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Digi Communications have expressed interest in taking ownership of MásMóvil’s mobile assets if the European Commission (EC) mandates their divestment as part of merger conditions

Earlier this summer, the EC extended its investigation into the potential $19 billion merger of Orange and MásMóvil in Spain, saying they needed more time to assess the true impact of reducing the country’s mobile market from four players to three.

Since then, speculation around the kinds of conditions that the EC may attach to the deal has been rife, with reports suggesting that the EC was preparing a ‘statement of objections’ to present to the operators.

Against the backdrop of these rumours, numerous smaller companies have begun to voice their interest in purchasing the operators’ assets, should they be forced to offload them as part of the EC’s merger stipulations.

These companies include Spanish national mobile and broadband providers Finetwork, Avatel, and Adamo, who have all sought to position themselves as the ideal third party for such dealmaking over the past few months.

More recently, this group of communications service providers have been joined by Romanian telecoms group Digi Communications, whose CEO Serghei Bulgac last month suggested the merger presented a huge opportunity.

“This an important transformative moment for the Spanish market, with the market possibly going from four large players to three large players, and if there is an opportunity… for us to play a part in this process, we will certainly be interested,” he told journalists on an earnings call.

This week, in fact, the company’s interest has been taken one step further, with Digi Spain’s CEO Marius Varzaru saying the company would invest €2 billion if it were to receive MásMóvil’s spectrum and mobile network as part of the merger.

Varzaru told Spanish newspaper El Mundo that the company’s investment in rolling out 5G and fibre networks strengthen the national economy, as well as generating roughly 1,500 jobs. He further argued that Spain needed “four strong mobile operators”, saying that Digi was well positioned to fill that role.

For now, it remains unclear exactly what remedies will be offered by the EC to facilitate the merger, but the wider industry’s interest in MásMóvil’s assets could not be more obvious.

How is the European Commission’s attitude towards telecoms consolidation shifting in 2023? Join the operators in discussion with regulators at this year’s Total Telecom Congress live in Amsterdam

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The two deals will make France the largest market in which Phoenix Tower International (PTI) operators 

PTI, based in Florida, has closed two deals allowing it to acquire 1,978 cell sites located in urban areas across France. 

These sites will be added to the more than 1,600 sites PTI already owns in France, with the firm aiming to increase the total number of sites it owns in the country to 5,000 sites  within the next two years. 

 The site acquisitions took the form of two separate deals, with1,226 sites hosting French operator SFR acquired through a wholly owned subsidiary of PTI, and the expansion of Phoenix France Infrastructures 2, a subsidiary of PTI, through the addition of 752 sites hosting Bouygues Telecom. 

“With these transactions, PTI diversifies its portfolio across France with sites located all over the country, including major cities to better serve the populations with strong wireless connectivity,” said Dagan Kasavana, CEO of PTI. 

“France is one of the most dynamic telecom markets in Europe and PTI’s growth will continue facilitating coverage deployments for all French wireless operators across the country. We are pleased to have collaborated with the professionals at Cellnex, Bouygues Telecom, and SFR on these transactions.” 

Following the transaction, France is now the largest market of the 21 in which PTI operate. The firm operate more than 22,000 towers across Europe and the Americas. 

In 2020, PTI partnered with Bouygues Telecom to develop 4,000 new wireless towers in rural areas over the next 12 years. 

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The facility will bring together partners from universities, research institutes, and businesses across Germany 

Deutsche Telekom has opened a “Quantum Lab” facility based at its Berlin T-Labs, dedicated to quantum research and the integration of quantum technology into its telecommunications operations. 

The research facility is connected to over 2,000km of fibre optical network, allowing researchers to conduct quantum-optical experiments alongside partners across Germany. 

Deutsche Telekom notes that research at the facility will primarily focus on quantum entanglement, particularly its connotations for quantum cryptography and the creation of extra security in communications.  

According to the operator, this focus on quantum entanglement also could allow for a “quantum internet of things”, creating a higher-powered network of distributed and sensory applications. 

“The opening of our Quantum Lab is a clear signal that we are serious about bringing quantum technology to the commercial networks of telecommunications providers,” said Claudia Nemat, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Deutsche Telekom. 

“We explicitly invite the research and innovation community to join us in leveraging networks at the interface between R&D and commercial exploration like ours. To prove that innovative quantum technology solutions work under real-world conditions. And to usher in a new era of communications service.” 

In February, the company announced its leading position in the European Union’s PETRUS project, leading and coordinating the collaboration of 27 EU countries as they collectively build a quantum communications infrastructure that will run through Europe, named EuroQCI. 

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest international telecoms news? Sign up for Total Telecom’s daily newsletter  

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The Indian operator is reportedly in discussions with financial services firm BNP Paribas to arrange the loans 

Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecoms arm of India’s Reliance Industries, is set to raise $2 billion in offshore loans, according to a report from the Economic Times. The capital raised will be used to fund the purchase of 5G network equipment from Ericsson. 

“BNP Paribas will provide $1.9–2 billion over a nine-month period during the course of which Jio will be paying back Ericsson, BNP, and some other banks,” noted an anonymous source. 

As part of the deal, Swedish export credit firm EKN has provided Jio with a cover of $2.2 billion, protecting the deal’s stakeholders from potential risks. 

The report did not mention the specific amounts that Jio will pay back to Ericsson, BNP, and others involved in the loan deal. 

Jio announced they had partnered with Ericsson for 5G RAN equipment in October last year. 

“We are delighted to partner with Ericsson for Jio’s 5G SA rollout. Jio transformed the digital landscape in India with the launch of LTE services in 2016,” said Akash Ambani, Reliance Jio’s Chairman in a press release last year. 

“We are confident that Jio’s 5G network will accelerate India’s digitalization and will serve as the foundation for achieving our nation’s ‘Digital India’ vision.” 

It should be noted, that Jio is also working with two of Ericsson’s rivals, Nokia and Samsung, when it comes to 5G equipment. The company signed a $1.5 billion 5G equipment deal with Nokia earlier this year, which was financed by several global banks, including HSBC, Citigroup, and JP Morgan. More recently, Reliance Industries issued a letter of guarantee to Samsung India worth roughly $932 million, aiming to support Jio in the procurement of 5G equipment.   

Jio’s aim to achieve nationwide standalone 5G coverage by the end of the year, which Ambani claims will be the fastest ever mass 5G rollout anywhere in the world.  

Indeed, the company is already making rapid 5G progress, recently noting it had topped 50 million 5G subscribers just nine months after the service’s commercial launch. 

How is the 5G Standalone market evolving in 2023? Find out at this year’s Total Telecom Congress, live from Amsterdam, 21-22 November 2023  

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