Page 101 - SAMENA Trends - Oct-Nov 2023

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Balkan States Agree Coordination of 3400MHz-3800MHz Frequencies

The regulatory authorities of six Balkan
states – Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia
and Serbia – have signed an agreement
on the coordination of mobile/fixed
communication networks (MFCN) in the
3400MHz-3800MHz band. The agreement
sets out the principles, technical provisions
and administrative procedures to regulate
the deployment of networks using those
frequencies in border areas with the aim
of maximizing the efficient use of the
spectrum, ensuring equal access to the
airwaves whilst preventing interference.

Zegona Agrees to Buy Vodafone Spain for €5 Billion

Vodafone has announced that it has en- said Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle
tered into a binding agreement with Zegona in a statement. “My priority is to create val-
Communications to sell 100% of Vodafone ue through growth and improved returns.
Spain. Under the terms of the agreement, Following the recently announced transac-
Vodafone will receive €4.1 billion in cash tion in the UK, Spain is the second of our
and €0.9 billion in redeemable preference larger markets in Europe where we are tak-
shares. The news comes after anonymous ing action to improve the Group’s competi-
sources speaking to Bloomberg recently tiveness and growth prospects.” Della Val-
confirmed that the two firms were close to le was made permanent CEO in April, and
inking the deal. Discussions between the since then, the firm has announced numer- said Eamonn O’Hare, Zegona’s Chairman
two parties were reportedly initiated back ous large scale changes to their operations, and CEO, in a company statement. The
in September. “The sale of Vodafone Spain including the merger of Vodafone UK with takeover is expected to close in the first
is a key step in right-sizing our portfolio for Three UK and cutting 11,000 jobs globally. half of next year. The Spanish mobile oper-
growth and will enable us to focus our re- “We are very excited about the opportunity ator market is notoriously competitive, with
sources in markets with sustainable struc- to return to the Spanish telecoms market. Vodafone struggling to hold its own against
tures and sufficient local scale. I would like This financially attractive acquisition marks market leader Movistar alongside Orange
to thank our entire team in Spain for their our third deal in Spain after successful turn- and MasMovil. Della Valle’s predecessor,
dedication to our customers and relentless arounds at Telecable and Euskaltel. With Nick Read, had long hoped that market con-
determination to improve our organic per- our clearly defined strategy and proven solidation would be the answer, which was
formance. However, the market has been track record, we are confident that we can shattered after the merger of Orange and
challenging with structurally low returns,” create significant value for shareholders,” MasMovil was announced last year.

FCC Poised to Increase Minimum Broadband Speed Benchmark to

100Mbps/20Mbps

The Federal Communications Commis- – universal deployment, affordability, adop- the benchmark at 25Mbps/3Mbps in 2015
sion (FCC) has confirmed that it plans to tion, availability and equitable access to and has not updated it since. The NoI also
evaluate the state of broadband across broadband throughout the US. In addition, seeks comment on setting a separate na-
the US, as required by section 706 of the the Notice of Inquiry (NoI) proposes to in- tional goal of 1Gbps/500Mbps for the fu-
Telecommunications Act of 1996. As part crease the national fixed broadband speed ture.
of this inquiry, the watchdog will focus on benchmark to 100Mbps (download) and
the universal service goals of section 706 20Mbps (upload). The FCC previously set

101 OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2023