-the-premises, fibre-to-the-building, fibre-to-the-node, and hybrid fibre coaxial technologies. 

TPG launched a strategic review of Vision Network in October last year, a move which reportedly drew interest from numerous potential investors. 

The offer from Vocus is indicative, highly conditional and non-binding, and is subject to various conditions, including debt financing, due diligence, document finalisation, and the approval from both company boards.  

Vocus had been given until 6th September to complete its due diligence. 

Last year, TPG Telecom was the last of Australia’s three largest telcos to sell off their mobile tower infrastructure. The firm sold its mobile towers and rooftop infrastructure to OMERS in a for AU$950 million ($627 million) deal, with TPG using the funds to pay down its debt pile.  

The sold portfolio was around 21% of TPG Telecom’s mobile network coverage in Australia, with the other 79% provided by other tower companies.  

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Also in the news:
Vocus launches drone to serve as an emergency mobile tower in Australia
Optus partners with Starlink to bring mobile coverage to rural Australia
TalkTalk mulls break-up as debt pressure grows 

India’s Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) has signed a consortium agreement with industry partners for the collaborative development of a disaggregated 5G radio access network (5G RAN) solution.

C-DOT is the main telecom R&D centre of India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT). It signed the consortium agreement with local industry partners Lekha Wireless Solutions, Signaltron Systems, Sooktha Consulting and Resonous Technologies, all of which offer expertise in providing radio access network solutions in the 5G and LTE space.

The aim of this agreement, then, is for all involved to collaborate on the development of an O-RAN-compliant disaggregated 5G RAN solution capable of operation in the FR1 and FR2 bands for public and private 5G networks.

C-DOT’s role will be to act as a business incubator and facilitator by providing funding and necessary infrastructure for testing, interoperability, field trial, and proof of concept (POC).

There is of course, another aim here: to enhance India’s self-reliance in the 5G space by creating more telecom players in the start-up micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) ecosystem in line with the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) drive.

But can India really produce its own disaggregated 5G RAN solution? And will it be commercially viable, both locally and internationally? Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony, Dr Rajkumar Upadhyay, CEO, C-DOT referred to augmenting Indian intellectual property and enabling India to become a leading global supplier of affordable 5G solutions, so local production and international sales do seem to be among the aims of this initiative.

This agreement is the second initiative under the C-DOT Collaborative Research Program 2022 (CCRP-2022), which was launched to realise the objective of promoting innovation and development of cost-effective indigenous telecom products and solutions. The first, with VVDN Technologies and WiSig Networks, involved the development of 5G Open RAN.

Startup Stories

Tell us about your startup
At Compleye, we revolutionize compliance for SaaS companies with our collaboration platform. Our mission is to provide a simpler, more affordable, and efficient way for tech companies to achieve compliance. Our comprehensive library of resources, step-by-step guides, and team of compliance experts make it easy for tech companies to meet industry-leading frameworks like ISO 27001, SOC 2, ISO 9001, and ISO 27701.
Our platform is designed to be user-friendly and cost-effective, allowing companies to focus on their core business while we take care of the compliance headaches. We help them understand compliance obligations, develop a compliance plan, and implement the necessary controls.

In addition to our platform, we offer a suite of compliance services, including internal audits, intensive solutions, and compliance consultancy sessions. These services further enhance our clients’ compliance journey.
Compleye was founded in 2018 by Karolin Kruiskamp, a seasoned professional with 25 years of experience in organizational design and 15 years in the tech industry. Since then, we have gained traction in the highly-regulated Pharma industry and expanded our approach to sectors such as Health Tech, FinTech, e-Commerce, and Smart-City industries. Our clientele consists primarily of B2B SMEs offering technical products or services.
Fast forward to 2023, Compleye continues to grow and scale alongside its clients, team, products, and services. Our dedication to simplicity, affordability, and efficiency has carved out a unique niche for us in the ever-evolving tech landscape.

What is your USP?
Our USP lies in our lean approach to compliance, which makes our platform the most cost-effective solution in the market. We have designed our platform to simplify compliance, ensuring that users don’t need prior compliance experience to get started. With Compleye, tech companies can achieve compliance effortlessly, saving both time and money. By offering a user-friendly experience and being affordable, we set ourselves apart from traditional compliance solutions.

What is your relationship with the telecom sector?
The telecom sector is a key partner for Compleye. We collaborate with telecom companies to help them understand the compliance requirements of their customers and provide them with the necessary tools and resources to meet those requirements. Additionally, we work closely with telecom companies to develop new compliance solutions that align with the evolving tech landscape. Our partnership enables telecom companies to strengthen their compliance posture and deliver trusted services to their customers.

How have you got to your current stage of development?
Compleye was bootstrapped by Karolin Kruiskamp in 2018. She worked tirelessly to build the platform and raise awareness about Compleye. In 2020, Compleye secured its first round of funding, allowing us to expand our team and reach more clients.

Our success can be attributed to several factors. First, we have a passionate team of experienced professionals who are dedicated to helping tech companies achieve compliance. Second, we continuously iterate on our product, making it more user-friendly and effective based on client feedback. Lastly, our close relationship with our clients enables us to incorporate their input into our product development process.
Today, Compleye is the leading compliance collaboration platform for tech companies in Europe, with a track record of delivering exceptional results.

Why did you establish the business?
We established Compleye because we recognized the need for a simpler, more affordable, and efficient way for tech companies to achieve compliance. The traditional compliance approach is complex, expensive, and time-consuming, often taking months or even years to complete. We saw the struggles faced by founders in understanding the regulatory landscape and the financial implications of compliance.

Who inspired you?
We were inspired by the challenges that founders of tech companies face when trying to achieve compliance. We saw that many founders were struggling to understand the complex regulatory landscape, and that they were often faced with high costs and long timelines. We were also inspired by the victims of data breaches and privacy violations.

Furthermore, we were inspired by the victims of data breaches and privacy violations. Our goal is to create a safer world for everyone by helping tech companies protect their data and their customers’ data. We believe that Compleye is a step in the right direction, empowering businesses to navigate compliance challenges effectively while prioritizing privacy and security.

What does the future hold for your business?
The future is bright for Compleye. The SaaS industry has increased in size by around 500% over the past seven years, and this growth is showing no signs of slowing down. As the industry expands, the demand for compliance solutions will also rise. Compleye is well-positioned to capitalize on this growth by offering a platform that addresses the increasing awareness of data protection, data breaches, ransomware attacks, and the demand for ethical business practices.

We are a small but highly motivated team, and we are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead! Our focus is on further enhancing our platform, expanding our market reach, and fostering strategic partnerships to meet the evolving needs of the tech industry.

Compleye will be showcasing their solutions at the Total Telecom Congress in Amsterdam, 21-22 November 2023. Find out how to meet them there or get involved. totaltele.com/congress

In an interesting illustration of contrasting fortunes in the Indian telecoms market, operator Bharti Airtel has prepaid a Department of Telecommunications (DoT) debt while rival Vodafone Idea (Vi) is gearing up for admittedly smaller payments, but payments that are part of a much larger overall debt burden.

Airtel’s payment of about 80 billion rupees (US$975.5 million) to the DoT, reportedly almost clears much of the company’s dues related to airwaves bought in the 2015 auction.

The company is quoted in India’s Economic Times as saying: “Airtel continues to enjoy access to a well-diversified sources of capital / financing, allowing it to have enhanced financial flexibility in its capital structure including optimised cost of financing using all opportunities for significant interest savings, like this prepayment.”

Vi has to find slightly less money – 43 billion rupees (US$522.7 million) – towards debt and 5G airwave instalments in the current September quarter. However, this is just part of its vast overall debt, which includes payments to Indus Towers. 

Vi owes Indus about 95 billion rupees (US$1.2 billion). That said, recent payment obligations to Indus have been met. However, licence fee and spectrum usage charge (SUC) payments to the government have recently seen delays.

Add 5G rollout, 4G network upgrade, and quite a lot of other debts, to banks and suppliers among others, and a large dose of funding would be welcome. Vi’s net debt at the end of the 2023 financial year was US$24.4 billion. Lenders and would-be investors want assurance that funding is on the way.

By contrast, Airtel’s prepayment will help it save on interest costs annually and boost cash flows as it rapidly rolls out 5G networks with national service availability targeted by December.

News 

The deal could help offset Vodafone’s struggling performance in the highly competitive Spanish market 

According to reports from Bloomberg, Telefónica has approached Vodafone on several occasions in recent months to discuss potential deals related to the companies’ Spanish broadband networks. 

The potential deal could take the form of a wholesale agreement, a partnership, or the transfer of Vodafone’s clients onto Telefónica’s fibre network. 

Vodafone have yet to comment on the proposal, with Telefónica’s Chief Operating Officer Angel Vila noting that “the ball is now in their court”. 

It is possible that the proposal has come as a result of Vodafone’s new CEO Margharita Della Valle launching a review of Spanish operations back in May, saying that “structural change”, including a full or partial sale of the unit, was a possibility. Following this announcement, Telefónica revealed its interest in discussing a potential deal between the two companies’ Spanish fibre networks. 

In recent years, Vodafone’s operations in Spain have been strongly impacted by the highly competitive nature of the country’s telecoms market. Ruthless competition with MasMovil, Orange, and Movistar has seen all of the operators locked in a seemingly perpetual price war, keeping profits painfully low. 

During the 2023 fiscal year, Vodafone had the highest decline in mobile service revenue at 5.4%, noting that competition in the mobile value segment “remained intense”. 

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Also in the news:
Orange-MásMóvil merger may reduce competition in Spain, says European Commission
Suitors lining up to buy Vodafone Spain
Vodafone sales increase as merger looms

News

A summary of all the essential financial news in the telecoms world 

Virgin Media O2 releases Q2 results

Virgin Media O2’s (VMO2) quarterly results, published on Tuesday, revealed a 6.2% increase in adjusted revenue, totalling £2.7 billion. This drove transaction-adjusted EBITDA up 4.6% from the same time last year, to £1 billion.

The revenue increase was due in part to VMO2’s April price rises.

At the same time, however, the results revealed VMO2 had lost roughly 24,700 fixed line customers and 1,500 mobile subscribers.

“Amidst higher costs, rising usage and continued investment, we executed necessary price increases in line with our expectations, with this starting to flow through to our Q2 revenue and EBITDA growth,” said CEO Lutz Schüler.

Cellnex revenue rockets 18% on last year

Europe’s largest mobile tower company announced second quarter revenues of €1.02 billion, an increase of 17.8% on the same period last year, when the number stood at €862 million. The company attributes the increase to the continued posititive momentum of its core business.

Despite a 19.2% rise in operating expenses, adjusted EBITDA was up 17.4 % in Q2.

“We continue to see momentum in the business with strong growth across all of our industrial and financial metrics in the first half of the year,” said CEO Marco Patuano. “We are making good progress towards the objectives we set last November in the “new chapter” for the Group, with a focus on organic growth, positive free cash flow generation by 2024 and achieving investment grade by 2024 as well.”

The firm’s current net financial debt stands at €17.9 billion.

Telefónica’s 44.5% revenue increase

Telefónica’s Q2 results, released yesterday, showed that between April and June the company’s net income rose 44.5% to €462 million, compared to the same period last year.

Total revenue reached €10.1 million, with a growth rate of 0.9% year-on-year.

Net financial debt amounted to €27.5 million at the end of last month, 3.9% lower than last year.

The performance has allowed the firm to review their 2023 financial targets, including doubling their revenue target as they anticipate organic growth of 4%.

“Focused on the customer and the creation of shareholder value, and with technology as a decisive factor to better understand and connect with the world, Telefónica is preparing its 2023-2026 plan with a model of operational excellence based on three pillars: Growth, Profitability and Sustainability,” said Telefónica’s Chairman José María Álvarez-Pallete.

Vodafone’s share price rise after successful Q1

The release of Vodafone’s Q1 results this week demonstrated a successful quarter, causing the share price to rise 4% to 75.5% earlier this week.

Vodafone reported a 3.7% rise in organic revenue growth to €10.7 billion in the first quarter of this year, although reported growth fell by 4.8%. 

The firm’s solid performance in the UK, boosted by April price rises, largely helped to offset poorer performances in other key markets like Germany, where revenue dropped by 1.3%.

“We have achieved a better service revenue performance across almost all of our markets. We have delivered particularly strong trading in our Business segment and returned to service revenue growth in Europe” said CEO Margherita Della Valle.

“Vodafone delivered mixed results today, though with revenue ahead of expectations and the company taking advantage of price rises in April they are more on the positive side,” commented Matthew Dorset, analyst at Quilter Cheviot.

T – Mobile set Q2 record

In the release of its Q2 report on Thursday, T-Mobile announed a gain of 760,000 postpaid mobile customers, its highest increase in the quarter for eight years, and the most in the US mobile industry.

The total customer base grew by 1.7 million to a record 116.6 million at the end of June.

Service revenues of $15.4 billion grew 4% year-over-year, while core EBITDA increased 11% year-over-year to $6.7 billion.

“On the heels of our highest ever postpaid account net additions and industry-leading postpaid and broadband customer growth, we are raising guidance for the third time this year. Our Un-carrier playbook continues to win in this ever-changing competitive and macro-economic climate and our momentum is only getting stronger,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile.

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Also in the news: 

Cellnex names Anne Bouverot as Non-Executive Chairperson
Ericsson may be caught in the middle as Swedish–Iraqi relations sour
Nokia and Tele2 team up for private 5G in Sweden