Digest of September 12, 2025

15.09.25 22:29 - By cmaitre

Business / Market Moves

SpaceX acquires EchoStar spectrum in $17B deal: SpaceX has agreed to purchase EchoStar’s wireless spectrum rights for up to $17 billion (half in cash, half in stock + assumption of interest), to deepen its push into mobile connectivity and bolster its Direct‑to‑Cell / satellite‑cell hybrid offerings.
Telefonica targets major divestments to fund European M&A: Under CEO Marc Murtra, Telefónica plans to sell its Latin American assets (e.g. Argentina, Uruguay, others) to raise ~€3.6B, intending to reinvest in strategic European and Brazilian telecom assets; also advocating for looser EU rules on telecom consolidation.

Capex stabilisation after two years of decline: Telecom capex, after a prolonged drop, is showing signs of stabilising according to Dell’Oro; this suggests investment floor has been reached and may set the stage for renewed infrastructure growth.
Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) gaining strength in key markets: Spending and deployment around FWA are accelerating, indicating operators are increasingly using FWA to extend broadband reach especially where fiber deployment is cost‑challenged.

Ofcom affirms Openreach compliance under oversight: The UK regulator Ofcom has indicated that Openreach (part of BT) is playing by the rules in its regulated activities following scrutiny; this supports stability in the fixed‑line / broadband regulatory regime.

Ericsson upgrades its NetCloud offering with agentic AI: Ericsson has enhanced its enterprise wireless WAN (WWAN) management product “NetCloud” with more advanced, agent‑based AI capabilities, aligning with broader trends of embedding AI deeper in network operations.
Oracle emerges as a major AI infrastructure player in telecom ecosystems: Recent analysis suggests Oracle is increasingly being viewed (and behaving) not just as a software/database firm, but as a key infrastructure provider in AI‑driven telecom and cloud deployments.