Telco Chatter May 28: SFR MoU, BT ownership, EU Huawei ban, PROX/Unifiber

Research evidence excerpt

Telco Chatter May 28: SFR MoU, BT ownership, EU Huawei ban, PROX/Unifiber

iation from Beijing, and could make the

bloc's AI infrastructure build-out more expensive. The Commission has labelled Huawei

and ZTE as "high-risk suppliers" for telecom networks and is pushing for stronger oversight

via a revision to its Cybersecurity Act, which would expand cybersecurity assessments to

include risks of foreign state influence and dependency on particular suppliers, and would

make the Commission's recommendations legally binding across the EU. The Commission

has estimated that mobile companies will need to spend €3.4-4.3bn over three years to

replace the technology. A representative for Spain stated that the country supports the act's

revision but "believes that member states must continue having an adequate participation in

the decision process regarding whether a country, supplier or products present certain

structural risks." German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said on Wednesday that the

EU should ensure any measures applied on Chinese trade do not harm the bloc's exports to

China. (Source: Bloomberg)

Proximus – Acquires Eurofiber stake in Unifiber and updates outlook

Proximus has reached an agreement with Eurofiber to acquire its 50.01% stake in Unifiber,

a JV rolling out FTTH in Wallonia, in a transaction valuing the stake at €75m and implying

an EV of ~€560m. Unifiber will continue to serve FTTH wholesale customers within an

open network set-up, having completed the most capex intensive phase across above 300k

living units (~230k qualifying as homes passed). An MoU between Proximus and Orange

Belgium outlines the intended onboarding of Orange Belgium customers. Proximus expects