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Vodafone Strikes €18.4B Deal to Buy Liberty Assets Already a significant cable broadband access network owner in Europe, Vodafone has struck an €18.4 billion (US$21.8 billion) deal to acquire Liberty Global's cable operations in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania in a move to create one of Europe's biggest integrated fixed/mobile service providers. The deal, announced early Wednesday, comes after weeks of speculation and would produce a huge rival to German incumbent Deutsche Telekom, as well as bolstering Vodafone's fixed-line capabilities in several eastern European markets. (See Will Liberty & Vodafone Strike a Deal? What Will It Mean for Headcount?) The agreement with Liberty Global Inc. (Nasdaq: LBTY), one of Europe's biggest operators of cable networks, is the latest cable broadband M&A move by Vodafone, which has acquired cable assets in Spain (ONO) and Germany (Kabel Deutschland) during the past five years. It will leave Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD) with around 54 million cable or fiber customers and a next-generation network reach of about 110 million homes and businesses, the operator noted in a presentation to investors and analysts early Wednesday. The transaction would make Vodafone the chief rival in Germany to incumbent national operator Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT), which currently markets broadband services to around 30 million homes. Unitymedia, Liberty's German subsidiary, would be added to the Kabel Deutschland business that Vodafone acquired in a €7.7 billion ($9.1 billion) deal in 2013, allowing Vodafone to market next-generation broadband services to nearly 24 million homes across the key European market.
Vodafone's CEO Vittorio Colao sees value in building an even greater cable broadband empire across Europe.
Under previously announced plans to extend "gigabit" network offerings to around 1 million German homes, Vodafone is pushing for a gigabit coverage target of 25 million homes by 2022. "This represents more than two thirds of the German government's 2020 fiber vision for gigabit connectivity across the country," said Vittorio Colao, Vodafone's CEO, during the presentation. For the full story and financial details, see the following story on our sister site, Light Reading: Vodafone Pounces on Liberty Cable Assets in €18.4B Deal. — Iain Morris, International Editor, Light Reading |
UK operator aims to cover more than 5.5 million premises with Gfast by the end of 2020, down from an original commitment of 10 million.
Happy with 5G fixed wireless broadband trials in Transylvania, Orange is now trying to figure out if there is a business case for an investment.
UK operator says an improved relationship with regulatory authorities bodes well for its ambition of extending all-fiber networks across the country.
A private equity takeover of the UK fiber operator could help it to realize its FTTH plans and maintain pressure on UK broadband incumbents.
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By Eddy Vergauwen, Lead for Global Services Marketing at Nokia Fixed Networks  Radio Shows UPCOMING | April 23, 2019, 12pm EDT
As Vice President of Global Healthcare at AT&T, Maria Lensing oversees the telecommunications operator's technology and professional services offerings across the spectrum of medical providers, from solo practitioners and walk-in clinics to giant hospital chains, medical-device vendors and consulting firms. Lensing also sees more interest from traditional service providers -- cable and telecom operators looking to expand or build relationships with their own medical communities, perhaps as an adjunct to smart-home successes or standalone. Lensing, who took on this role almost a year ago in May 2018, oversees both the sales and technical teams responsible for developing growth initiatives for AT&T's Global Healthcare business -- including products, services and industry-specific solutions. She also very actively promotes business minority inclusion, education and female empowerment programs and has been recognized both within and outside AT&T. Some awards she's received include "Top 40 Under 40" and "Super Woman in Business" from the Memphis Business Journal. Join Maria Lensing, VP of Global Healthcare at AT&T, on Tuesday, April 23 at 12:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 p.m. PT, when she's the guest on BBWN Radio, hosted by Broadband World News Editor Alison Diana. Register now! So far, the agenda includes a discussion of technologies such as fiber and 5G; defining the needs and solutions for a widely diverse range of customers; partnering for success in a typically slow-moving, budget-constrained market; learning and dispersing best practices from other verticals and within other business groups; promoting diversity and female empowerment when so many say they're doing so but so little has changed; and what she hopes to accomplish in another year in this role. Register and post your questions for Maria on BBWN Radio's easy-to-use chat board. We will get to as many questions as possible. Please post questions before and during the broadcast. Once you've registered, you will be led to the chat board page. Talk to you on April 23! ARCHIVED | February 14, 2019, 11am EST
Tune in to Broadband World News Radio on February 14 at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT / 4 p.m. UK when John Isch, Practice Director of the Network and Voice Center of Excellence at Orange Business Services, discusses use cases, ROI and misconceptions of software-defined wide-area networks, virtualization and cloud.  Sponsored Video
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 Information ResourcesIndustry Announcements
 WebinarsTuesday, April 30, 2019
11:00 a.m. New York / 4:00 p.m London Just when you thought the answer to your next technology direction question was clear, the noise around multiple new technology options fills the Internet and airwaves. Multiple 5Gs are being deployed; there's CableLabs' 10G initiative; the ITU and IEEE are toiling around 50G PON – and we haven’t even talked about Wi-Fi6 yet! Is any of this real, do you have to pay attention or can you just let the dust settle and then decide? Since waiting is often not the best option, let’s demystify technology options, their impact on your business, and how to prepare for whatever the future brings. In this webinar, Service Providers will learn:
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Alternative UK fixed-broadband network operator Community Fibre is deploying ADTRAN gear to take 10 Gbit/s to London users at aggressive prices.
At Broadband World Forum 2018 there's a lot of chat about the shift towards software-defined access networks, but how tough and how expensive ...
What are the hot talking points in the fixed broadband sector right now? Gigabit over copper as well as fiber, software-defined access and more, ...
Light Reading's pro-European, Berlin-lovin' editors Ray Le Maistre and Iain Morris discuss some of the hot topics from BBWF 2017, including Gfast ...
The UBB2020 community has had a great first four months thanks to a market that's on the up!
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