Mobile Industry Extra: November 2021

Vodafone gets new channel head

Vodafone has appointed Joe Llewellyn, its current head of commercial as its new head of channel. Llewellyn replaces Kathy Quashie who will join Capita in January. 

Three grows partner network to expand business reach

Three Business has reached partnerships with Sprint, Business Mobiles, Yappl (A1 Comms) and Get Connected in a bid to expand its reach. It says the agreements with the resellers will add value to customers and demonstrate its commitment to the channel. 

Deutsche Telekom and Orange create OpenRAN labs

Deutsche Telekom has opened a €17m OpenRAN in Berlin, While Orange has taken the wraps off France's first facility for open radio networking technologies on the outskirts of Paris. Both companies are members of a European operator Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)to develop the technology with Voadone and Telefonica. 

KKR makes Telecom Italia bid

US hedge fund KKR has made a €10.8 billion takeover bid for Telecom Italia (TIM). It is unclear whether the TIM board will support the approach, but noted that KKR was not seeking a hostile approach and wanted the backing of both the firm and the Italian government.

Orange seeks new CEO after Richard convicted

Orange is searching for a new chairman and CEO after Stephane Richard was convicted of fraud in a French court. Richard has been at the helm of the French telco for a decade and denies the allegations made against him. However his resignation has been accepted by the company’s board of directors.