Split BT and Openreach: £10bn takeover talks with O2 and EE raise competition concerns for Vodafone and TalkTalk November 26, 2014 BT’s biggest rivals voiced competition concerns last night as the former state monopoly continued £10bn takeover talks with the owners of mobile networks O2 and EE. Vodafone and TalkTalk would both call on the regulator to ensure greater separation between BT and its infrastructure arm Openreach, even going so far as to push for the [...]
FTSE closes the day flat as miners weigh on BT and Sky gains – London Report November 25, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index yesterday steadied near a twomonth high, as stronger banking stocks were offset by a fall in mining companies as metals prices weakened. The blue chip FTSE 100 index closed 1.35 points higher, or flat in percentage terms, at 6,731.14 points. The index reached a two-month high last week. Disappointing earnings from [...]
BT share price up as mobile network operators O2 and EE vie for £10bn deal November 24, 2014 British telecoms giant BT is set to play kingmaker as it prepares to buy either O2 or EE to jump-start its push into the consumer mobile market next year. BT yesterday confirmed deal talks with “two UK mobile network operators, of which one is O2”, but cautioned that talks remained “at a highly preliminary stage”. [...]
BT set to shake up the mobile market… again November 24, 2014 A decade after the British firm left mobile, it is back for more In the midst of what one BT insider described yesterday as a “financial mess” in the early 2000s the British telecoms giant spun off its BT Cellnet arm. The move in 2001 was quickly seen as a terrible strategic decision, [...]
As BT prepares to buy O2 or EE, Sky remains sceptical of need for mobile offering November 24, 2014 Pay TV group Sky, recently rebranded from BSkyB, remained unconvinced by the need for a mobile offering yesterday, after its biggest rival BT looked poised to buy either EE or O2 in a £10bn mobile deal. While Sky’s services include TV, broadband and fixed-line telephone in the UK, the £15.3bn group has yet to offer [...]
As BT confirms it’s in talks to buy O2, would a bid for the mobile operator make sense? November 24, 2014 Kester Mann, principal operators analyst at CCS Insight, says Yes. Purchasing a mobile operator like EE or O2 would give a massive shot in the arm to BT’s multi-play ambitions, accelerating plans to offer mobile services without relying on wholesale deals. Given its existing broadband and TV assets, the company could offer a highly potent [...]
BT share price jumps as it confirms it wants to buy O2 back from Telefonica November 24, 2014 Shares in BT had risen 3.6 per cent to 393.9p in mid-afternoon as it confirmed it is in talks with Telefonica to buy its O2 UK mobile business. In a statement to the stock exchange this morning, the company said all discussions are at a "highly preliminary stage", adding that it is "continuing" to develop [...]
Vodafone’s UK broadband plan to counter BT: “If they come harsh on mobile, we will come harsh” November 11, 2014 Vodafone is preparing to take BT head on next year, when it launches broadband and TV offerings in the UK to challenge the former state monopoly’s plan to encroach on its turf with a mobile service. Chief executive Vittorio Colao did not say how Vodafone would price its broadband or TV when it launches in [...]
BT scores key win in battle for Sky Sports November 5, 2014 Britain’s largest pay TV broadcaster BSkyB was left bruised yesterday after a UK court ruled that it must make its flagship sports channels available to its biggest rival, a measure it had resisted for four years. The interim ruling is the latest episode in a four-year legal saga stretching back to an era when Sky [...]
Goal for BT as BSkyB loses sports channel legal battle November 5, 2014 BSkyB will be forced to offer its sports channels to BT's YouView customers after it lost a legal battle with its new rival. The UK Competition Appeals Tribunal ruled today that rules which determine what price Sky must offer its channels at should also cover internet television services. Until now, the broadcaster has resisted providing [...]