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

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

• Netherlands
• KPN plans FTTH in Rijswijk, 8164 premises
• Delta Fiber
• Buys out De Fryske Mienskip op Glas from DFMopGlas; to end EUR 250 contribution
• to skip in villages (Belfeld, Steyl, Boekend, Hout-Blerick) within Venlo municipality
• GlasDraad Bollenstreek plans FTTH in Duin- en Bollenstreek (incl rural; 5 munis: Hillegom, Lisse, Noordwijk, Katwijk, Teylingen), deal with munis
• Rendo Fiber buys out Meppel muni from Glasvezel De Wolden https://www.dvhn.nl/drenthe/Rendo-krijgt-Glasvezel-De-Wolden-in-handen-26310195.html
• UK

• 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

• Huawei plans 4G/5G factory in France (Brumath)
• Verizon Business plans MEC-based applications, with Deloitte; focus on manufacturing, retail
• Ooredoo Maldives launches 5G in Male; mobility & FWA
• Iliad IT launches 5G in 27 cities, Flash 70 subscription 10 EUR/mo for unlimited calls/SMS (incl 60 int destinations), 70 GB/mo + EUR 10 for SIM (promo until 210121)

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

• VodafoneZiggo: Ziggo Sport extends UEFA Champions League rights bt 3 seasons until mid 2024

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

• Orange BE: Launches Crowdsurfer app, with acTVty and Cronos: information on crowd forming (related to corona virus)

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

• Spain provides EUR 40m funding for rural FTTH expansion in 3 yr
• US Covid-19 relief bill ($900b) includes $1b for Tribal BB, $300m for rural BB, $285m for BB to Black universities/colleges, $250m for FCC's telehealth program, $98m for BB mapping, $1.9b for replacing Huawei; also 50 $/mo for low-income families to cover BB

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

Week 36 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

NETWORKS 

Fixed/FTTP

• Cable.co.uk & M-Lab: Worldwide Broadband Speed League (551m speed tests in 221 countries): #1 Liechtenstein (media downlaod speed 230 Mb/s), #2 Jersey (218), #3 Andorra (213), #4 Gibraltar (183), #5 Luxemburg (118), #11 NL (96)
• TIM approves establishment of FiberCop, KKR taking stake (37.5% for EUR 1.8b based on equity value EUR 4.7b, EV EUR 7.7b), Fastweb (Swisscom) to own 4.5% for including Flash Fiber stake, TIM to own 58%, to close 21Q1; TIM to be exclusive provider of construction & maintenance; FiberCop to employ 100 FTE
• Telefonica: Telefonica ES plans copper switch-off by 2025
• FR adds $240m to rural fiber program (2013) 

Mobile/5G

Launches

• Singtel launches 5G trial (first 20k subs free, additional pay 10 SID/mo extra): 2.1 & 3.5 GHz bands, NSA, max >1 Gb/s, with smartphones
• Telefonica ES launches 5G, target coverage 75% YE 2020: NSA, DSS, in 3.5, 1.8/2.1 GHz bands
• DirecTV Colombia (= AT&T;owns 2×15 MHz of FDD-LTE & 40 MHz TD-LTE spectrum in 2600MHz band) launches FWA over 5G in Bogota, max 100 Mb/s
• SmarTone (HK) adds FWA over 5G service, 150 HKD/mo ($19)
• Lao Telecommunications Company (LTC) launches 5G in Vientiane
• Telia DK and Telenor DK to launch 5G end Sep 2020

Expansion

• Rogers supports Ontario cities development of 5G for smart city applications, expands to >50 cities, target >60 YE 2020
• Rogers expands 5G to 50 new cities (600 & 2500 & AWS MHz bands), with DSS
• Telstra reaches >1500 5G sites in 53 cities
• T-Mobile US expands 5G-2500 to 81 new cities, adds 1000 sites/mo
• South Korea plans allowing network sharing to increase rural 5G coverage

Technology

• Qualcomm, Ericsson, Casa Systems demo 3.8 km range for 5G NR over mmWave
• TIM demos 4 Gb/s over 5G in 26 GHz band, with Ericsson, Qualcomm

CPE

• Realme launches low-cost 5G smartphone V3 5G in China, $145
• Samsung expands 5G device range: Galaxy Tab A7 tablet, Galaxy Fit 2 fitness band, Galaxy A42 5G smartphone (midrange)
• HTC to launch 5G smartphone HTC U20 5G in Tawan 200905 TWD 19k ($650)

Network equipment

• Telefonica DE orders cloud-based 5G core from Ericsson, AWS
• VMware (= Dell) launches Telco Cloud Platform for 5G

Regulatory

• Gezondheidsraad NL: no health risks from 5G; research required for EMR impact from 26 GHz band
• Dutch gvt plant to implement 5G Toolbox (security) into law 2021

SERVICES

Telco bundles

• EE (BT) launches The Full Works Plan for iPhone: unlimited mobile data, iPhone upgrade anytime, access to Apple Music, Apple TV+ & Apple Arcade; add-ons: BT Sport Ultimate app 
• Sunrise resells Samsung Sero (Lifestyle TV, 43 inch, rotates between horizontal & vertical orientation), 71 CHF/mo for 24 mo for BB subs; as part of accessory plans (also: Samsung TVs, Sonos Beam Soundbar, Apple iPad & Apple TV) 
• 3 UK bundles FWA over 5G with free Apple TV 

Video

Walt Disney

• Distr deal with TIM: bundles TIMvision, Netflix, Disney+ in Mondo Intrattenimento service as part of TIM Super Wi-Fi TV over FTTH (max 1 Gb/s) or FTTC (max 200 Mb/s), 50 EUR/mo or stand-alone 14 EUR/mo
• Rumor: Disney+ to add Group Watch feature 200904, max 7 people

Netflix

• Launches promo for non-subs: free access without sign-up to 10 season 1 episodes 1 of orginal series (Murder Mystery, Élite, Boss Baby: Back in Business, Bird Box, When They See Us, Love Is Blind, The Two Popes, Our Planet, Grace and Frankie), only on Android, PC, Mac
• Dynamically adjust bit rate to match the content, reduces average bit rate by 50% with no loss in image quality, number of rebuffers -65%

Other

• Amazon: Expands Amazon Prime Video Channels to Brazil
• Telenet & DPG to launch Streamz 200914, 12 EUR/mo (HD, max 4 streams, free trial period 2 weeks)
• VUit: Launches AVOD (free+ads), apps for iO, Android, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, AppleTV.; tech from Syncback
• Locast: Expands to Detroit (total 23 cities, 145m covered pops = 43%); reaches 1.5m users
• Facebook Watch reaches 1.25b MAU (watching at least 1 min)
• Spotify: Rumor: plans feature Video Moments: short clips, shareable [a la TikTok]
• Nielsen: SVOD Top 10 US: all Netflix
• Google: Cello Electronics (UK) launches Android TV smart TV range, with Google Assistant, Chromecast, Google Play Store built in

Music

Amazon Music (55m users) partners with Twitch to add live streaming music to Amazon Music app

Web services

Google

• Launches Kids Space mode for Android tablets, first for Lenovo Tab M10 HD Gen 2: access to library of apps, games, videos, books
• Updates Keen (social net collections of links, texts, etc): adds photo uploads
• Google Maps adds in-app parking payment over Google Pay, first in Austin (Texas)

CORPORATE

AT&T

• WSJ: considers selling Xandr
• Bloomberg: cancels sale plan of WarnerMedia's gaming division
• Rumor: starts DirecTV sale process

Vodafone

• Oman Future Telecommunications (OFT; = Itqan Tech Development) to launch 2021 as #3 MNO branded Vodafone Oman (based on PMA) [see 190905]
• Merger of Indus Towers and Bharti Infratel proceeds; Vodafone Group to recive 700m shares = 28.2% stake, Infratel 68.6%, PEP 3.2%
• India allows 10 yr (instead of 3 mo) to pay AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue = license costs) dues ($7b), Board Meeting 200904 - Rumor: Amazon & Verizon offer $4b for stake
• Vodafone Idea to raise max ₹25,000 crore = EUR 2.88b from equity, convertibles, warrants
• Rumor: Amazon to acquire stake (with Verizon) in Vodafone Idea, $4b

Vivendi

• Demands (with Amber Fund) EGM at Lagardere; combined 44% of capital, <30% of votes; demand new Supervisory Board members
• ECJ: Italian law requiring Vivendi to freeze its stake in Mediaset on antitrust grounds infringed the union’s regulations

Bytedance

• Rumor: nears deal for TikTok US/Australia/NZ, $20-30b, Microsoft/Walmart and Oracle top contenders
• SoftBank considers offer for TikTok India

Other

• Sunrise: Salt sues in US over planned UPC Schweiz merger; subpoenas Liebrty Global, Liberty Media, Liberty Global Chair John Malone & CEO Mike Fries
• Telefonica DE: Transfers 5975 rooftop sites & 58 tower sites to Telxius (= Telefonica), EUR 1.5b
• Iliad: 20Q2
• Patreon: Raises $90m from New Enterprise Associates, Wellington Management etc at $1.2b valuation; total raised $256m
• Palantir: Amended S1 IPO filing

REGULATORY

Facebook

• Launches research project (17 person team) to show effect on 2020 US Presidential elections afterwards
• Uncovered political meddling operation Peace Data (2016) from Russian Internet Research Agency
• To remove any content bringing adverse legal or regulatory risk from 201001
• Removed pages from Patriot Prayer and founder Joey Gibson
• Partners with Reuters to deliver US Presidential election results
• To ban political ads in US from 1 week before US Presidential elections (from 201027)
• Targets 200-400k users (to be paid 10-20 $/week) to abandon Facebook & Instagram to study how its apps influence key political attitudes & behaviors during the US 2020 Presidential elections
• Halts Oculus Quest sales in DE over privacy concerns: Facebook login may violate coupling ban in EU GDPR

Other

• Amazon: Amazon.co.uk removes 20k fake product reviews
• Pinterest: Bans ads from election-related content
• TF1: TF1, LCI, and LCI.fr establish Info Verifiers: unit to track down fake news

Platforms general

• Apple (developers), Google (ad buyers), Amazon (3rd-party sellers) to pass on Digital Services Tax in UK (2%), AT (5%), Turkey (5%) from Nov 2020
• US gvt/POTUS Trump plans action against more Chinese apps, after TikTok
• India bans 118 more Chinese apps (prejudicial to sovereignty & integrity of India, defence of India, security of state, public order); total 224
• DoJ Austria plans platform (>100k users, rev >EUR 500k) obligation to remove criminal content within 24 hr & otherwiser illegal content withion 7 days, non-compliance fine max EUR 10m 
• Multilateral Mutual Assistance and Cooperation Framework for Competition Authorities (MMAC) established by US DoJ, US FTC, UK CMA, New Zealand Commerce Commission, Competition Bureau Canada, Australian ACCC: to improve coordinated & pro-active informal cooperation & assistance
• Axios: Facebook, Google, Twitter, Reddit are holding regular meetings with federal law enforcement & intelligence agencies to discuss potential threats to US Presidential election integrity.
• AT&T proposal: Section 230 should not apply if platform actively curates, proposes disclosures about how they collect & use data, how they rank search results, how they interconnect & interoperate with others,how their algorithms preference some content, products & services over others
• 15 Streaming services in India (Zee5, Viacom18, Disney Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, MX Player, Jio Cinema, Eros Now, Alt Balaji, Arre, HoiChoi, Hungama, Shemaroo, Discovery Plus, Flickstree) adopt self-regulation (Universal Self-Regulation Code for OCCPs) to pre-empt government censorship::age classification, content descriptions, control tools, create consumer complaints department and/or an internal committee and an advisory panel to deal with complaints and appeals

Combining Telenet/Base and VodafoneZiggo could bring the Vodafone brand to Belgium

Liberty Global has recently made some public statements about its strategy. The integration of the Dutch activities was not discussed. It must be the worry of the VodafoneZiggo joint venture. However, a scenario is conceivable in which Liberty Global pulls in the JV. That could lead to a merger with Telenet / Base, with a stock market listing to boot.

Content and network

With regard to content, Liberty Global gives preference to a large portfolio, supplemented with local content for the purpose of differentiation. Besides FTA (free-to-air) the emphasis is on sports, production and OTT. In addition, Liberty Global, believes (given a world of abundant content), in the concept of 'attention economics'. Focus is on the consumer's attention. It is important to capture it with good content, and a good interface. As for networks, the company is working on DOCSIS 3.1 and the assumption is that a connection speed of 500-750 Mb/s justifies an increase of 10 to 15 €/month. Other technologies have the attention, including 5G (for backhaul, not for the possible replacement of the local loop.

Structure

The company's structure is also getting ample attention. Latin America is split off into the LiLAC stock, while the Netherlands is a deconsolidated joint venture and Belgium has its own listing. In some countries there is a merger with a mobile operator (Belgium, Netherlands), in others an MVNO is created. The UK and Ireland merged into Virgin Media and Switzerland and Austria combined into UPC Central Europe. Combination of the Netherlands and Belgium in a new entity on paper also has benefits. There will be more scale, there may be savings in overhead and there is some synergy in the fields of content and networks. It could lead to the creation of a pan-Benelux operator.

This scenario offers some interesting additional features:

• The brand portfolio can be streamlined. In both countries, the situation is sub-optimal. Belgium has the brands Telenet and Base, the Netherlands has Ziggo and Vodafone. It could be streamlined in one clean sweep.
• In agreement with Vodafone, the Vodafone brand could be launched in Belgium. If not as the main brand, then as a mobile brand.
• The Telenet stock market listing can be maintained and VodafoneZiggo might be gobbled up. The Benelux activity as a whole would have a listing, which could offer the parent companies an exit strategy, over time. Or either of them could take full control.