Telecompaper Headlines

(Telecompaper) Marvell Technology has confirmed an agreement to acquire Inphi for cash and shares to create a new semiconductor group worth USD 40 billion. As part of the deal, Marvell will move the headquarters of the company from Bermuda to the US. 

(Telecompaper) Telefonica said it has reached an agreement with Allianz to create a joint venture for building a FTTH network in Germany. The new company plans to invest up to EUR 5 billion over a period of six years to deploy fibre for more than 2 million households in rural and semi-rural areas. The joint venture will lay over 50,000 km of fibre network.

(Telecompaper) MultiChoice has disclosed that French pay-television giant Groupe Canal+ has continued buying its shares and now holds12 percent of the ordinary shares in issue. MultiChoice disclosed on 05 October that Canal+, which is owned by French media conglomerate Vivendi, had acquired 6.5 percent of its equity.

(Telecompaper) Veon reported a return to customer growth in the third quarter, as coronavirus restrictions were gradually lifted in its markets. The decline in organic revenues slowed to 1.3 percent year-on-year, and the company maintained its forecast for a low to mid single-digit decline over the full year. With underlying EBITDA stable in the quarter, the margin improved to 45.1 percent from 44.4 percent a year ago. 

(Telecompaper) BT has reported revenue of GBP 10.59 billion for the half year to 30 September, down 8 percent on the impact of Covid-19, including lower BT Sport revenue and a drop in business activity at the enterprise units, as well as declines in legacy products. 

(Telecompaper) Swisscom said that net revenues in the first nine months of 2020 fell by 3 percent year-on-year to CHF 8.2 billion, as the Covid-19 pandemic had a particularly negative impact on roaming revenues. The pandemic's overall impact on financial results is minor, however. EBITDA remained nearly stable at CHF 3.3 billion, recording a decrease of 0.1 percent. On a like-for-like basis and at constant exchange rates EBITDA increased by CHF 7 million or 0.2 percent.

(Telecompaper) Orange has confirmed a stable dividend for 2020, after reporting a return to sales growth in the third quarter. Growth in convergent offers and wholesale fibre in France and continued expansion in Africa and the Middle East supported the higher sales in Q3, offsetting the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, which hurt roaming and handset sales. Orange still expects a small drop in EBITDA this year, but a delay in capex means cash flow will be unaffected, supporting its dividend plans. 

(Telecompaper) MTN Nigeria's revenue increased by 13.9 percent year-on-year to NGN 975.67 billion for the nine months to 30 September from NGN 856.55 billion in the same period of 2019. Service revenue increased by 13.9 percent to NGN 973.81 billion from NGN 854.94 billion in 2019. Mobile subscribers increased by 3.9 million to 75.0 million and active data users increased by 1.7 million to 30.7 million.

(Telecompaper) Ooredoo Group said its net profit increased by 16 percent to QAR 1.47 billion in the first nine months to 30 September from QAR 1.26 billion in the same period in 2019 in a more favorable foreign exchange environment. Revenue declined by 3 percent year-on-year to QAR 21.41 billion from QAR 21.96 billion because of Covid-19, with a reduction in handset sales and roaming business as well as macroeconomic weakness in some markets. This was partially offset by growth in Indonesia. 

(Telecompaper) Telefonica reported another double-digit decline in revenues in the third quarter, hurt by the Covid-19 pandemic and negative forex effects. Sales were down 12.1 percent to EUR 10.46 billion, compared to a 14.8 percent fall in Q2, while the drop in OIBDA slowed to 2.8 percent to EUR 2.67 billion, after a 25.3 percent drop in the previous quarter. On an organic basis, revenues fell 4.3 percent and OIBDA was down 8.3 percent. 

(Telecompaper) Marvell Technology is nearing a deal to acquire Inphi for as much as USD 10 billion, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. An agreement could be announced as soon as 29 October, the report said. 

(Telecompaper) Samsung Electronics reported a strong increase in third-quarter results, led by a 50 percent sequential increase in mobile phone sales. While demand recovered in Q3 from the Covid-19 effects earlier in the year, Samsung said it expects profit to fall in Q4, amid weakening memory chip demand from server customers and intensifying competition in mobile phones and consumer electronics.

(Telecompaper) Nokia's new CEO is changing the company's operating model and management team, ahead of expected bigger changes to be announced in the coming months. The announcement comes alongside disappointing third-quarter results and a downgrade in the group's outlook for 2020.

(Telecompaper) ZTE announced revenues of CNY 74.13 billion for the first nine months of 2020, an increase of 15.4 percent from the year-earlier period. The company's growth accelerated in the third quarter, to 37.2 percent to CNY 26.93 billion in revenue, compared to a 5.8 percent increase in sales reported for the first half of the year. 

(Telecompaper) Nokia has announced that it is deploying its 5G radio, core and fixed network equipment on Vodacom South Africa's network. Vodacom is using Nokia's 2G, 3G, 4G and fibre access networks, as well as 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) and mobile broadband products. Nokia is supplying its AirScale, Fastmile and Subscriber Data Management (SDM) / Home Subscriber Server (HSS) products to Vodacom. 

(Telecompaper) Gijima has announced that it has acquired T-Systems South Africa (TSSA) pending Competition Commission approval. TSSA was owned by T-Systems International, the IT services arm of Deutsche Telekom, and has been providing ICT networks, applications and systems to South African companies for more than 20 years. The transaction follows T-Systems' refocus on its core markets in Europe and the Americas, the company said. 

(Telecompaper) Sony has upgraded its outlook for full-year results, as strong demand for its Playstation products and streaming music offset the slowdown in the film industry. For the fiscal second quarter to June, the company recorded revenues little changed year-on-year at JPY 2.1 trillion, while for the full year the group now targets a small increase of 2 percent to JPY 8.5 trillion. 

(Telecompaper) Telecom Egypt has signed an agreement with Ericsson for its international gateway migration using equipment to contribute to improving the quality of its services and developing the network to meet customers' future requirements. Ericsson will deploy its Network Functions Virtualisation Infrastructure (NFVI) with Ericsson Orchestrator to enhance the quality of fixed and mobile services provided by Telecom Egypt, reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO), and automate Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) to pave the way for new business models and enterprise services. 

(Telecompaper) The SpaceX satellite internet service Starlink has started inviting people in the US to join its public beta test. The broadband service will cost USD 99 a month, plus USD 499 for the equipment in the 'Better Than Nothing Beta' test, according to email images seen by CNBC. 

(Telecompaper) Telefonica Germany saw its revenues increase by 0.4 percent year-on-year in Q3 2020 to EUR 1.87 billion thanks to high customer interest, especially in mobile tariffs of the core brand O2 and fixed-network offers, and with sustained trends in mobile service revenue (MSR) and fixed revenue. Operating profit before depreciation and amortisation (OIBDA) rose OIBDA rose by 0.8 percent to EUR 595 million.