The week in telecoms: Italy brings back PTT, US bans foreign routers and social media on trial
GLOBAL 29 MRT

The week in telecoms: Italy brings back PTT, US bans foreign routers and social media on trial

Europe is turning back to the PTT model with a takeover bid from Poste Italiane for Telecom Italia. The US meanwhile has put a ban on foreign-produced routers in the name of national security and seen the first court verdicts over the dangerous effects of social media. In the smartphone market, Apple is getting more interested in the enterprise market, Xiaomi is struggling to grow, and Arm has turned to making its own chips.

The week in telecoms: OFC and Nvidia events drive data centre networking talk, Orange debuts full French office stack
GLOBAL 23 MRT

The week in telecoms: OFC and Nvidia events drive data centre networking talk, Orange debuts full French office stack

The OFC and Nvidia's annual conference put the focus last week on the latest advances in data centre networking, with Comcast, Cisco and others also showing off new systems for AI edge and RAN integration. Orange Business also had its own product event with new offers in AI and sovereign services, and Bell and Telia are getting further into the data centre market, too. 

The week in telecoms: Pakistan ready for 5G, Google exits FTTH market and Canal Plus works on pay-TV turnaround
GLOBAL 16 MRT

The week in telecoms: Pakistan ready for 5G, Google exits FTTH market and Canal Plus works on pay-TV turnaround

The long-awaited 5G auction in Pakistan was completed last week, while wholesale 5G networks started by governments in Malaysia and Ghana were abandoned. Google also is getting out of the telecom business, with a sale of its FTTH business in the US. And the legacy pay-TV market struggles on, with annual results from Canal Plus and set-top box maker Aferian (Amino) going under. 

The week in telecom: MWC brings 5G advances, AI and satellite integration, plus first robot phone
GLOBAL 6 MRT

The week in telecom: MWC brings 5G advances, AI and satellite integration, plus first robot phone

No shortage of news this past week thanks to the annual mobile industry meet-up in Barcelona. Mobile World Congress brought the usual advances in network technology (5G Advanced, pre-6G, Wi-Fi 8), smartphones (Apple, Xiaomi, Motorola, Vivo) and services (mobile-satellite integration, AI edge). While the traditional telecom players like Ericsson, Telefonica and NTT were clearly present, there was also a large contingent of industry newcomers looking to take a piece of the pie, including Amazon, Nvidia and St

The week in telecoms: Paramount tops bidding for WBD, Samsung S26 kicks off MWC showcase
GLOBAL 1 MRT

The week in telecoms: Paramount tops bidding for WBD, Samsung S26 kicks off MWC showcase

Netflix has called a stop to the bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery, but Paramount still has to secure approval from regulators and shareholders. Deutsche Telekom, E& and Telecom Italia are rewarding shareholders, while Telefonica and Proximus hold back on dividends. Samsung presented its new flagship range ahead of Mobile World Congress, and Apple is set to surprise this week with its own new devices.

The week in telecoms: Liberty Global tackles cable vs fibre question, Orange promises dividends and MEA market goes wholesale
GLOBAL 23 FEB

The week in telecoms: Liberty Global tackles cable vs fibre question, Orange promises dividends and MEA market goes wholesale

It was all about consolidation in Europe last week, with major takeovers in the UK and Netherlands and Orange laying out its new financial targets. India held a major AI summit with Google announcing plans to turn the country into a new global connectivity hub, while Ooredoo and MTN are working on similar plans for the MEA region.

The week in telecoms: Cisco rides AI investment wave and European telcos invest in South America
GLOBAL 16 FEB

The week in telecoms: Cisco rides AI investment wave and European telcos invest in South America

Cisco set the tone last week with new AI networking products unveiled at its partner event in Amsterdam and a strong set of quarterly results. T-Mobile US held an analyst meeting outlining how it plans to address the new market challenges, and Telefonica completed another exit from South America, giving Millicom a new market in region.

The week in telecoms: hyperscalers vie for capex crown, Telenor and Vodafone profit from smaller footprints
GLOBAL 9 FEB

The week in telecoms: hyperscalers vie for capex crown, Telenor and Vodafone profit from smaller footprints

Balancing capital expenditure and shareholder returns is a critical issue for any public telecom operator, but the stakes have changed with the advent of the 'hyperscalers'. Last week Google and Amazon vied for who can spend the most this year, while telcos like NTT and Singtel work on taking their share of the cloud infrastructure business. African operator MTN is taking the notable move of buying back its towers, while Vodafone and Telenor lean back into their core markets to support higher dividends. 

The week in telecoms: Verizon sparks fears of US price war, Apple beats Samsung in Q4, Telekom ramps up fibre marketing
GLOBAL 2 FEB

The week in telecoms: Verizon sparks fears of US price war, Apple beats Samsung in Q4, Telekom ramps up fibre marketing

The first round of annual financial results shows the US may be set for a price war, with shifting strategies at Verizon and Comcast. Deutsche Telekom kicked off a new FTTH drive, and Canal Plus is hoping to capitalize on its recent African expansion. Apple had a knock-out quarter with stellar iPhone results, and Samsung profited from the boom in memory chips.

The week in telecoms: Netflix and Ericsson all about cash, EU sketches out rip-and-replace and copper transition plans
GLOBAL 26 JAN

The week in telecoms: Netflix and Ericsson all about cash, EU sketches out rip-and-replace and copper transition plans

The annual results season kicked off with positive figures from Ericsson and Netflix, and Netflix is putting up more cash to seal the deal for Warner Bros. The French operators are not backing down on plans to take out SFR, and the copper shutdown schedule is sparking debate after the EU presented its new telecoms regulation. 

Netflix can spend more on content and still improve its margin
GLOBAL 22 JAN

Netflix can spend more on content and still improve its margin

Netflix is working to make its takeover of Warner Bros happen and also announced Q4 results. The takeover price is high, but how does that compare to the company's own results? What's clear is Netflix is in many ways much bigger than its takeover target and has a very strong balance sheet. While it has forecast slower growth in 2026, that is not surprising. The operating margin continues to increase and is already better than linear TV. 

The week in telecom: Apple holds on to smartphone crown, Ericsson slims down and CommScope changes name
GLOBAL 19 JAN

The week in telecom: Apple holds on to smartphone crown, Ericsson slims down and CommScope changes name

Apple's crown as the world's biggest smartphone seller was confirmed for 2025, and the company made an important decision in its AI strategy last week. IPOs may be back in the telco sector this year with rumours of upcoming share sales by Jio and Odido, while consolidation continues in the network equipment market, led by Commscope, as a difficult outlook leads to job cuts at Ericsson. On the regulatory front, the EU continues to set to the tone, with more fines last week and new telco regulation coming up

BELGIUM 16 JAN

Belgian mobile market under pressure from Digi, broadband impact still to come

The Belgian broadband market reached 5.15 million lines in Q3 2025, an increase of 0.5 percent year-on-year. All the main providers added customers, but Telenet lost market share, while Orange showed a small gain. Proximus' share was little changed, and Digi is still a negligible presence, according to the latest edition of Telecompaper's Belgian Total Communications report.

NETHERLANDS 15 JAN

Fairphone still a small player but market share growing in Netherlands

Fairphone remains a small player in its home market the Netherlands but the company is slowing expanding its share of the smartphone market. Data collected quarterly by the Telecompaper Consumer Insights panel shows the Fairphone was used by just 0.1 percent of Dutch smartphone owners in 2022 but the share increased to a peak of 0.3 percent of the installed base in 2025, showing clear structural growth. That means around 45,000 to 50,000 people use a Fairphone in the Netherlands, Telecompaper estimates. 

GLOBAL 12 JAN

The week in telecoms: CES brings Wi-Fi 8 and more smart glasses, while Warner sticks with Netflix

CES last week brought news of more smart glasses and the first Wi-Fi 8 products, while Samsung's preliminary earnings report suggests the Korean company is profiting fully from the AI-driven demand for memory chips. Warner Bros meanwhile has decided to stick with Netflix and officially rejected Paramount's rival offer, while Italy takes a stance on Cloudflare's role in piracy and gets a new network sharing alliance.

GLOBAL 5 JAN

The week in telecom: Finnish security check, M&A completions and telco job cuts

Two weeks in one in this week's edition as we round up the top stories from over the holidays. Finland does not always reach the headlines, but they feature twice here, with the first rules in Europe against high-risk vendors for 5G base stations plus another suspected sabotage of an undersea telecom cable. The change in year is also a good accounting moment for significant deals, and Fastweb, Telenor and Wow took advantage to complete M&A. While there was no significant progress in the Warner takeover batt

NETHERLANDS 23 DEC 2025

Netherlands TV-video market grows 2.6% in Q3 to EUR 759 mln

The subscription TV and online video market in the Netherlands grew 2.6 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, to sales of EUR 759 million, according to the latest research by Telecompaper. Growth has slowed somewhat due to fewer newcomers, with the Viaplay TV+ channels the most recent arrival. That launch helped grow income from premium channels, while basic TV shows a structural decline. In the streaming market, the strongest growth is coming from Prime Video, SkyShowtime, YouTube Premium and HBO Max,

GLOBAL 22 DEC 2025

The week in telecoms: YouTube, Instagram take on TV market and WBD rejects Paramount

There are always new competitors on the horizon in the telecom sector, and the past week was no different. Instagram is coming to TVs, YouTube wants more of the pay-TV market, and Revolut launched on the mobile market. Warner also confirmed it's going with Netflix as merger partner not Paramount, and several telcos are changing their board line-ups for the new year. 

GLOBAL 15 DEC 2025

The week in telecom: Wi-Fi bolt-ons take off to boost broadband growth, video market works on consolidation

With the broadband market reaching saturation in most developed countries, telcos are on the lookout for new ways to win over (and hold on to) customers. AT&T and EE are the latest to launch new Wi-Fi guarantees, while other like TIM are hoping FWA will encourage people to double up their connections. In the video market, Harmonic announced its exit, while Paramount confirmed a rival bid for Netflix, and Omdia is predicting YouTube will overtake them all. 

GLOBAL 8 DEC 2025

The week in telecom: Netflix wins bidding for Warner Bros, Apple poaches new execs, Samsung debuts trifold

The week ended with a bang, with Netflix agreeing the takeover of Warner Bros Discovery. Meanwhile the year-end is approaching quickly, prompting some tough budget and planning decisions. Apple is preparing a new generation of leaders with several management changes in the past week, Meta is rethinking its metaverse vision, and Intel has dropped the idea of exiting the telecom network business. Samsung has managed to get its first trifold smartphone on shelves before year-end, and Australia makes headlines

BELGIUM 20 NOV 2025

Proximus vs. Telenet: Proximus performs better in Q3 while Telenet uses up cash

On the Belgian market, Proximus is performing better than Telenet, in part thanks to its advance on fibre roll-out. Growth is high in mobile but ARPUs are falling at both operators. The impact from newcomer Digi is still limited. Telenet is ramping up its fibre expansion, with a high capex-to-sales ratio and cash burn as a result, but its cash position remains sufficient. The Belgian market is focused on coordinating the next phase of the fibre build, with the regulator evaluating the proposed regional alli

BELGIUM 18 NOV 2025

Proximus Domestic still struggling with low margins

Proximus Domestic reported flat revenues in the third quarter, at EUR 1.19 billion. That includes its Luxembourg unit Tango but excludes Proximus Global. The Belgian operator added 42,000 postpaid and 12,000 broadband customers in the quarter. Its outlook is for an increase in the EBITDA margin, but this remains on the low side for the sector, and Proximus's free cash flow, at 14 percent of revenues, is also not so impressive. We look forward to new insights at its Capital Markets Day planned for February.

GLOBAL 17 NOV 2025

The week in telecom: Mixed fortunes at German telcos and Cisco enjoys networking boom

Mixed fortunes in Germany as the latest quarterly results show 1&1 has finally become a MNO, Telefonica has a new CEO, and Vodafone and DT still working on positive growth. Cisco has no problems with growth with a forecast for record sales ahead, while Verizon's new CEO is apparently getting ready for a major restructuring. SK Telecom is taking a step back from its AI ambitions to refocus on mobile, and Telenor confirmed its future is Nordic.

NETHERLANDS 12 NOV 2025

Virtual operators profit as ODF, Delta revive competition on Dutch wholesale broadband market

Dutch incumbent KPN's share of the wholesale broadband market is falling, thanks to the expansion of Open Dutch Fiber and Delta Fiber. Virtual operators can profit, shopping around for the best network deals and improving their margins.

Just In

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MTN Uganda runs Digital Literacy Programme training in Western region

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Cyan meets FY outlook, forecasts further sales growth in year ahead

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Sisvel launches cellular POS patent pool with Huawei, Nokia, LG as licensors

Commentary

11 FEB 12:29

Odido shareholders face tricky exit after abandoned IPO

2 FEB 13:49

KPN results show little bother from the competition

2 JAN 13:21

Open Dutch Fiber's new management team takes up turnaround challenge

15 DEC 2025 13:56

Video market set for slower growth ahead

Background

29 MRT 22:46

The week in telecoms: Italy brings back PTT, US bans foreign routers and social media on trial

23 MRT 00:38

The week in telecoms: OFC and Nvidia events drive data centre networking talk, Orange debuts full French office stack

16 MRT 00:25

The week in telecoms: Pakistan ready for 5G, Google exits FTTH market and Canal Plus works on pay-TV turnaround

6 MRT 16:00

The week in telecom: MWC brings 5G advances, AI and satellite integration, plus first robot phone