Eurobites: Álvarez-Pallete out at Telefónica after boardroom coupEurobites: Álvarez-Pallete out at Telefónica after boardroom coup

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Telia appoints new head of Finnish business; AI skills gap emerging across Europe, says Vodafone; data center questions prompt blank looks in UK.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

January 20, 2025

3 Min Read
Telefonica office building in Spain
(Source: Kristoffer Tripplaar/Alam Stock Photo)

In what was clearly a lively weekend in Madrid, Telefónica has ousted its chairman and CEO, José María Álvarez-Pallete, replacing him with Marc Murtra, who until now was boss of Indra, a (much smaller) Spanish defense and technology firm. The move is being interpreted by several media outlets as an attempt by the Spanish state – which already owns 10% of Telefónica – to gain greater control of the telecom giant. The Financial Times, however, suggests (paywall applies) that Álvarez-Pallete's heave-ho was in effect prompted by Saudi telco STC's decision to buy a 9.9% stake in Telefónica in 2023.

Holger Haljand to head up Telia Finland

In other boardroom high jinks, Nordic operator Telia has appointed Holger Haljand as the new head of its Finnish unit, replacing Heli Partanen, who is leaving the company. Haljand is currently head of Telia Estonia: Andre Visse, CTO of Telia Estonia, will be acting head of Telia Estonia until a permanent successor to Haljand is found.

Is AI exacerbating the digital skills gap?

A Vodafone-backed study has identified what it describes as an "AI skills gap" across Europe, with 27% of children feeling left behind when it came to using the technology at school – and those from lower-income families most likely to struggle to keep up. Three-quarters of the children asked in the study believe that AI would play a significant role in their working lives, but less than half of them feel adequately prepared by their schools to engage with the increasingly ubiquitous technology. The worry is that, far from being the great enabler, AI could actually exacerbate inequality in digital skills if the way it is used in schools does not improve. Seven thousand children aged 12-17 were surveyed by Ipsos across seven European countries for the study.

Data centers? Never 'eard of 'em

In other startling survey news, more than two-thirds of UK consumers say they don't know what data centers are, with more than half claiming to have never even heard of the term. The research was carried out by Censuswide on behalf of data center company Telehouse.

Freshwave supplies robot 5G

Freshwave has installed a 5G private network at Scotland's National Robotarium, a center for AI and robotics based in Edinburgh. It is hoped that the network will make the center better able to undertake commercial projects. The first robot to be tested on the network is Spot, a quadruped wireless robot from Boston Dynamics that is being put though its paces by the center for an agritech customer.

Openreach's copper hitlist extended

Openreach, the semi-autonomous network access arm of Openreach, has announced another 163 new exchange locations where it's halting the sale of traditional copper-based phone and broadband services to encourage people to upgrade to new digital services over a full-fiber connection. Communications service providers that use the Openreach network, such as BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone, are being given a year's notice that Openreach will no longer be selling legacy analog products and services where full fiber becomes available to a majority (greater than 75%) of premises in these new exchange locations.

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About the Author

Paul Rainford

Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

Paul is based on the Isle of Wight, a rocky outcrop off the English coast that is home only to a colony of technology journalists and several thousand puffins.

He has worked as a writer and copy editor since the age of William Caxton, covering the design industry, D-list celebs, tourism and much, much more.

During the noughties Paul took time out from his page proofs and marker pens to run a small hotel with his other half in the wilds of Exmoor. There he developed a range of skills including carrying cooked breakfasts, lying to unwanted guests and stopping leaks with old towels.

Now back, slightly befuddled, in the world of online journalism, Paul is thoroughly engaged with the modern world, regularly firing up his VHS video recorder and accidentally sending text messages to strangers using a chipped Nokia feature phone.

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