Week 49 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

CORPORATE

• T-Mobile NL
• Offering memorandum: WP/AP Telecom Holdings IV announces offering of Senior Secured Notes (EUR 800m due 2028) and WP/AP Telecom Holdings III announces offering of Senior Notes (EUR 550m due 2029)
• Moody's rates guaranteed sr secured notes from WP/AP Telecom Holdings IV (EUR 800m due 2028) B1 and guaranteed sr secured notes from WP/AP Telecom Holdings III (T-Mobile NL) (EUR 550m due 2029) Caa1 and revolving sr secured revolving credit facility (RCF; EUR 700m due 2028) B1; outlook stable (assumes leverage of 6.4x at closing to be reduced to 6.0x by 2023; upward rating pressure is currently limited); proceeds to be used to finance takeover (plus fees & expenses); corporate family rating (CFR) B2; probability of default rating (PDR) B2-PD; Term Loan B EUR 2.4b (guaranteed sr secured)
• Orange: Rumor: discussed but abandoned merger plan with Vodafone (CHQ in NL)

NETWORKS

• KPN, APG, Glaspoort extend Glaspoort scope by 170 premises, to be 70/30 financed by debt/equity; KPN to receive EUR 85m pre-tax for sale of 50% (EUR 30m initial, EUR 55m in annual installments) - Total 920k [or 930k] FTTH + 225k FTTO
• Virgin Media O2 plans replacing HFC with FTTP (XGS-PON) in 3 trial cities: Stoke, Salisbury, Wakefield (currently 14.3m HFC lines, 1m FTTP lines)
• Liberty Networks Germany (brand helloFiber) plans first FTTP project in Petershagen-Eggersdorf (Brandenburg): 7k premises in 2 yr; plans 5 tiers: Fliegen (1000/500 Mb/s for 90 EUR/mo, promo 6 mo for 25; 1/1 Gb/s 10 EUR/mo extra), Sprinten (600/300 Mb/s for 80 EUR/mo, promo 6 mo for 25, 600/600 10 EUR/mo extra), Rennen (400/200 Mb/s for 50 EUR/mo, promo 6 mo for 30; 400/400 for 5 EUR/mo extra; includes 2 phone lines), Starten (300/150 Mb/s for 45 EUR/mo, promo 6 mo for 25; 300/300 for 5 EUR/mo; includes 2 phone lines), Flizen [same as Fliegen, includes 2 phone line]; promotes Waipu.YV as add-on; flat-rate mobile add-on 15 EUR/mo
• 1&1: buys access (3800 rooftops & towers until YE 2025, also new locations, max 5k towers, lease for 20 yr with options for extension) from Vantage Towers (= Vodafone) and 1&1 Versatel (= United Internet) (fiber, 4 datacenters for 5G Core network + >500 decentralised datacenters to connetc antennae; lease until YE 2050; Open RAN network functions to be located in a private cloud, controlled by software); outlook 2022: SR EUR 3.2b, EBITDA flat (2021E: 670m) incl initial 5G costs 30-70m), capex 400m; initial 5G costs 2021 raised from 30 to 40m

VIDEO

• SKO (NL) report Nov 2021: living room TV usage -13% yoy (live linear -13%, +10%, on demand -12%)
• BT: FT: plan to sell BT Sport to DAZN stalled; Telegraph: considers creating JV with Discovery
• VodafoneZiggo: Content deal with ViacomCBS for Ziggo Movies & Series (L and XL; SVOD): content from CBS, Showtime, Paramount Pictures (incl some exclusive series or seasons); also with WarnerMedia for some HBO series
• Liberty Media: Distr deal for F1 TV app with Youfone (NL, FVNO on KPN), platform integration
• Viaplay: To launch in NL 220301, 14 EUR/mo; stand-alone distr OTT and multi-yr distr deals with VZ & KPN (part of entertainment bundle [KPN Hussel]); 3 yr distr deal with NOS (NPO) for Formula 1: Zandvoort GP live, 3 min highlights from all other qualifiers, 15 min highlights from all other races - Appoints Kennard Bos for originals in NL - Talks with Delta Fiber and T-Mobile NL for distr
• NBCU: Peacock to have exclusive streaming rights for 4 mo after theatrical window (45 days) from 2022 for films from Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Illumination, DreamWorks Animation; after Peacock rights move to Prime Video for 10 mo
• Walt Disney: Report: applies flexible windowing strategy (exclusive theatrical window varies between 30 and 68 days)
• ViacomCBS
• Plans to separate content by prodco: CBS, Viacom (incl Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central), Paramount will live on Paramount+, Pluto TV, or Showtime
• Paramount+ adds live broadcast channels (24/7 Laughs, Adult Animation, All Day Drama, Animation Favorites, Black Voices, Crime & Justice, History & Undiscovered, Kids & Family Fun, Nostalgic Hits, PAW Patrol, Preschool Corner, Reality TV: Competition, Reality TV: Shores, SpongeBob Universe, Star Trek, Survivor, The Challenge, TV Classics
• Discovery: Variety interview with David Zaslav; LT target 200-250m streaming subs

CLOUD

• Equinix: Acquires MainOne (Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire; #4 datacenter to open 22Q1; submarine cable Lagos-Portugal; fiber to 65 PoPs; 800 customers; 500 employees; annualised rev $60m), $320m = 14x EBITA, to close 22Q1
• AWS outage at US-EAST-1 Region

SECURITY

• Bloomberg & BIJ: Mitto (CH, omnichannel messaging solutions) sells access to private surveillance companiesto track specific users (secret op ran by COO Ilja Gorelik), exploits vulnerabilities in SS7 (telecom protocol) - Mitto denies, starts internal investigation - Swiss regulator plans investigation
• Orange Cyberdefense report (Security Navigator 2022): cyberattacks against enterprises +13% yoy in Oct 2021
• Vodafone Business (with Generali, Accenture) launches cyber insurance for SMEs

QUANTUM COMPUTING

• IonQ plans to use barium ions as qubits
• QSAFE (Quantum Network System Architecture for Europe; DT, Telefonica, Thales, Thales Alenia Space, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology) consortium to design European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) for EC     

NETWORK EQUIPMENT

• TIP's FIBr releases OpenBNG RFI, shortlists 8 vendors: APS Networks, Delta, Edgecore Networks, UfiSpace, Benu Networks, Capgemini Engineering, Casa Systems, RtBrick[see 211117]

CPE

• OPPO plans first foldable smartphone Find N

REGULATORY

• Access
• BT: Ofcom annual monitoring report on the progress towards delivering a more independent Openreach
• CityFibre objects to Ofcom approval of Openreach FTTP wholesale (Equinox) price cut (in exchange for long contract) from 211001
• Copyright: YouTube: Copyright Transparency Report 21H1: 729m copyright claims (o/w 99% from Content ID) o/w 2.2m were overturned (uploaders win in 60% of objections)
• Local content prouction quota: Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Apple agree with CSA (FR): to invest 20% of rev in French content (total 250-300m EUR/yr)
• Platforms
• Google: Partners with AFP to fight disinformation (Objectif Désinfox) in run-up to French presidential elections 2022
• Amazon
• Strategic Organizing Center files complaint at FTC: Amazon failing to clearly differentiate paid ads from organic listings in its search results
• AGCM (IT) fines EUR 1.128b over abuse of market dominance in e-commerce logistics (favors FBA over others)
• Facebook
• Sued by Rohingya for $150b for allowing hate speech against them to spread (algorithms amplified hate speech, failed to invest in moderators and fact checkers, failed to take down posts or delete accounts that incited violence, failed to take appropriate and timely action despite warnings from charities and the media)
• Instagram adds anti-addiction features: Take A Break, bulk deleting older photos/videos, parental controls - Plans optional chronological feed 2022
• Microsoft: EU starts investigation of Nuance acquisition [see 210411] until 211221
• Apple
• Report: countersues Russian regulator FAS over obligation to allow developers to tell users about alternative payment systems
• Appeals Court places stay on enforcement of injunction issued by lower court [see 210910]
• Report: Life360 (location sharing app, 33m users) shares location data with ~12 brokers https://themarkup.org/privacy/2021/12/06/the-popular-family-safety-app-life360-is-selling-precise-location-data-on-its-tens-of-millions-of-user
• General
• EU compromise on DSA, IMCO vote 211213-14, no further amendments expected
• Update to EU Code of Practice on Disinformation (self-regulatory tool) extended to March 2022
• >200 US newspapers sue Google & Facebook over monopolising digital ads market
• Inrupt (Tim Berners-Lee) raises $30m
• US & UK plan data sharing agreement
• EC proposes legislation to improve working conditions for platform workers (28m people); 5 criteria to classify workers ass employees (unless proven otherwise by the platform): remuneration, requirements such as wearing a uniform, overseeing performance, preventing workers from organizing their own working schedule, restricting the possibility to work for someone else.
• US Senators (Chris Coons D-Del, Rob Portman R-Ohio, Amy Klobuchar D-Minn) propose Platform Accountability and Transparency Act (PATA): platforms >25 MAU obliged to share data with university-affiliated researchers, regulated by FTC, violators could potentially lose protections of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
• NYT report on diffilculty in creating platform regulation (1 Protec consumers & competition, 2 Privacy, disinformation & market abuse, 3. Democrats & Republicans can't agree on regulation, 4. Politicians don't understand tech, 5. Algorithms drive echo chambers)