Eurobites: Lack of 5G SA putting brakes on small business, claims Vodafone report

A new report from Vodafone claims that small businesses in the UK could be missing out on up to £8.6 billion (US$10.8 billion) a year in productivity savings due to the slow rollout of 5G standalone (5G SA). As an example, the report cites the case of agriculture, where it says that the use of 5G SA for activities such as real-time data monitoring and AI-based forecasting could help those laboring in the industry save on average at least 6% of their working hours. Lurking in the background of this report, of course, is Vodafone's desire to push through its proposed merger with Three, a deal that would allow Vodafone to rollout a nationwide 5G SA network. Indeed, the report posits that a merger with Three would lift Vodafone from fifth to second place in a "European Index" that compares and ranks the competitiveness of each country’s 5G offerings for small businesses across 17 countries.

South Africa's MTN has warned that its profits for the full year ended December 31, 2023, could fall by up to 80% year-over-year due to a huge devaluation in the Nigerian naira, which hit its business there. In a statement, MTN maintained that the company still recorded a "solid underlying operational performance."

UK broadcaster ITV has sold its 50% stake in streaming service BritBox to the BBC, its partner in the joint venture, for £255 million ($322 million). ITV says that the sale reflects its "strategy of focusing on supercharging its UK advertiser-funded streaming service, ITVX and growing its global Studios division." Under the terms of the deal, ITV will continue to receive a revenue stream from BritBox similar to current levels for the use of ITV content under new licensing agreements.

Spanish towerco Cellnex saw full-year adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) rise 14%, to €3 billion ($3.24 billion), on revenue that climbed 15%, to €3.66 billion ($3.96 billion). In November, Cellnex closed a deal with Stonepeak for the sale of a 49% stake in Cellnex Sweden and Cellnex Denmark for €730 million ($790 million), and has also agreed to sell its private networks business to Boldyn Networks. Other deals may be in the pipeline, hints CEO Marco Patuano, who coyly tells investors that there "will be more to share in a few days."

Virgin Media is to start offering the ad-supported DAZN Women's Football channel on its pay-TV platform – the first UK pay-TV provider to do so. It will be available to Virgin TV customers via their set-top box at no extra cost. The channel offers live coverage of the UEFA Women's Champions League, which features a number of UK-based stars such as Bayern Munich's Georgia Stanway.

Several digital banks in South Africa have gone live on Eutelsat OneWeb's low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite service, bringing additional operational and customer-facing capabilities. Access to the new connectivity is being provided by Q-KON, which incorporated OneWeb satellites into its Twoobii Smart Satellite Services product offering.

A new "social rate" for telecom services has taken effect in Belgium after an agreement was reached between operators and the government. Following the new guidelines, incumbent operator Proximus has introduced a 30Mbit/s broadband package for €19 ($20.56) per month and a TV bundle for €40 ($43.28) per month.