Week 45 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

Corporate

• KPN: Raises EUR 700m debt from Sustainability-Linked Bond (0.875%, matures 331115), links coupon to performance against commitment to reduce absolute value chain CO2 emissions; coupon may increase by 0.375% from 311115 if target not met
• Proximus: Raises EUR 750m from green bond (0.75% due 361117)
• Deutsche Telekom:
• T-Mobile NL to raise EUR 2b debt (Term Loan B (institutional investors), 4% over Euribor + 0.15% in ase of failing green targets) - S&P: 7-yr, YTM 4.15% (E+400), offered at 99.5%, +/- bp on ESG goals, commitments due 211118; MS, Barclays & DB global coordinators
• 21Q3; increases div 2021 to 64c; sale of T-Mobile Infra to Cellnex NL (DT 37.65%) closed 210601, EUR 0.4b (377m) cash inflow for DT, sale & lease-back for 12 yr; total consideration of Simpel acquisition EUR 293m
• United Internet: 21Q3; confirms outlook 2021: rev EUR 5.6b, EBITDA 1.15b
• 1&1: 21Q3; confirms outlook 2021: SR EUR 3.10b, EBITDA 670m
• Telefonica: Plans 2-4k job cuts in ES via voluntary redundancy program
• Vodafone UK supports consolidation (Bloomberg: 3 UK merger; co-invest in Virgin Media O2 FTTP)
• Inmarsat: Offer from Viasat, $7.3b ($850m cash + 46.36m new shares at 67.00 $/share ($3.1b) = 37.5% Viasat stake + $3.4b debt), to close 22H2
• Google/Alphabet: 
  • Acquires $1b equity stake (via nonvoting convertibles) in CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange), CME trading systems to migrate to GCP
  • Establishes Google Labs (merges AR, VR, Starline, Area 120), head Clay Bavor
• Amazon: 
  • Rivian prices IPO at 78.00 $/share (original range 57-62, raised to 72-74), valuation $77b, to raise $11.9b from 153m shares, ticker RIVN; first trade 211110 $106.75, closes at $110.73 - Amazon reports as 10% owner (owns Class Class A stock, series A, D, E, F), totakl 148,409,083 shares + 3,723,050 warrants (conversion $9.089) + $490m convertiles (at $71.03 [= 6,898,494 shares])
  • Acquired Rivian shares [see 211109], total 158,363,834

Broadband, FTTP, mobile, 5G

• Broadband: 
  • US House approves Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: to invest $1.85t in 10 yr o/w $65b in BB for nationwide coverage
  • Gvt NO proposes expanding BB funding by NOK 100m for nationwide coverage 2025
  • Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2021 (based on 2020 results)
  • 4 main areas: 1. Digital skills: 56% of individuals have basic digital skills, 2. Connectivity: very-high-capacity networks available in 59% of EU HH, 3.  Integration of digital technologies: 26% of companies use cloud, 4. Digital public services
  • Ranking: 1 DK, 2 FI, 3 SE, 4 NL, 5 IE
• TIM: Reuters: KKR considers expanding FiberCop stake (37.5%) or direct sake in TIM  
• Open Fiber: EC approves 40% sale to Macquarie (CDP 60%)
• Vodafone UK becomes anchor tenant on CityFibre's FTTP network spring 2022
• Youfone: Provides services over Primevest FTTH (Eindhoven, Rotterdam, Den Haag): 1 Gb/s for 52 EUR/mo, TV 14 EUR/mo, FT 1 EUR/mo
• Copper switch-off:
• Court denies T-Mobile's claims in case against KPN
• Telus plans copper switch-off 2023 
• 1&1 (= United Internet) plans to exceed 5G coverage requirements (1k sites YE 2022, coverage 25% YE 2025, 50% YE 2030); to resell BB & TV from 1&1 Verasatel; plans full Open RAN network, with Rakuten
• Ericsson ConsumerLab report 5G Pacesetters - what's their secret? (analysis of 73 MNOs in 22 markets, based on 105 criteria in 16 categories)
• launches 5G Maturity Index
• measures progress in 5G based on two aspects: consumer satisfaction/perception & service provider’s own efforts
• 4 stages of maturity (Explorer, Potential, Aspirational, Pacesetter)
• 6 strategies to succeed (cost efficiency, smartphone experience & coverage, extend FMC with 5G, extend BB with 5G, premium value tiers, innovative & immersive services)
• NGMN report Green Future Networks: Network Energy Efficiency
• 6G: KPN, T-Mobile NL, VodafoneZiggo, TNO, TU Delft, TU Eindhoven, Universiteit Twente (with support from AT, Topsector ICT) publish position paper Communicatienetwerken voor en door Nederland; propose Future Network Services (PPP); to focus on 6G, other
• Liberty Global: Liberty Charge to add 80 EV chargepoints in Croydon; targets 600 in London YE 2021 - Plans migration to e-vans (currently 4300 vehicles) by 2030 - To install EV chargepoints at customers' homes, optional at homes of e-van drivers

Cloud, security

• Investor consortium (Advent International, Permira Advisers, Crosspoint Capital Partners, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, GIC Private Limited, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority) offer EV $14b for McAfee (26 $/share, premium 23%), equity value $12b  
• Nokia 2021 Threat Intelligence Report  
• Gartner: global cloud rev 2022 $474b (2021: $408b); 85% of organizations will embrace cloud-first principle by 2025 
• Google: GCP plans #6 datacenter in BE in Farciennes (Charleroi)
• Amazon: AWS plans #2 region in Canada in Alberta end 2023/early 2024: AWS Canada West (Calgary) Region (3 Availability Zones)
• TIM: Considers selling minority stake in Noovle (cloud computing) end 2022

Video, audio, media

• Netflix: Launches feature Kids Clips on iOS [a la TikTok] (short clips from existing library of children’s movies & series)
• Amazon: Launches Share Clip: allows clip sharing (max 30 sec) from select originals on iOS
• Walt Disney:
• 20/21Q4 (as of 211002):
• Paying subs total 179m: Disney+ 118.1m (+60%), ESPN+ 17.1m (+66%), Hulu SVOD 39.7m (+22%), Hulu With Live TV 4.0m (-2%)
• ARPUs Disney+ $4.12 (-9%), ESPN+ $4.74 (+4%), Hulu SVOD $12.75 (+1%), Hulu With Live TV $84.89 (+18%)
• plans to raise originals investment above previous guidance ($8-9b in 23/24) driven by local & regional content (currently 340 local titles in development)
• Disney+ to double #countries (currently 60, target 120 by FY 21/22, target 160 by FY 22/23; launches 211112 in S Korea & Taiwan, 211116 in HK)
• to maintain flexibility regarding release windows
• considers building Disney Metaverse 
• Disney Plus Day (2 yr anniversary) premieres: movies Jubgle Cruise and Home Sweet Home Alone, series Dopesick; shorts Olaf Presents and The Simpsons and Ciao Alberto; specials for Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universe; screens select movies at 200 AMC theaters 211112-14, $5 each - Premieres 17 titles - Changes UX
• ITV: 21Q3; distr deal for ITV Hub with Virgin Media O2, 5 yr
• SES (Astra sats) plans OTT service in DE (HD+ IP; >50 HD channels), first app for Panasonic smart TVs
• SKO (NL) report Oct 2021: living room TV usage -16% yoy (live linear -22%, delayed -5%, on demand -5%)
• Spotify: Acquires Findaway (150 employees; audiobook distr platform (325k titles), connects creators with resellers: Apple, Google, Scribd, Audible, Nook, Rakuten Kobo, Chirp, Storytel (a Spotify partner), Overdrive, Audiobooks.com, etc), to close 21Q4
• CvdM (NL) report Mediamonitor 2021:
• digital transformation (newspapers, podcasts, SVOD, strreaming audio), concentration (DPG Media + Sanoma, RTL NL + Talpa Netwerk (not approved yet)), Netflix led market in normalising paying for content, Pay-TV inceasingly for aging groups
• 4 recommendations in relation to proposed RTL/Talpa merger: 1. Future-proof and indepedent pubcaster, 2. RTL NL to hold Dutch (not Luxemborg) license, to comply with Mediawet, to create level playing field for broadcasters, 3. Level playing field with Big Tech (Google, Meta), 4. Tranparency on ownership and financial KPIs

Web services

• B2B: 
  • Apple launches Apple Business Essentials for small businesses (max 500 employees), max 3 devices/user (free beta in US): bundle of device management, AppleCare+ (24/7 phone support for IT & end-users), business iCloud storage (max 2 TB/user), option for onsite repairs; commercial launch spring 2022
  • Microsoft partners with Meta to integrate Microsoft Teams into Facebook Workplace
• Niantic (Alphabet spin-off) launches platform Lightship to build real-world metaverse apps
• Twitter: Launches Twitter Blue in US (3 $/mo), Canada, Australia, NZ (4.5 NZD/mo):
• Ad-free acrticles (formerly Scroll; from WaPo, LA Times, USA TODAY, The Atlantic, Reuters, The Daily Beast, Rolling Stone, BuzzFeed, Insider, Hollywood Reporter)
• Top Articles (most shared [a la Nuzzel])
• features (exclusive app icons, colorful themes, Bookmark Folders, Custom Navigation)
• Undo Tweet
• Reader (turns long threads into an easier-to-read experience)
• early access to new features

Regulatory, platforms

• Google: 
• ECJ upholds EC fine EUR 2.42b on marfket abuse with Google Shopping (2017)
• Supreme Court UK rejects case by Richard Lloyd (2017) over data collection via Apple Safari (2011-12, 4.4m users) for lack of evidence
• US State AGs (led by Texas) update antitrust lawsuit against ad business Project Bernanke (2013) using bidding data to its own advantage)
• Amazon: Bloomberg: aims to settle EC concerns (abuse of market power by using 3rd-party seller data for its own retail brands, using Buy Box for Prime subs for own brands) [see 201110]
• Facebook:
• Meta to block all political, religious ad targeting (incl sexual orientation, religious practices, political beliefs, social issues, advocacy causes, political organizations & figures, health causes) from 220119
• Oversight Board quarterly update 21Q3: 78 recommendations since 210101
• US Appeals Court: Facebook may pursue lawsuit (WhatsApp et al v NSO Group Technologies et al, Oct 2019) against NSO Group over Pegasus malware in WhatsApp [see 200403]