Showing posts with label Iliad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iliad. Show all posts

Sunday, April 11, 2021

Week 14 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

CORPORATE

  • KPN: WSJ: EQT & Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners plan offer, >3 EUR/share (>EUR 12.6b); preparing due diligence, offer spring 2021
  • Orange BE (Orange 53%)
    • Orange launches offer until 210423
    • Degroof Petercam expert opinion: DCF equity value per share EUR 18.5 = 4.7x EBITDA 2020 = 5.1x adj EBITDA 2020 = 12.0x FCF (EBITDA - capex) 2020 = 13.0x FCF (adj EBITDA - capex excl spectrum) 2020; CCA (comparable company analysis): equity value per share EUR 21.0 at midpoint based on EV/EBITDA, EUR 17.2 based on EV/FCF (overall midpoint EUR 19.2)
  • Iliad: Acquires 12% of Unieuro (retailer Italy) - Rumor: to launch fixed-line services in IT within weeks
  • PPF: Considers European acquisitions in telecoms & media
  • Virgin Media UK (Liberty Global): Plans GBP 10b investments in 5 yr for 5G & FTTP expansion (1.14 Gb/s); to add 1m fixed (FTTP) HP by YE 2021 to total 16m if merger approved (CMA to rule May 2021), to add 7m long-term fixed-line addresses if merger approved; could add wholesale services
  • HMD Global (Nokia branded smartphone manufacturer) plans MVNO HMD Mobile in UK on EE (BT); from 6.50 GBP/mo for unlimited calls/texts + 1 GB data
  • Microsoft: Rumor: plans offer for Nuance (speech-recognition tech; 7100 employees), 56 $/share = $16b (23% premium) 
  • Twitter: Co-invests in ShareChat (social media, short video; India, 160m MAU), $502m with Snap, others at $2.1b valuation
  • Box: Raises $500m equity from KKR via convertible & SBB (current equivalent 14%)
  • Patreon: Raises $155m at $4b valuation

NETWORKS

FTTP

  • T-Mobile NL (DT 75%, Tele2 25%)
    • partners with ODF (Open Dutch Fiber; = KKR Global Infrastructure Investors Funds majority, DTCP Infra (DT Capital Partners) rest): to roll out OA FTTH (1-10 Gb/s, passive only) in urban & high dense areas; to avoid uneconomical overbuild; ODF to be led by founders Jordi Nieuwenhuis (Reggefiber co-founder) & Uwe Nickl (formerly Deutsche Glasfaser co-CEOs), Michael Griffioen CEO
    • to launch 21Q2, fully funded, construction agreements in place, to invest >= EUR 700m (capex) for >= 1m lines in 5 yr
    • T-Mobile NL anchor tenant with own active layer; 

5G

  • T-Mobile US launches Home Internet (FWA over 5G or 4G, un-carrier move): 65 $/mo (60 with autopay); coverage 30m HH (o/w/ 10m rural), 50-100 Mb/s, possible throttling during peak hours - To hire 2500 hometown experts for T-Mobile Hometown retail stores
  • Ucell (Uzbekistan) launches 5G in Tashkent

SERVICES

General data usage: AMS-IX New traffic peak 210407: 10.012 Tb/s

Video

Music

Web services

  • Facebook: Trials Hotline (developed by NPE Team, public beta, led by Eric Hazzard of former tbh [see 171016]): Q&A with creators, audio-only or video [a la Clubhouse & Instagram Live]
  • Reddit: Trials moderator-run voice chats [a la Clubhouse]

Hardware

REGULATORY

  • Google
    • Noyb (Max Schrems) files complaint at CNIL (France) over user tracking in Android (using Android Advertising ID (AAID)) violating EU privacy law (ePrivacy Directive), urges investigation
    • Filing in antitrust case led by Texas
      • Google operated program (Project Bernanke) giving its own ad-buying system an advantage over competitors, amounts to insider trading [Google operates exchange, represents buyers & sellers and acts as ad buyer for Search, YouTube]
      • commercial deal with Facebook (Jedi Blue, required Facebook to spend >= $500m in Google’s Ad Manager or AdMob auctions in year 4 of the agreement) enabled Facebook to identify 80% of mobile users & 60% of desktop users (excl users of Apple’s Safari web browser) in ad auctions 
  • Platforms


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Monday, March 22, 2021

Week 11 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

Corporate

  • KPN
  • VodafoneZiggo
    • 20Q4 final, Annual Report 2020
    • Moody's affirms Ba3 corporate family rating (CFR) & Ba3-PD probability of default rating (PDR)
  • Vodafone: Vodafone Business Investor Briefing ("Connecting people, places & things for a better future")  
  • Telefonica: Considers selling minority stake in submarine cable unit (part of Telxius), to be integrated in Telefonica Infra
  • Iliad: 20Q4; Iliad IT to add fixed-line services summer 2021
  • Elisa: Annual Report 2020
  • Rakuten: Rakuten sells equity (13% stake) for $2.2b to Japan Post (8.32%), Image Frame Investment (= Tencent) 3.65%, Walmart 0.92%, Mikitani
  • Spotify: Launches Loud & Clear website: guide to royalty payment system; >13k artists made >$50k in 2020, 870 made >$1m
  • Google: Cuts Google Play app store fees for developers to 15% from 210731 for first $1m earned per yr (above remains 30%)
  • Amazon: Expands Amazon Care telehealth service nationally for its employees and other companies summer 2021 [see 201216]
  • Snap: Acquires Fit Analytics (fitting tech for fashion e-commerce)
  • Microsoft: Acquires Marsden Group (industrial innovation)

Networks

  • FTTH
  • Nokia
    • Nokia partners with Google for cloud-based 5G radio solutions, combining RAN, Open RAN & Cloud RAN with Google's edge - Also with AWS (Amazon) for cloud-based 5G radio solutions, combined with AWS Outposts - And with Microsoft on cloud solutions for enterprises (Private 4G & 5G), combining Cloud RAN with Azure
    • Nokia to reset cost base by EUR 600m by end 2023 from 5-10k job cuts to 80-85k in 18-24 mo; to be redirected to R&D, innovation (5G, cloud, digital infra), salaries; restructuring costs EUR 600-700m (o/w 50% in 2021, 15% in 2022, 35% in 2023) by 2023; maintains outlook 2021 (incl EUR 500m cash out for previous restructuring); units to streamline portfolios [see 210311] 
    • Nokia to halve 5G base station power consumption by 2023
    • Nokia CMD: target oper margin 7-10% in 2021, 10-13% in 2023 (Mobile Networks 5-8%, Network Infra 9-12%, Cloud & Network 8-11%, Nokia Tech >75%)
    • Nokia launches midrange 5G smartphones A52, A72

Services

Regulatory

  • Spectrum
    • Ofcom (UK) raises GBP 1.36b from multiband auction (700 MHz & 3.6-3.8 GHz) Phase 1 (Phase 2 for assignments to follow); EE 2x10 MHz in 700 MHz band for GBP 280m, 20 MHz of supplementary downlink spectrum in 700 MHz band for GBP 4m, 40 MHz in 3.6-3.8 GHz band for GBP 168m; 3 UK 2x10 MHz in 700 MHz band for GBP 280m, Vodafone 40 MHz in 3.6-3.8 GHz band for GBP 176m; Telefonica O2 UK 2x10 MHz in 700 MHz band for GBP 280m and 40 MHz in 3.6-3.8 GHz band for GBP 168m
    • FCC plans 3.4 GHz band (100 MHz in 10 MHz blocks for Partial Economic Areas, total 4060 licenses) auction (110) Oct 2021, reserve price $14.7b
  • Ofcom (UK) publishes Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review (WFTMR) for 5 yr (April 2021 - March 2026) framework to promote fibre: entry level copper/fiber wholesale prices not reduced, top-end fiber unregulated, regulated fiber prices may be raised, no cost-based fiber regulation for at least 10 yr  - Virgin Media UK positive - BT confirms rol-out plan (20m FTTP premises by 2025-30, GBP 12b), Openreach may not give geographic discounts - TalkTalk negative: price increases on BB, FTTP may become too expensive for many - DCMS launches Project Gigabit, GBP 5b for >1m rural premises: targets 85% FTTP coverage by 2025
  • Platforms: BEREC supports EC's DMA [see 201215], publishes Opinion and Draft Report, adds proposals, consultation until 210504
  • EC adopts first Horizon Europe 2021-24 strategic plan (EUR 95.5b), to launch call for proposals spring 2021


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Sunday, January 24, 2021

Week 3 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

Corporate

General

  • Telefonica DE: CMD: Strategy update; confirms outlook 2020; raises div to 18c over 2020, sets 18c as floor for 2021-23; 3 growth pillars: 1. Mobile growth: grow market share in rural areas & reinfoice urban, 2. Smart bundling (fixed & mobile, incl FMS) based on tech agnostic approach, 3. Attack in B2B (esp SME) opportunity; takes 10% stake in FTTH venture Unsere Grüne Glasfaser, to invest EUR 100m in FibreCo; target full 5G coverage (>100 Mb/s) by 2025, to sunset 3G 2020-21; to add 1500 built-to-suit (BTS) mobile sites (via Telxius) by 2025; guidance 2020-22: cum rev growth >= 5%, margin higher, capex/rev 17-18% in 2020-21, normalising from 2022; to be climate neutral by 2025
  • Deutsche Telekom: Merges T Infra NL (3150 towers & rooftops; rev EUR 60m, EBITDA AL 30m, plus EUR 250m loan) with Cellnex NL (984 towers acquired 2016-17 for EUR 492m) for 38% stake to be held by newly established DIV, total 4314 sites (incl 180 build-to-suit sites), DT to deconsolidate, Cellnex expects rev contribution EUR 63m, FCF to increase EUR 30m, T-Mobile NL to lease for 15 yr (automatic renewal 10 yr); establishes Digital Infrastructure Vehicle (DIV, independent mgt, focus on European digital infra (fiber, tower, datacenters, open to institutional investors, DT to hold 25%), DT contributes EUR 400m, Cellnex EUR 200m, with dealflow agreement for future transactions in European towers (Cellnex to co-invest for 51% stake) `
  • Orange: Establishes Orange Concessions, 50/50 with consortium of La Banque des Territoires (Caisse des Dépôts), CNP Assurances, EDF Invest, call option for Orange to take control & consolidate, to close end 2021; co-control; 23 PIN networks, 4.5m FTTH lines (plugs) (built or to-be-built), valuation EUR 2.675b [ie sells 50% stake for EUR 1.33b]; roll-out & maintenance by Orange - To decide on towers 210218
  • Elisa: Establishes JV with Lounea (western Finland, #4 operator) to create nationwide FTTP network
  • VOO (= Nethys (= Enodia), Brutele): Rumor: Brutele (owned by 30 munis) to sell to Enodia
Results
  • Telia: 20Q4
  • ProSieben: 20Q4 prelim; Mediaset Spain raised stake by 3.43% to 13.18%
  • Netflix: 20Q4    
Other
  • Sunrise UPC: Integration leads to reorganisation and job cuts (significantly less than 30%) (Sunrise had 1763 FTE, UPC CH 1500)
  • Amazon: CIRP: Amazon Prime reaches 142m subs in US YE 2020 o/w 52% on annual tier
  • Iliad: Targets carbon neutrality by 2035, 10 pledges
  • Tele2: Launches new sustainability strategy, 4 focus areas: 1. Advance circular economy to combat climate change, 2. Maximize potential through an inclusive and diverse workplace, 3. Boost innovation for sustainability, 4. Protect children in a connected society

Networks

Fixed

  • Finder (Australia): 85% of users stream online o/w 36% experience buffering weekly, 16% daily
  • France gvt allocated EUR 570m for FTTP rural expansion (total EUR 3.57b)
  • Ookla Speedtest Global Index (Dec 20): global average FBB 96/52 Mb/s, MBB 47/13 Mb/s; FBB: Thai #1 (308), Sing #2 (245 Mb/s), HK #3 (227), RO #4 (191), CH #5 (189), NL #26 (136); MBB: Qatar #1 (178), UAE #2 (178), S Korea #3 (169), China #4 (156), Australia #5 (113), NL #9 (101)
  • EC approves public funding for FTTI (12k schools) in Italy, EUR 325m
  • FTTH

Wireless

  • Telekom DE and Telefonica DE to share several hundred sites (incl active network) for 4G (800 band) in grey areas in 2021 - Also between Vodafone DE and Telefonica DE
  • Agcom (IT): average data consumption 20Q3: 9.2 GB/mo (+48%)
  • 5G
    • Inventec and Affirm (Microsoft) partner to develop smart industry solutions
    • Salt Home (FWA over 5G & 4G; with Gigabox: outdoor antenna, WiFi 6 router) coverage reaches 2m pops (>50%); max 400 Mb/s over 4G, 1 Gb/s over 5G
    • Mobily (KSA) demos network slicing (RAN, Core & transport; separates critical traffic from general internet traffic) for FWA (over 5G and 4G) in Riyadh, with Nokia; enables prioritising customers (service tiers for consumer or enterprise) and premium services (voice, data, gaming, home office apps etc)
    • SmarTone (HK) launches 5G SmarTransport Safety Monitoring System, with Route 3: provides video footage from tunnels and highways to control room (motion-detection cameras, ML/AI analytics
  • LEO

Services

Video

  • Youfone: To expand to BE on Proximus networks (fixed & mobile), to launch April 2021
  • Pluto TV (= ViacomCBS): Expands to FR 210208, 40 channels; next to expand to IT, end 2021
  • Lionsgate: Expands Lionsgate Play to Indonesia
  • Newsplayer+: Launches in UK; live news channels, 2.50 GBP/mo; channels: Al Jazeera, Bloomberg TV, Bloomberg’s Quicktake, Euronews, Newsmax, Africanews, Germany’s DW-TV, France 24, China’s CGTN, India’s NDTV 24×7, Israel’s i24, Russia’s RT, Australia’s Ticker, Turkey’s TRT, US network NewsNet
  • Critics’ Choice Awards TV nominations: Netflix 26 (6 for The Crown, 6 for Ozark), HBO 22

Smart city

  • Turk Telecom launches smart city platform (50 services: next-generation transportation, energy, environment, health, life, security) in 9 cities

Regulatory

Spectrum

  • Subtel (Chile) plans 5G auction 210208: 700 MHz (2x10 MHz), AWS = 1800 & 2100 MHz (2x15 MHz), 3.5 GHz (150 MHz), 26 GHz (400 MHz), valid 30 yr; Claro, Entel, WOM interested, to be awarded 26 GHz spectrum without tender
  • PTS (Sweden) raises SEK 2.32b from auction (2.3 & 3.5 GHz, valid 25 yr until 451231); Telia SEK 760m for 120 MHz in 3.5 GHz band, Net4Mobility (= Te;e2, Telenor) SEK 666m for 100 MHz in 3.5 GHz band, 3 Sweden SEK 491m for 100 MHz in 3.5 GHz band, teracom SEK 400m for 80 MHz in 2.3 GHz band

Platforms


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Sunday, December 27, 2020

Week 52 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

Corporate

  • Vodafone:
    • Terminates discussions with STC over a sale of 55% stake in Vodafone Eqypt [see 200129]
    • Closes merger of Vodafone GR's towers assets with Wind Hellas towers to form Vantage Towers Greece (Vodafone 62%, Crystal Almond 38%), call option until 211231 to buy out Crystal Almond for EUR 288m cash by 200630, 5% more by 211231, to be triggered by Vantage Towers IPO announcement
    • To buy out minority shareholders from KDG (17.1%), 103 EUR/share, stake to rise to 93.8%, total cost EUR 1.557b (2.119b for 100%) [see 130624]
  • Liberty Global: To be removed from Nasdaq-100 index 201221
  • Telenet: Liberty Global changes chain of control (transfers Binan shares to LG Broadband, transfers to UnitedGlobalCom, transfers to LG Holding); after transaction: Binan owns 66,342,037 shares (58.28% of votes), Telenet owns 4,598,558 shares (4.04% of shares)
  • Tele Columbus: Offer from Kublai (= Morgan Stanley Infrastructure), 3.25 EUR/share = EUR 400m; shareholders United Internet, Rocket Internet support, to close 21Q2; proposes capital increase EUR 475m for fiber roll-out (EGM 210120, Kublai to take part for EUR 75m, United Internet pro rata); to invest EUR 2b over 10 yr in fiber (2m HP by 2030), 1&1 Drillisch to be RSP on fiber network
  • Play: Iliad launches squeeze-out procedure for remaining 3.3% (8,494,848 shares)
  • BT: Openreach CEO Clive Selley positive on selling minority stake to investor
  • Cyfrowy Polsat: To acquire 114,173,459 Netia shares (34.02%) at 4.80 PLN/share, subscription period 210115 - 210226 (current holding 221,404,885 shares = 65.98%)
  • Netia: Rumor: to acquire several ISPs
  • Euskaltel: Expansion: 3 bidders for max 49% in fiber JV: Fiera Capital, First Sentier Investors, Infravia Capital Partners
  • Viasat: Acquires RigNet, $222m in shares
  • AT&T:
    • NYPost: may cancel DirecTV auction if offers don't improve
    • WarnerMedia acquires You.i TV (cross-platform development tools for TV and media, delivers video apps across mobile, tablet, game consoles, streaming devices, STBs, Smart TVs using a single codebase)
  • MGM (Anchorage Capital): WSJ: considers sale, valuation $5.5b
  • IAC: Plans to spin off Vimeo as listed company 21Q2
  • Tidal: Bloomberg: Square (Jack Dorsey) interested
  • ByteDance: Rumor: interested in CMGE Technology (mobile games), to acquire 27.6% stake (or part) from Fairview Ridge Investment, 4-5 HKD/share (30-60% premium)

Networks

FTTH

    • Full Fibre raises funds from Basalt Infrastructure Partners to expand FTTP (rural, semi-urban; OA via wholesale arm iNeedFibre) to 500k premises by 2025
    • Wildanet raises GBP 50m from Gresham House British Strategic Investment Infrastructure Fund for FTTP investment in Cornwall [see 201012]

5G

LEO

  • BNA (DE) provides temporary (1 yr) spectrum license to Starlink (SpaceX)
  • ACMA (Australia) provides mmWave spectrum (26, 28 GHz) to SpaceX Starlink, OneWeb, New Skies Satellite/SES, O3b/SES, Inmarsat, Viasat, Telstra, Optus, Vocus, Nokia, NBN, Opticomm, other
  • EC orders study (EUR 7m) to design, develop & launch European-owned space-based communication system (LEO, BBoS) from Airbus, Arianespace, Eutelsat, Hispasat, OHB, Orange, SES, Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space

Services

Content

Streaming

  • Samsung TV Plus (free OTT TV, 742 channels) expands to 12 countries (60m installed base, 15m active users): US, Canada, Australia, UK, FR, DE, CH, AT, IT, ES, S Korea, Brazil; plans expansion 2021 to Mexico, India, Sweden, more European countries

Web applications

Regulatory

TIM: AGCM starts antitrust investigation of FiberCop (TIM 58%, KKR 37.5%, Fastweb 4.5%)

Spectrum

  • AKOS (Slovenia) plans 5G spectrum auction 2021, combined starting prices EUR 69m
  • ACMA (Australia) awards 5G mmWave (26 GHz (24.7-25.1) & 28 GHz (27.5-29.5) bands) licenses to 15: MarchNet, Dreamtilt, Field Solutions Group, Opticomm, Nokia, NBN Co, Optus, Telstra, Vocus, Starlink (SpaceX), WorldVu (One Web), Inmarsat, Viasat, O3B/SES, New Skies Satellites/SES

Government funding

Other

  • ACM (NL) Telecommonitor 20Q3: Mobile: 4G data traffic 254m GB (+20% qoq), 10.3b min, 617m SMS; Fixed: 1.94b min over BB, 263m min over PSTN
  • DNA (Telenor): Publishes Technology Trends for 2021 guide: 17 trends



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Sunday, November 22, 2020

Week 47 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

Corporate

Networks

  • General: Ookla Speedtest Global Index (Oct 20): global average FBB 88/47 Mb/s, MBB 39/12 Mb/s; FBB: Sing #1 (229 Mb/s), HK #2 (215), Romania #3 (189), Switzerland #4 (186), Thailand #5 (184), NL #26 (126); MBB: SK #1 (145), UAE #2 (130), China #3 (124), Qatar #4 (108), Qatar #4 (88), Australia #5 (88), NL #6 (88) 
  • FTTH: Nokia launches 25/25 PON solution (25G PON), based on Nokia Quillion chipset
  • 5G
    • Huawei proposes 5.5G (for XR: AR, VR, holography; Internet of Everything): to increase speed (2 Gb/s for 16K video), lower latency (5 ms), to support 100b connections by 2030; to add 3 scenarios (to eMBB, mMTC, URLLC): UCBC (Uplink Centric Broadband Communication; uplink x10), RTBC (Real-Time Broadband Communication; bandwidthe x10 for given latency & reliability), HCS (Harmonized Communication & Sensing; enables autonomous driving, Massive MIMO for sensing); requires more spectrum (sub 100 GHz), AI (limitless intelligence)
    • Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read:
      • "... dynamic spectrum sharing technology which operators use to show coverage but will essentially be 4G speeds." (currently used in NL, DE)
      • "Some operators are taking dynamic spectrum sharing…which is effectively giving you a 5G symbol but 4G performance. What we said as a company is, ‘No, we don’t want to do that. It will be misleading to consumers and businesses.’ What we want to do is 5G built right."
    • Ericsson ConsumerLab report Harnessing the 5G Consumer Potential: 5G consumer market $31t by 2030 o/w $3.7t for CSPs, ARPU may rise 34% by 2030
    • Rain (FWA ZA) performance (speed) drops due to congestion: from 17 Mb/s in 19Q4 to 11 Mb/s in 20Q3; plans to switch off 4G, to switch to SA 5G
    • 3 Denmark plans 5G launch Dec 2020, target nationwide mid 2022
    • Analysys Mason for Qualcomm, Ericsson: 5G action plan review for Europe report:
      • Use cases with highest impact smart factories, agriculture, FWA (suburban and rural areas), net benefit resp EUR 58, 37, 18b
      • Four key areas (Open Innovation Platform): Smart Production & Logistics (net benefit = benefit - cost EUR 68b), Smart Rural (55b), Smart Urban (29b), Smart Public Services (10b)
      • Environmental & social benefits from 5G connectivity. Worker safety, upskilled workforces, reduced carbon emissions & energy usage, less resource intensive production, social inclusivity, even import/export security; Open Innovation Platform may deliver EUR 208b in benefits at 46b cost (CBR cost-benefit ratio 4.5)
    • Elisa plans 5G-enabled video robots to enable doctors & nurses to interact with corona virus patients remotely.at HUS Helsinki University Hospital
    • Telekom DE plans 5G at Bonner SC football stadium, with live streaming on Sporttotal.tv via automatic 180° camera
    • IHS Market & Omdia for Qualcomm: The 5G economy in a post covid-19 era report on US, China, Japan, S Korea, UK, DE, FR: forecasts 2035 revised on corona virus impact: Sales enabled by 5G $13.1t, 5G-enabled job growth 22.8m, 5G capex + R&D $265b per annum
    • Vodafone IT plans smart city (smart mobility) trials in Genoa: remotely-controlled drones to monitor the safety of the city’s road network via a 3D reconstruction of the corresponding infrastructure; use of 5G-connected buses with HD video cameras to gather real-time data with a view to ensuring the maintenance of road surfaces
    • Bouygues plans 5G launch 201201, targets nationwide end 2021
    • Telenor DK launches 5G-3500 in Copenhagen, Aalborg (600k covered pops)
    • SFR (Altice FR) launches 5G in Nice; 40 EUR/mo for unlimited voice/text + 80 GB (EUR 5 more than for 4G)

Video

  • RTL
    • Distr deal Mediengruppe RTL DE for TVNOW Premium with Telekom DE (DT): free in bundle with Magenta TV Smart and Magenta TV Smart Flex subs (to be integrated; combined 60k hr of content); to partner in ad tech (Smartclip and Yospace, addressable TV ad trial 2021, with Telekom's emetriq), ad sales, content
    • Salto France TV, M6, TF1) reaches 100k subs after 3 weeks
  • DAZN: Distr deal with Vodafone DE: OTT + 2 linear channels, 10 EUR/mo
  • YouTube: Launches Audio Ads (15 sec, beta, auctioned on CPM basis) and ad-targetable music lineups (genres, Top 100 charts by country); total 70m tracks, 2b MAU, 15% of consumption is background music
  • Comcast
    • Universal Pictures partners with Cinemark for shortened theatrical window: if opening weekend generates >$50m, then theatrical window at least 31 days (5 weekends); if not, available for on demand after 17 days (3 weekends); rumor: terms extend to AMC
    • Hayu launches in DE, AT (via Amazon Prime Video Channels)
  • AT&T
  • Walt Disney
    • Hulu raises price of Hulu With Live TV by $10 to 65 $/mo
    • Disney+ launches in Latam
    • Rumor: Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Cruella may skip theaters to premiere on Disney+

Services & hardware

Regulatory

  • Telecoms
    • ACM (NL) proposes deregulation of Hoogwaardige Wholesaletoegang (HWT) over copper on business market over increased fiber-based alternatives, based on new Market Analysis; consultation until 210114
    • BIPT plans 5G auction end 2021 or early 2022
  • Apple: Privacy activist Max Schrems (noyb) complaint in DE, ES (under EU’s e-Privacy directive, not GDPR): iPhone tracking code IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) lets Apple and all iPhone app developers see how users behave without their knowledge or agreement - Apple denies: does not use or access IDFA - Facebook: Apple data collection is about profits, not privacy


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Friday, October 02, 2020

ARCEP (France) ends Phase 2 of 5G auction

  • 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)
  • Phase 1 (200102): 50 MHz for EUR 350m (to be paid over 15 yr)
  • Positioning auction follows Oct 2020

By operator:


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Sunday, September 27, 2020

Week 39 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

M&A

Telecoms

  • Play
    • Iliad acquires 40.2% controlling stake (incl Board majority) from Kenbourne (Novator, 20.1%) and Tollerton (Panos Germanos, 20.1%) at 39.00 PLZ/share; other shareholders: NN/OFE 5.6%, free float 54.%
    • launches public offer: 39.00 PLZ/share cash (100% equity value EUR 2.2b, EV EUR 3.479b = 6.8x EBITDA AL TTM = 9.9x OpFCF TTM pre synergies), premium 39% over 200918
    • acceptance period 201019-201117, settlement & closing 201125
    • to be financed from cash & debt, leverage to rise pro forme from 2.2 to 3.2; to continue spinning off & selling its passive infrastructure
    • 'Through this acquisition, Iliad will cement its position as a pan-European telecom player'
    • Iliad becomes #6 telco in Europe based on mobile subscribers (behind Vodafone, DT, Telefonica, Orange, 3 Group Europe)
    • EU deadline for Iliad offer clearance 201026
  • Telecoms other

Media

  • Broadcast
    • Discovery: Rumor: considers alliance with Mediaset
  • OTT video, gaming
    • Megogo: Rumor: VEON plans offer, RUB 9b
    • Quibi: WSJ: plans strategy review, may put itself up for sale, raise funds or lit through merger with SPAC
    • Microsoft: Acquires ZeniMax Media (owns Bethesda Softworks: game developer & publisher), $7.5b cash
  • Publishing


Networks

HFC

  • Virgin Media trials 2.2 Gb/s (Gig 2) over Docsis 3.1 (by adding second OFDM block) - To expand FTTP to Burgess Hill (14k premises)

5G


Services

Telecoms business market

  • AT&T to provide UDG Healthcare with global SD-WAN (from Cisco)
  • AT&T partners with Microsoft for global IoT connectivity, based on Azure Sphere
  • Microsoft Ignite
    • Launches Azure Communication Services for developers to add voice & video calling, chat, text messages to apps
    • Launches Azure Orbital: cloud-based satellite data processing platform (groundstation-as-a-service), with SES
    • Teams adds features: virtual commutes, meditation breaks, work habits, Together Mode, Dynamic View, Breakout Rooms, recaps, presentation, calling, new devices
  • Smart Profile & Dutch IT-channel report on business market NL (Onderzoek Digitale Mobiliteit): >75% have Digital Workplace strategy
Telecoms consumer market

Internet

Media: video

  • Netflix: originals and content news
  • Walt Disney: Disney+ distr deal with Google for Assistant-enabled devices from Nest (Nest Hub, Nest Hub Max)
  • Samsung: Samsung TV Plus (free AVOD; US; currently on smart TVs) expands to Galaxy smartphones


Regulatory

Telecoms: auctions

Facebook
Platforms general
  • US DoJ proposes limiting Section 230 (part of Communications Decency Act; protecting platforms from liability over content posted by users, users not protected from copyright violations or certain types of criminal acts) as folow-up to Exec Order [see 200528]: platforms to be transparent about content removals; may be liable for content modified, narrows criteria online platforms must meet to earn liability protections
  • Facebook, YouTube, Twitter partner with Global Alliance for Responsible Media against fake news, hate speech
  • Coalition for App Fairness established by Epic Games, Spotify, Match Group, Proton Technologies, News Media Europe, Basecamp; to pressure for app store regulation - Apple temporarily waives app store fee for Facebook’s online events until 201231 (in support of small businesses during corona virus lockdown) - Google updates Play Store guidelines: most apps must use Google's billing service for in-app content downloads, game upgrades, subscriptions
  • US Senate Commerce Committee plans to issue subpoenas if needed to CEOs of Google, Facebook, Twitter for hearing 201001


at 5:54 pm 0 comments
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Monday, September 21, 2020

Iliad to acquire Play - what's next?

Iliad is acquiring Play, the largest MNO in Poland. It secures 40.2% from current shareholders and makes a public offer for the remainder. Iliad also operates in France and Italy and holds a large stake in Eir (Ireland). Founder Xavier Niel (through NJJ) owns operators in Switzerland, Monaco and Cyprus.

The details:
  • Iliad acquires 40.2% controlling stake (incl Board majority) from Kenbourne (Novator, 20.1%) and Tollerton (Panos Germanos, 20.1%) at 39.00 PLZ/share
  • other shareholders: NN/OFE 5.6%, free float 54.%
  • launches public offer: 39.00 PLZ/share cash (100% equity value EUR 2.2b, EV EUR 3.479b = 6.8x EBITDA AL TTM = 9.9x OpFCF TTM pre synergies), premium 39% over 200918
  • acceptance period 201019-201117, settlement & clsoing 201125
  • to be financed from cash & debt, leverage to rise pro forma from 2.2 to 3.2
  • to continue spinning off & selling its passive infrastructure;
  • 'Through this acquisition, iliad will cement its position as a pan-European telecom player'
  • Iliad becomes #6 telco in Europe based on mobile subscribers (behind Vodafone, DT, Telefonica, Orange, 3 Group Europe)
More acquisitions appear to be a matter of time. The values Iliad/Niel appears to seek:
  • Mobile centric, with an eye on expanding into fixed.
  • Maverick character.
  • Growth opportunities from either market growth or market share growth.
  • Can do without passive infrastructure.
  • Efficiency, simplicity.
  • Developing hardware and services in-home.
Candidates:
  • Spain: MasMovil (being acquired currently by private equity)
  • Netherlands: T-Mobile
  • Belgium: Orange
  • 3 Group Europe (CK Hutchison), except 3 Ireland
  • Digi/RCS&RDS
  • PPF

at 9:23 am 0 comments
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