Week 8 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

Corporate

• TIM: 20Q4 & 2021-23 Plan Update Beyond Connectivity: 1. Unique commercial proposition, 2. Best technological infrastructure, 3. Further improve operational excellence, 4. Leaner organizational model; works with 5 factories: Noovle (cloud), Telsy (cyber security), Olivetti (integrated IoT), Sparkle (int wholesale), TIM Vision (content)
• Proximus: 20Q4; guidance 2021: additional expenses (opex EUR 50m) for fiber migrations, IT transformation, cloudification, Mwingz (shared mobile network with Orange BE) roll-out (reducing capex), targets EBITDA EUR 1.750-1.775m, capex close to EUR 1.2b, to double fiber roll-out from 2020, net debt/EBITDA <1.6x, domestic rev close to 2020 level (EUR 4.285m), div 2021 and 2022 EUR 1.20 (floor); confirms #inspire2022 ambitions; opex redux CAGR 2020-22 1-2%, expands cost savings to EUR 400m over 2020-2025 (o/w half in 2020-22), targets domestic EBITDA to grow from 2022
• Vodafone
• Vodafone CZ plans strategic coop wit utility CEZ (70% state-owned)
• Vantage Towers Intention to Float (ITF) in Frankfurt March 2021 of meaningful minority stake; rumored valuation: EUR 15b, to raise EUR 4b
• Virgin Media UK (Liberty Global): CMA publishes responses from Sky & Vodafone regarding O2 merger; concerns on wholesale market for MVNOs and backhaul - O2 UK claims concerns addressed
• Akamai: Investor Summit
• 3-5 year Security targets: Application Security CAGR 20-25%, Network Security CAGR 20-25%, Security Services CAGR 10-15%, overall CAGR goal >20% (rev to more than double in 5 yr to $2.5b, addressable market $29b)
• 3-5 year CDN targets: Edge Delivery CAGR 0-3%, Edge Applications >30%, Services CAGR 1-3%, overall CAGR goal 2-5% (addressable market $18b)
• Financial targets Security: cash gross margin high 80s (2021: 86-87%), EBITDA margin high 40s (2021: 45-46%), oper margin mid 30s (2021: 34-35%), network capex low single digit (2021: 1-3%), R&D capex high single digit (2021: 8-10%)
• Financial targets CDN: gross margin high 60s (2021: 68-69%), EBITDA margin mid 40s (2021: 42-43%), oper margin high 20s (2021: 26-27%), network capex low double digit (2021: 11-13%), R&D capex mid single digit (2021: 4-5%)
• Total targets 3-5 yr: rev CAGR 6-10%, gross margin high 70s (2021: 76-77%), EBITDA margin mid 40s (2021: 44%), oper margin 30-32% (2021: 30%), capex mid teens of rev (2021: 16%)
• Roblox: Plans IPO via direct listing 210310
• Thomson Reuters: To invest $500-600m in AI, ML in 2 yr; to cut opex by $600m from eliminating duplicate functions, modernizing & consolidating technology, attrition, shrinking real estate footprint
• Twitter: Analyst Day: Goals:
• 1. Double development velocity by end 2023 (ie doubling the number of features shipped per employee)
• 2. 315m mDAU (monetisable DAU; currently 85% from brand ads, 15% from performance ads; global digital brand + performance ads market $150b, Twitter market share 3%) 23Q4 (20Q4: 192m, implies CAGR 20%)
• 3. more than double annual rev to $7.5b (2020: $3.7b) 
• Snap: Investor Day: guidance: revenue CAGR 50%; Usage stats: 5b Snaps/day, Snap Map 250m MAU, advertising 90% self-serve, digital ad market US share 2% (reach <50% of smartphone uesrs), reach 13-24 year olds >90% (US, UK, Australia, FR, NL), reach 13-34 year olds >75% (US, UK, Australia, FR, NL)

Networks

• Broadband Choices: report Internet Accessibility Index 2021 (based on speed & cost), ranking 169 countries: Denmark #1, Liechtenstein #2, US #3, NL #15
• FTTH
• Telefonica
• Telefonica Chile sells 60% stake in fiber network to KKR (Global Infrastructure Investors III Fund), $1b, to close 21Q2; to establish OA wholesale company; to expand pops coverage from 2m to 3.5m by 2023 (FTTH, 40k FTTO lines, FTTS); reduces debt by EUR 400m
• Telefonica Brazil plans fiber network spin-off to establish OA wholesale company FiBrasil, with investor (TBA 21Q1); Bloomberg: talks with Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (CDPQ)
• T-Mobile NL to add 1m HP by 2025 with #2 investment partner (not Primevest), TBA 21H1, to start in 10-15 areas
• Mobile, 5G
• Ericsson Mobility Report 20Q4 update: global mobile subscriptions (8b, penetration 102%, unique active subs 6b; net adds 19m), mobile BB subs 6.5b (net adds 100m), 5G subs 220m at 130 providers (net adds 70m), 4G subs 4.5b (net adds 90m); total global mobile data traffic 60 EB/mo (+51% yoy, +9% qoq)
• EIB report Accelerating the 5G transition in Europe
• Umlaut: T-Mobile NL best network worldwide (962 points), KPN (954) and VodafoneZiggo (945) also in Top 10    
• Polsat Group sells 99.99% stake (2,069,656 shares) in Polkomtel Infrastruktura to Cellnex
• Malaysia plans government-owned wholesale 5G network via special purpose vehicle ($4b in 10 yr; also: FTTH), to adminster spectrum for all MNOs (part of digital  transformation by 2030); Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Telekom Malaysia to build & manage hyper-scale data centres & cloud services
• Google partners with Intel on cloud-native 5G; 3 main areas: 1. accelerating the ability of CSPs to deploy vRAN & ORAN solutions by providing next-gen infrastructure & hardware, 2. launching new lab environments to help CSPs innovate on cloud-native 5G, 3. making it easier for them to deliver business applications to the network edge; to develop reference architectures & integrated solutions for CSPs' for core network functions & edge network solutions
• 6G
• NGMN Alliance to focus on disaggregation, sustainability, 6G; plans to publish 6G Vision & Drivers White Paper report (version 1) March/April 2021
• EC proposes Smart Networks and Services project (incl 6G) as successor to 5G-PPP, EUR 900m
• LEO
• Starlink plans customer support center in Europe - To double speeds to 300 Mb/s & reduce latency to 20 ms later in 2021, targets global coverage by 2022; focus on low to medium population density areas

Services

• Video
• ViacomCBS: Streaming Event: Paramount+ to launch 210304
• Walt Disney
• Launches Star tab (75 series, 280 movies at launch) in Disney+ in Europe, ANZ, Canada, Singapore; content from content from ABC, Hulu, FX, Freeform, Disney Television Studios, FX, 20th Century Studios, 20th Television, more
• Disney+ price increases from 7 to 9 EUR/mo, 6 to 8 GBP/mo
• Release dates
• Rumor: Disney+ subs 40% in N America (40m), 30% in India, 30% in Europe & Latam
• Netflix: 10 Golden Globes (on 42 nominations)
• Music
• Spotify: Investor Discussion Spotify Stream On
• Facebook launches BARS app (first for iPhone, developed by NPE Team) for creating & sharing raps [a la TikTok]
• Smart city
• Las Vegas ordered smart city solutions from Siemens Advanta & Bluetech Park Properties, $7.5b in 6 yr (net-zero carbon footprint buildings within its own insular mini-city, automated multi-functional designs, renewable energy sources, photovoltaic super trees, various other interconnected innovations)
• Egypt (Administrative Capital for Urban Development) orders smart city ICT (datacenter, cloud services, to be operated by Orange Egypt) from Orange Business Services for new administrative capital (45km east of Cairo on a greenfield site, 700 km^2); 5 pillars: safety, connectivity, integration, digitalisation, replicability; to launch 21Q2
• Toyota starts smart city Woven City construction near Mount Fuji, 175 hectares, hydrogen-based, solar, robotics, AI, smart homes; appointed Bjarke Ingels Group as architects
• Stockholm ordered Univrses app to scan & map city streets from any car, transmitting & processing data in real-time to help create a more detailed picture of the state of the city’s streets, measuring everything from road damage to congestion, the location of streetlights to the state of road signage

Twitter Analyst Day: the numbers

Analyst Day

• Goals 2023:
• 1. Double development velocity by end 2023 (ie doubling the number of features shipped per employee)
• 2. 315m mDAU (monetisable DAU; currently 85% from brand ads, 15% from performance ads; current global digital brand + performance ads market $150b) 23Q4 (20Q4: 192m, implies CAGR 20%)
• 3. more than double annual rev to $7.5b (2020: $3.7b)
• Guidance 2021:
• to grow workforce 20%
• costs & expenses to grow 25%
• rev to grow faster than expenses
• Diversity goals 2025:
• 50% women
• 25% underrepresented
• Long-term targets:
• 50/50 from brand and performance ads
• GAAP oper margin mid-teens
• adj EBITDA margin 40-45%
• New services:
• to add Super Follows feauture: allows creators to charge for tweets (charge followers for access)
• to add Communities feature: create & join groups around specific interests; 

Week 6 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

Corporate

• BT:  Hatch report (The Economic Impact of BT Group in the UK): gross value added (GVA) 2019/20 GBP 24b, supports 300k FTE, spent GBP 10.1 on UK suppliers, maintains 35k vehicles; spending by people on BT pension contributed GBP 2b, supports 26600 jobs
• Proximus: Buys out Swisscom (22.4% for EUR 110m) and MTN (20.0% for EUR 107m = ZAR 1.8b, to record ZAR 1.2b book profit) from BICS for full ownership and strategic flexibility; EV EUR 569m = 4.4x EBITDA
• Vodafone: Vantage Towers Moodys: Baa3, outlook stable
• 45,500 fully controlled macro sites + 14,200 and 22,100 co-controlled macro sites in Cornerstone (50%) and INWIT (33.2%) JVs, 20/21 Adj EBITDA EUR 814m; debt EUR 2.3b, leverage 4.0 (Moodys: gross debt/EBITDA excl Cornerstone, INWIT 5.0x)
• Positives: strong market positions, geographically well-diversified, high barriers to entry for competitors, high barriers to exit for customers, good earnings & cash flow predictability (supported by anchor long-term service contracts with Vodafone), expectation of medium-term EBITDA growth (driven by site additions, improving tenancies ratios, operational efficiencies)
• Negatives: high customer concentration with Vodafone, short history of operating as a separate entity, expectation of negative free cash flow over the next 2 years (as a result of Vantage Towers' capital intensive model (7,100 contractual built-to-suit commitments that it is targeting over FY2022-FY2026) and planned dividend payments of EUR 280m to be paid in FY2022), starting net leverage of around 4.0x EBITDAaL with willingness to increase up to 5.5x
• Telenet: 20Q4
• Outlook 2021: rev (+1%) & Adj EBITDA (up 1-2%) to return to growth, Op FCF -1%, FCF 420-440m
• Outlook 2018-2021: Op FCF CAGR lower end of current range 6.5-8.0%
• Focus on 5 pillars: 1. Expand customer relations, 2. grow in B2B, 3. Customer approach simplified, digital-first, 4. Perfect networks, 5. Empower employees, agile structure
• Eltrona deconsolidation [see 200225] reduces operationals from 21Q2: HP -47700, customers -9500, RGUs -18500, TV -9200, BB -5500, FT -3800
• Other: expects to win VOO auction (21Q2), Wallonia may hold on to stake; talks with Fluvius on FTTH ongoing (currently full fiber for FTTO and greenfields); considers towers (>3000) monetisation in case of funding need or transformational transaction
• MasMovil: Acquires controlling stake in Lucera: energy reseller
• Vivendi: To spin off 60% of Universal Music Group (Tencent holds 20%, Vivendi to hold 20%) in IPO as special dividend end 2021 in Amsterdam 'to reduce Vivendi’s conglomerate discount'; EV EUR 30b; EGM 210329; Vivendi shareholders to receive 44%, Bollore Groupe (holds 27% of Vivendi) 16%; proposes ordinary div EUR 0.60 over 2020, AGM 210622
• Twitter: 20Q4
• outlook 21Q1: rev $940-1040m, oper income loss $0-50m
• outlook 2021: headcount +20%, costs + expenses +25% (incl new datacenter), rev to grow faster than expenses, SBC expense $525-575m, capex $900-950m
• CEO Jack Dorsey considers decentralised social network to be built by Bluesky team [see 191211]; plans to give people more choice over what they see through marketplace of algorithms
• Match Group acquires Hyperconnect, $1.73b: social network S Korea, operates Azar (live video & audio chat platform) & Hakuna Live (live-streaming app for video & audio broadcasts)
• Bumble: Sets IPO price at $43, to sell 50m shares - First trade $76.00, closes at $70.31

Networks

• 5G
• GSA report on 5G devices: total 558 announced (o/w 365 = 62% commercially available) in 20 form factors from 113 vendors, 294 smartphones & 113 FWA devices announced (o/w 251 resp 42 commercially available)
• GSA report on 4G & 5G networks, technologies & spectrum: 806 commercial 4G networks (incl 421 FWA, 743 mobile); 156 invest in NB-IoT o/w 111 launched, 51 deply LTE-M; 413 operators in 131 countries invest in 5G (o/w 65 operators in SA 5G) o/w 144 in 61 countries commercially launched 5G
• Qualcomm launches Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System (gen 4 5G modem-to-antenna solution; Release 16, 10 Gb/s, sub-6 GHz & mmWave, AI antenna tuning tech, upgradeable architecture) & X62 (for mainstream adoption of mobile broadband)
• Personal (= Telecom Argentina) launches 5G in Buenos Aires, Rosario using DSS
• Omantel launches 5G, no extra charge
• Asia Pacific Telecom develops 5G-supported smart robots, with Foxconn Global Network (FHnet), to operate over SA Private 5G
• Verizon opens 5G for sub-brand Visible (supports e-SIM)
• 6G
• Fraunhofer (5 institutes: IIS, HHI, FOKUS, IAF, IZM) launches 6G Sentinel research; focus on THz (100-300 GHz; very small cells, beamforming (Massive MIMO) integrated), flexible networks
• CEA-Leti launches 6G research project RISE-6G, with 13 partners (Orange, TIM, NEC; Chalmeers University, Aalborg University, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, University of Notthingam; Consorzion Nazionale Interuniversitario Italiano, Centre National de la Recherche Sceintifique; SNCF, Fiat); plans 'smart & energy-sustainable technology advances, on reconfigurable intelligent surfaces that will enable programmable control'
• LEO
• Starlink requests FCC designation as Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) to comply for funding [see 201207] - Competitors (FBA, NTCA) oppose funding as Starlink to hit capacity ceiling (congestion) by 2028 (Starlink plans 12k sats, throughput per sat 20 Gb/s, peak bandwidth per user 1.7-2.7 Mb/s); Starlink current permission max 1m users, to raise to 5m
• Telesat orders LEO fleet Lightspeed (at 1015 and 1325 km; Ka-band, first launch in 2 yr, commercial servivces 23H2) from Thales Alenia Space; total capacity with 298 sats 15 Tb/s, max data rates 7.5 Gb/s (20 Gb/s for hotspot)
• Starlink beta to expand to ZA in 2022 (already in US, Canada, UK); opens for deposites, fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis - And to Spain - And global, where legal
• Starlink (SpaceX) considers IPO
• FTTH
• Fern Trading
• Jurassic Fibre (= Fern Trading) launches service in Barnstaple, max 950 Mb/s; to cover 10k premises by summer 2021
• Swhish Fibre (= Fern Trading; plans 250k HP in 33 towns, 10 Gb/s) plans expansion in South Buckinghamshire
• Vorboss (plans 250k FTTP lines by 2022) 75% stake acquired by Fern Trading

Services

• B2B
• Deutsche Telekom: T-Systems adopts Cloud-First strategy, expands partnerships with AWS, Azure; to launch new cloud offering 210216
• Swisscom: Acquires Webtiser (expertise in SAP Customer Experience, 40 omployees), expands SAP-unit to 440 employees
• Multiscope Thuiswerk Monitor survey report NL: 44% of WFH staff (due to corona virus) bought office products, spending average EUR 359 = total EUR 400m; 48% received financial support from employer
• Microsoft adds Bulletins (news, info) and Milestones (track progress of work items) apps for Teams
• Metrigy report (survey of 476 firms): 47% of businesses globally use UCaaS

• Wholesale
• Vodafone UK partners with Digitalk (MVNE, cloud-based platform) to expand in wholesale
• Mobile
• Virgin Media IE expands unlimited data to all data subs until 210718, FUP 80 GB/mo
• Sky Mobile UK launches spare data sharing by adding free SIM for gift to faily or friend
• Telekom DE promoted second cards, to be shared with family members, relatives, friends, partners
• Smart city
• Plasencia (Spain) orders smart city solution for tourism from Red.es and Vodafone ES, EUR 374k
• Sharing Cities program (London, Lisbon, Milan, Bordeaux, Burgas, Warsaw) reaches EUR 250m investments in retrofitting buildings with energy-saving measures, developing sustainable energy management systems for new & existing developments, shared electric mobility, smart street infrastructure
• Video
• Awards
• Critics Choice Awards nominations: Netflix 45, Amazon 13
• Oscars shortlist for nominations (nominations 210315, winners 210425): Netflix 20, Amazon 7
• WarnerMedia: HBO Max to expand to Latam (39 territories) June 2021 (replaces HBO Go)
• Netflix: To open hub in Rome (Villino Rattazzi, 40 employees) 21H2 to increase Italian original series from 2022 - To open office in Canada
• Walt Disney: Disney+, Hulu, ESPN total 146m subs YE 2020
• Discovery: Global Cycling Network (GCN, channel on YouTube) to launch OTT SVOD service GCN+ (40 EUR/yr, promo 20) 210215 with 24 docus (to add 2 each week)
• Web services
• Facebook: NYT: plans audio chat service [a la Clubhouse]
• Hardware
• Amazon: Rumor: plans wall-mounted Echo device as smart home control by end 2021/early 2022; 10-13 inch, $200-250
• Facebook: Rumor: plans Android-based smartwatch, with  health and fitness features

Regulation

• Spectrum
• Nkom (NO) plans 5G auction Sep 2021: 2.6 GHz band (2x70 MHz in 14 blocks of 2x5 (minimum price NOK 25m) + 1x50; cap 80 MHz), 3.6 GHz band (3400-3800; 4 blocks of 40 (minimum price NOK 100m), 24 blocks of 10; cap 120 MHz), consultation until 210409
• Ancom (RO) plans 5G auction 21Q3 (700, 800, 1500, 2600, 3400-3800; procedures by 21Q2; plans consultation on 24 GHz band
• FT: EC considers forced payments by platforms to publishers for using snippets in search results, news
• EU decides on e-privacy guidelines

Incitement becoming a major force in Platform manipulation

 Of all the forms of propaganda going around on Internet Platforms (disinformation, fake news, hate speech, manipulation), recent examples are cases of incitement:

• Twitter: The Capitol Hill attack by Trump supporters
• Telegram: looting in the Netherlands, under the pretence of dissatifaction with a pandemic induced curfew
• TikTok: a deadly challenge, fatal for a 10 year old kid in Italy
• Reddit: massive attack on short sellers of GameStop stock and more
• WallStreetBets
• Reddit's approach
• Beating short-sellers
• Robinhood's restrictions
• And why
• More restrictions and more
• Facebook taking action

The Five Ps, a taxonomy of the Problems with Internet Platforms. One originates at the users of the Platforms (their Players), four are tied to the Platforms themselves

• Players
• Propaganda, disinformation, fake news (reviews, ads, artists), hate speech, overstepping the boundaries of freedom of speech, incitement (hatred, violence), defamation, propaganda, algorithms, AI, manipulation, addiction
• Platforms
• Privacy, collection, use and trading of personal data (as currency for targeted advertising)
• Power abuse (mostly in the wholesale markets), antitrust, monopolies (duopolies, oligopolies), collusion, vertical and horizontal integration/consolidation, service bundling, the double hat problem of vertically integrated platforms
• Payment evasion of taxes and copyright dues
• Politics, cybersecurity (espionage), geo politics, trade wars, border wars

Week 1 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

Corporate

• Orange:  Orange Bank acquires Anytime (banking for SOHO & SME)
• Telefonica: Rumor: to sell Movistar Chile; Liberty Latin America, Claro, Entel interested
• Altice Europe: EGM approves Next offer
• Vodafone:
• Partner Vodafone Oman (= Oman Future Telecommunications) receives license to become #3 MNO in Oman
• Vodafone Romania transfers passive infra to Vodafone Towers
• Vodafone Albania merger with ABCcom approved, to invest EUR 100m
• Vivendi: Tribunal in Lazio rules that Vivendi can exercise full voting rights with Mediaset stake
• Roblox: Raises $520m at 45.00 $/share for $29.5b valuation from Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer Investment, Warner Music etc; plans IPO through direct listing
• Niantic: Acquires Mayhem (gaming platform)
• Atos: Offer for DXC Technology (enterprise services, spun off from HP in 2017), $10b
• Google:
• Workers establish Alphabet  Workers Union
• Rumor: to invest $100m in ShareChat, total $200m with Snap, Twitter, others; valuation >$1b [see 201125]
• Amazon:
• Buys 11 Boeing 767-300 aircraft, 7 from Delta, 4 from WestJet, to be activated 2022
• Launches Housing Equity Fund, $2b in 5 yr: preserve & create >20k affordable housing units near headquarters in Washington State’s Puget Sound region; Arlington (Virginia), Nashville (Tennessee)
• Twitter: Acquires Breaker (social podcasting app) to build Twitter Spaces, Breaker app to close 210115
• eBay: Rumor: to sell S Korean unit (Gmarket); MBK Partners, Affinity Equity Partners, KKR, Anchor Equity Partners interested
• LG acquires controlling stake in Alphonso (data analytics, media planning & activation, video AI capabilities), $80m

Networks

FTTH

• KPN: Acquires 3 networks from Digitale Stad (Delta Rijssen Glasvezel Investeringen), 7700 premises: rural Westerveld (Drenthe), Lingewaard, Berg en Dal (Gelderland)

5G

• Qualcomm launches Snapdragon 480 5G Mobile Platform for budget smartphones

Hardware

• Facebook: Plans smart glasses 2021 with Ray-Ban & Luxottica (without AR)
• Apple:
• Rumor: to launch AirTags item trackers (AR device)
• Bloomberg: plans self-driving car (Apple Car) in 5-7 yr - Talks with Hyundai for co-development

Video

• General:
• Critics Choice Super Awards: winners The Boys (Amazon), Palm Springs (Hulu), Soul (Disney), Netflix (5 awards: Da 5 Bloods, BoJack Horseman, The Old Guard)
• Cyfrowy Polsat launches SmartDOM bundles (BB, FT, OTT-TV): Basic 20 PLZ/mo, Comfort 30 PLZ/mo (45 channels)
• Netflix:
• Viewing stats: series Bridgerton viewed (>2 min) by >63m HH since premiere (201225); movie We Can Be Heroes viewed by 44m HH since premiere 201225, movie Midnight Sky viewed by 72m in first 4 weeks
• Pauses filming due to corona virus
• Leases production studio space at 2 facilities in S Korea
• To raise prices UK Feb 2021: Basic, Standard, Premium from 6, 9, 12 to 6, 19, 14 GBP/mo
• Walt Disney:
• Star (tab within Disney+ [see 201210]) to contain ABC and Hulu titles
• Disney+ raises prices (on addition of Star tab) 210223 in Europe for new subs (for existing subs from 210823) from 7 to 9 EUR/mo or from 70 to 90 EUR/yr
• Disney+ distr deal with StarHub for Singapore from 210223
• WarnerMedia (AT&T): HBO Max to end distr via Amazon Channels (in exchange orders AWS)
• Discovery: Launches in US with apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Android TV, iOS, Android, web; to add discovery+ Channels (24/7 feeds of favorite shows) end Jan 2021; linear Discovery channels on rival OTT-TV platforms (Philo, Hulu Live TV, fuboTV, YouTube TV) remain; distr deal for Discovery+ with Vodafone for 12 European countries (100m subs): UK (mobile only), IE, DE, Turkey (mobile only), IT, ES, PT, RO, GR, CZ, HU, Iceland; free promos varying by country; distr deal with Amazon Prime Video for Amazon Channels frrom later in 2021 - Launches also in Europe (NL, IT), replacing Dplay and Eurosport Player - Reconsiders JV Joyn in DE (with P7S1) - Distr deal with Starzplay for MENA
• Quibi (closed): Sells >75 series & docus to Roku, to be added to Roku Channel (AVOD), 
  rumored price <$100m 
• Struum: Plans launch of a la carte streaming service. licenses titles from >30 VOD services (total 20k titles); 10 $/mo for 100 credits, to be redeemed for programs, number of credits case-by-case; may refer to services for subscriptions 

Regulatory

Telecoms

• Ofcom (UK) confirms EE (BT), Vodafone, 3 UK (CK Hutchison), O2 UK (Telefonica) as bidders in 5G auction (700 MHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz)
• Orange FR & Free (Iliad) share rural sites & passive infra, 5 yr from 20Q1

Platforms

• Italian court rules against ‘discriminatory’ Deliveroo rider-ranking algorithm
• US POTUS Trump signs Executive Order banning 8 Chinese mobile apps: Alipay (= Ant Group), QQ Wallet & WeChat Pay (= Tencent), CamScanner, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate (= UCWeb = Alibaba Group), WPS Office (= Beijing Kingsoft Office Software)
• Kenya launches Digital Services Tax 210101 for ownloadable & streaming digital content: 1.5% of gross transaction value (excl VAT)
• Platforms ban POTUS Trump after assault on Capitol Hill: Reddit, Amazon (AWS), Twitch, Shopify, Twitter, Google (Play Store), YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Apple (App Store), Discord, Pinterest, Stripe
• Google: CMA (UK) starts antitrust investigation into 3rd-party cookie removal for Chrome browser by 2022, to be replaced by Privacy Sandbox (framework for delivering targeted advertisements without letting personalized user data enter the hands of third parties)
• Amazon: CCI (India) asks competitors info in antitrust case over treatment of large 3rd-party sellers [see 200914]
• Facebook:
• High Court Vienna in case against Max Schrems: GDPR (based on Art 6) doesn't require Facebook to obtain users' consent to use their data (covered by user contract); Schrems to appeal at OGH (Austrian Supreme Court) to se if consent based on contract is sufficient
• Italy court upholds fine (EUR 3.8m, originally EUR 350k) for copying location app (Nearby) from  Business Competence’s app Faround
• WhatsApp updates ToS from 210208 outside EU/ UK: mandates data-sharing with Facebook (no opt-out)

Week 41 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

M&A

• KPN: Bloomberg: EQT considers offer
• IPKO (Telekom Slovenije): Attracts >10 potential buyers, to diclose Nov 2020
• TalkTalk: Toscafund Asset Management (TAM, hedge fund, owns 28.5%) plans to offer 97 p/share, to deceid by 201105; Board supports
• Telia: Sells Telia Carrier (019: rev SEK 5.39b, EBITDA excl IFRS-16 SEK 500m, capex SEK 396m; 530 employees) to Polhem Infra (= First AP Fund, Third AP Fund, Fourth AP Fund), SEK 9.45b (EV/EBITDA 18.9), capital gain SEK 7.00b, extra div 0.65 SEK/share; to close 21H1
• 3 Group Europe (CK Hutchison): Rumor: 3 UK plans sale of rooftop locations (acquired from UK Broadband, 2017), to exit MBNL (macro sites JV with EE/BT) in order to sell
• Virgin Media
• Interim result of Sunrise offer: 37m shares tendered = 82%, minimum acceptance has been met,  additional acceptance period 15-28 Oct 2020
• Virgin Media IE considers mobile merger
• Destiny: Acquires Voips (NL)
• Vivendi: Canal+ increases Multichoice stake to 6.5%
• Quibi: Rumor: 400-500k subs, offered company to Apple, WarnerMedia etc.

Corporate

• KPN: Expects KPN Business EBITDA to stabilise during 2021 for SME, 2022 for LE (instead of end 2020)
• Orange: Scales back smart speaker & assistant (Djingo) ambitions
• TIM: S&P downgrades outlook to negative over corona virus pandemic & reduced ownership of secondary network
• Orange BE: Focus on BB-only to drive market share to 25%
• AT&T: WarnerMedia plans 20% cost redux, to cut 1000s jobs

Networks

5G

• Batelco (Bahrain) reaches near-nationwide coverage (95%)
• Vodafone CZ launches NSA 5G in 5 cities (Prague, Brno, Usti nad Labem, Jesenik, Karlovy Vary), with DSS
• O2 UK (Telefonica) plans expansion to 100 cities YE 2021 after merger with Virgin Media (Liberty Global)
• US Postal Service (31k facilities o/w 8k owned; 44m pops live within 1 mile of owned facility) proposes leasing its locations for site locations & MEC
• AT&T launches mmWave 5G (5G+) in downtown Milwaukee (3 sites), max 1 Gb/s, total 36 cities
• Telekom Slovenije launches 5G (2.6 GHz band) subscription, 29 EUR/mo for 300 GB, max 450/100 Mb/s
• DNA expands 5G to Kauniainen, total pops coverage 1.2m
• Verizon Business plans solutions (combining 5G UWB & MEC) at sports & entertainment venues, with Cisco
• O2 Slovakia launches commercial 5G pilot in Bratislava (4 sites), with Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, ZTE
• Mobilitie plans 5G DAS network at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal Mall
• Orange FR plans 5G launch Dec 2020; launches 4 5G subscriptions (SIM-only, 12 mo contract): 70 GB + unlimited voice/text for 40 EUR/mo, unlimited data/voice/text for 95 EUR/mo
• Vodafone ES expands 5G to MAS supermarket in Sevilla for AR app with 4K video
• Proximus and Orange BE order core from Ericsson, RAN from Nokia for 5G, to replace Huwei
• Post Luxembourg to launch 5G (700 & 3.6) 201016

Fiber

• Swisscom demos 50/25 Gb/s over PON
• PTS (SE) awards SEK 106m rural BB subsidies in 44 projects
• Isle of Man allocates extra funds to accelerate fiber broadband roll-out

Sharing

• Kazakh operators (Beeline (KaR-Tel), Kcell, Mobile Telecom Service (Tele2-Altel) ) sign joint rural coverage pledge to cover 600k pops

Other

• BT: Launches edge-based, open caching as a service, tech from Cisco, Qwilt, Digital Alpha
• Cellnex plans IoT networks in IT, UK, IE, with Everynet, based on LoRaWAN tech (for Industry 4.0, Smart Cities, Smart Parking, Social & Facility Management, Environmental Management, Smart Utility)
• Telefonica DE
• Extends access to Telekom DE's fixed network (VDSL, 33m lines) to include FTTH (1.8m lines, max 1 Gb/s) 10 yr, to be judged by BNA, Telekom DE to use the proceeds for further FTTH roll-out
• Reuters: plans FTTH network in DE with partners, total EUR 5b

Services

• Nvidia launches Maxine: managed cloud AI (gaze correction, super-resolution, noise cancellation, face relighting etc; dramatically reduces how much bandwidth is required to 10% of H.264) videoconferencing service for developers

Hardware

• Amazon: To launch eero for Service Providers (ISPs) in US/Canada Nov 2020: WiFi hardware & software: eero 6 Series Mesh Wifi System (WiFi 6), eero Insight (issue monitoring), eero Secure (security, privacy, parental controls; blocks blocks malware, spyware, phishing; ad blocking)

Regulatory

Spectrum

• CTU (CZ) plans multiband (700 & 3.4-3.6) 5G auction, 7 bidders, encourages newcomers
• EKIP (Montenegro) plans 5G multiband auction 21Q4: 700 (694-790), 3.4-3.8 GHz, 1 GHz in 26 GHz (24.25-27.5 & 26.5-27.5)

Platforms individually

• Google: Rumor: DoJ considers Google to separate Chrome (browser, its data fuel Google Search) & ad business, plans antitrust suit over market power abuse by Google Search - Google proposes Turtledove as alternative to cookies (to be abolished in Chrome)
• Facebook
• Instragram starts labeling state-controlled media accounts & posts
• To remove all Qanon content from all platforms
• To block political ad in US when polls close on Presidential Elections day 20110
• Bans 100s of fake accounts linked to conservative youth group Turning Point USA
• Twitter: To flag (Warnings and Restrictions) misinformation & premature claims about who won the 2020 US Presidential election
• Etsy: Removes Qanon related items

Platforms general

• Paris Court of Appeal to rule 201008 on whether competition authority has the power to require Google to negotiate with French press on neighbouring rights which allow online newspaper publishers to be remunerated for publishing extracts of their articles on Google News - Google and Alliance de la Presse d’Information Générale (APIG, " Google accepts the principle of remuneration for our press titles") working on remuneration of neighboring rights - Paris Court supports competition authority for fairer negotiations between Google and publishers; APIG, FNPS, SEPM target Apple App Store, highlighting 30% commission & in-app payments, ringfencing of consumer data in media subscription packages purchased through the AppStore
• Facebook and Twitter remove posts from POTUS Trump with false corona virus claim
• US Congress (House Judiciary's Antitrust subcommittee) to report Oct 2020 on antitrust hearings 200729, delayed due to new info about Facebook's Instagram acquisition (from whistleblower) - Reports 201006: Amazon (most third-party sellers and many suppliers), Apple (distribution of software apps on iOS devices), Facebook (online advertising and social networking), Google (online search) all have monopoly powers (built on acquiitions), proposes break-ups - Republicans oppose: "Unfortunately, the Democrats’ partisan report ignores this fundamental problem and potential solutions and instead advances radical proposals that would refashion antitrust law in the vision of the far left." - Amazon disagrees - Apple disagrees
• ECJ: mass personal data collection (mobile, internet) breaks EU law (unless in a situation of serious threat)
• Ukraine considers tax on digital services (Facebook. Netflix, Amazon): 20% VAT
• Global Privacy Control (NYT, EFF, DuckDuckGo) proposes setting preferences once for global opt-out

Week 40 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

Networks

5G

• Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp (PT&T) plans FWA trial
• Orange trials smart factory with Schneider Electric in Le Vaudreuil: AR for maintenance, telepresence robot
• 3 Ireland launches 5G at 315 sites, pops coverage 35% (to add 500 early 2021), with smartphones; uses 3.7 GHz band and repurposed 4G spectrum; with Ericsson
• Xiaomi launches 8K TV (Mi TV Lux Pro 82-inch TV) with 5G - And Mi 10T smartphone series
• Samsung Electronics (RAN, Core, MEC) & Microsoft (Azure) plan e2e cloud-based Private 5G solution for retail stores, smart factories, entertainment venues
• Telstra launches FWA over 5G (first invitation-only): 5G Home Internet, 85 AUD/mo for 500 GB/mo, incl modem, typical download speeds 50-300 Mb/s
• BT orders 5G RAN from Nokia to replace Huawei
• Elisa orders 5G RAN (and Core) from Ericsson, and RAN from Nokia
• Telenor SE launches Private 5G (3.7 GHz) at Atlas Copco (Sickla plant in Stockholm), with Ericsson
• T-Mobile US expands 5G-2500 to 121 new cities, total 210
• Eir expands 5G to 340 sites
• MoC Israel hands 5G licenses to Partner, HOT (Altice Europe), Pelephone (Bezeq); Pelephone launches service at 150 sites (200 GB/mo for 50 ILS/mo, 500 GB/mo for 60 ILS/mo), Partner and HOT at 250 sites (500 GB/mo for 60 ILS/mo, 1 TB/mo for 70 ILS/mo)
• Rakuten Mobile launches NSA 5G (midband & mmWave) in 6 areas, max 870/110 Mb/s (from Nov 2020: max 2.2 Gb/s down, 275 Mb/s up), with Rakuten-branded smartphone (BIG, 6.9 inch) & Aquos R5G; launches unlimited plan Rakuten UN-LIMIT V (4G & 5G), 3000 JPY/mo ('with transformational innovation, we are passing on significant savings to our customers'), with loyalty program; to launch SA 5G 21Q2
• ZTE demos broadcast over 5G NR (30 MHz in 700 band)
• Telekom DE, DFMG Deutsche Funkturm, Kathrein Broadcast, Porsche, Rohde & Schwarz, SWR (project lead), Technische Universität Braunschweig – Institut für Nachrichtentechnik launch 5G broadcast trial in Stuttgart & Heilbronn for in-car use
• DoCoMo demos multi-vendor CA (3.7 & 4.5 GHz bands), with Fujitsu, NEC
• Nokia demos network slicing; plans first deliveries end 2020
• Nokia reaches 100 5G operator deals & 160 commercial 5G engagements (incl trials)
• Telefonica DE launches 5G in 5 cities (Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt) at 150 sites (450 antennae), to add 10 new cities Oct 2020; targets k sites (antennea incl 3.6 GHz band) YE 2021
• Batelco (Bahrain) reaches near-nationwide coverage (95%)
• Vodafone CZ launches NSA 5G in 5 cities (Prague, Brno, Usti nad Labem, Jesenik, Karlovy Vary), with DSS
• O2 UK (Telefonica) plans expansion to 100 cities YE 2021 after merger with Virgin Media (Liberty Global)

WiFi: WiFi 7 (802.11be) to launch 2024, max 46 Gb/s, max 320 MHz

Services

Telecoms

• Fixed telephony: Siminn to phase out PSTN by 2021
• Chat: Facebook: Launches cross-messaging between Messenger and Instagram
• TV: Virgin Media IE launches Virgin TV 360 platform (STB, follow-up to Horizon): updated UI, all screens, with voice search & control

OTT

• Video
• Walt Disney
• Disney+ plans Drive-In Festival in Santa Monica (Cal) 201005-12: screenings incl premieres (The Right Stuff, Clouds)
• Closes Disney Channel in UK, content moves to Disney+
• Lowers Premier Access price for Mulan to $7 on Disney+; available for non-subs from 201006 on Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, Google Play, VUDU, FandangoNOW
• WarnerMedia: Movie The Witches (Robert Zemeckis, Anne Hathaway) premieres in HBO Max 201022, skips US theater release due to corona virus, int theater release 201028
• PMO (= PTV Telecom, Opencable, Asociación de Operadores de Telecomunicaciones Locales de Andalucía (ACUTEL)) launches Zapi; tech from Mirada (IRIS solution), based on Android
• Music: Amazon: To add remastered tracks to UHD or 3D Audio (Dolby Atmos, Sony 360RA) from UMG & WMG for Amazon Music HD (currently 5m tracks in HD, 60m in HD)
• Print: Google: Launches News Showcase program (as part of Google News Initiative), $1b: 3rd-party paywalled news production for Google News from 200 publishers in UK, Australia, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, DE
• Commerce: Amazon Launches Amazon Explore (platform & marketplace), public beta: live virtual experiences with tour guides, store owners, other local experts in countries around the world; hosts set price (mostly $10-200); launches with 86 experiences in 16 countries

Hardware, technology

• Google: Launch Night In event: launches
• Google TV (OS, UX, formerly Android TV: guide for love TV & apps, recommendations, search; for Chromecast, Android TV, later other devices)
• Chromecast With Google TV ($50; remote control, 4K, HDR 60 fps, Dolby Vision, voice control; to add Google Stadia support 21H1), promo: $90 incl 6 mo Netflix
• Nest Audio (smart speaker, $100, successor to Google Home; 2 will create stereo sound)
• Pixel 4a 5G ($500, EUR 500, GBP 500) & Pixel 5 (5G; $700, GBP 600; with 3 mo free Stadia & YouTube Premium & Google One (100 GB)), both with Extreme Battery Saver mode
• Hold For Me (feature of Google Assistant for while waiting on hold, powered by Duplex tech)
• new editor for Google Photos on Android
• Amazon: Launches Amazon One tech (verification by hand palm scanning) in Amazon Go store Seattle

Corporate

M&A

• Fore Freedom: Majority stake acquired by Morrison & Co [Vincent Gerritsen] from Ancala
• MasMovil: Polygon Global Partners files appeal against takeover approval
• NTT: Offer for DoCoMo free float (34%), 3900 JPY/share = JPY 4t = $38b

IPO

• fuboTV: Sets IPO price at $9-11, to sell 15m shares, ticker FUBO
• Playboy: Plans IPO through SPAC merger with Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp (MCAC), ticker to change to PLBY, to close 21Q1
• Roblox: Rumor: plans IPO early 2021, valuation ~$8b
• Airbnb: Rumor: to raise $3b from IPO, to file Nov, IPO Dec 2020

Other

• Walt Disney: Cuts 28k jobs at US theme parks (Disneyland, Walt Disney World) over corona virus
• Grupo Prisa: To refinance EUR 1.2b debt

Regulatory

Spectrum

• ARCEP (FR) starts Phase 2 of 5G auction (3.4-3.8 GHz) - Ends 201001 raising EUR 2.786b from 310 MHz after 17 rounds, 10 MHz blocks priced at EUR 126m (to be paid over 4 yr), 50 MHz for EUR 350m (to be paid over 15 yr [see 200102]); Iliad wins 70 MHz for EUR 602m; Orange wins 90 MHz, EUR 854m (total holdings: 257 MHz); Bouygues Telecom wins 70 MHz, EUR 602m; Altice FR wins 80 MHz, EUR 728m (total holdings 245 MHz); positioning auction follows Oct 2020
• BIPT (BE) awards final 4G spectrum (2.6 GHz band) to Citymesh, valid 15 yr, EUR 15m

Google

• To block election ads in US after polls for US Presidential Election (201103) close
• WSJ: small search engines (such as DuckDuckGo, Ecosia) lose auction for position as search engine on Android; DuckDuckGo only appears in Bulgaria, Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein
• WSJ: makes concessions to EU to get Fitbit acquisition approved: no discrimination against wearables manufacturers that also use Android; Fitbit to continue health-data deals with 3rd-parties (such as Strada); Fitbit data not to be used for targeted ads

Facebook

• Sues BrandTotal (Israel) and Unimania (US) over data scraping (name, user ID, gender, date of birth, relationship status, location information, other) using browser extensions (UpVoice and Ads Feed)
• WSJ: Facebook files doc (14 pages) to counter company break-up ('A ‘breakup’ of Facebook is thus a complete nonstarter' because of costs)

Twitter: Plans Birdwatch: moderation tool to fight misinformation (to provide notes as context, report tweets)

Platforms

• FT: EU Digital Services Act forbids platforms qualifying as gatekeepers to pre-install exclusively their own apps, nor require from 3rd-party OS or CPE manufacturers; uninstalling pre-installed apps must be possible; data collected may not be used to target users unless shared with rivals; blocking rivals from offering services outside platform not allowed h
• Singapore plans Cybersecurity Labelling Scheme (cyber security as the equivalent of providing fresh water & sewerage services)