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Telcos
Eutelsat shares sink after SoftBank offloads stake
Europe’s satellite giant, Eutelsat — often positioned as Europe’s answer to Elon Musk’s Starlink — saw its stock tumble over 5% overnight after reports emerged that Japanese multinational SoftBank had offloaded a large batch of subscription rights. According to a Reuters report, SoftBank sold around 36 million rights, equivalent to roughly 26 million shares and representing about half its stake in the company. Eutelsat owns OneWeb, the satellite internet provider it merged with in 2023 in a push to rival Starlink’s market dominance. But despite the merger, the French group has struggled to match Starlink’s scale: Eutelsat’s fleet numbers just over 600 satellites, compared with Starlink’s more than 6,750. The company’s stock has been on a rollercoaster this year. After soaring more than 600% in March as Europe sought to boost its technological independence following the U.S. decision to scale back military support to Ukraine, Eutelsat’s shares have since fallen by over 70%. To stabilise things, the French government stepped in, and in June, Paris led a €1.35 billion (roughly $1.57 billion) investment round to become Eutelsat’s top shareholder with a stake near 30%. That gave the company access to fresh capi
Telcos
Google fined A$55 million for Aussie telco rort
In a landmark ruling that chips away at the monolithic dominance of Big Tech in Australia, the Federal Court has ordered Google Asia Pacific to cough up $55 million in penalties for anti-competitive deals with telcos Telstra and Optus that hindered rival search engines on Android devices. The Alphabet subsidiary admitted to engaging in anti-competitive conduct, effectively paying for the privilege of acting as the exclusive gatekeeper on millions of Australian handsets. Watchdog officials from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) successfully argued that the Silicon Valley titan secured "understandings" with major carriers Telstra and Optus, ensuring that only its proprietary search engine was pre-installed on Android devices distributed by the telcos. This pecuniary slap-down signals a significant shift in the regulatory landscape, putting digital platforms on notice - that the era of cementing market share through deep-pocketed revenue-sharing deals comes with costly consequences.The strangleholdSpanning a lucrative window between December 2019 and March 2021, the search hegemon leveraged its immense balance sheet to maintain a chokehold on the Android ecosystem. In exchange for a slice of the adve
Telcos
Comcast shares fall after data breach fine
Shares in Comcast Corp fell after the telecommunications and media company was fined US$1.5 million (A$3.32 million) for a data breach. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said the personal information of Comcast’s internet, TV and home security customers was exposed in the data breach affecting Comcast's debt collector, Financial Business and Consumer Solutions (FBCS). The FCC said Comcast stopped using FBCS in 2022, two years before the breach. FBCS filed for bankruptcy before the breach was disclosed in August 2024, according to Reuters. Comcast said it "was not responsible for and has not conceded any wrongdoing in connection with this incident”, Reuters reported in this story. As part of the FCC settlement, Comcast agreed to adopt a compliance plan that includes new vendor oversight practices related to customer privacy and information protection. Comcast Corp (NASDAQ: CMCSA) closed 89 cents (3.25%) lower at $26.46, capitalising the company at US$98.60 billion (A$152.9 billion), on Monday (Tuesday AEDT).
Telcos
Emergency call gets through on wrong number
The day after a national telephone outage that prevented Optus customers from dialling the Triple Zero (000) emergency number, a Brisbane woman using the same network was able to contact police despite calling the wrong number. Optus customer Liesl Taylor dialled 911, the emergency number used in the United States and Canada, by mistake on 19 September, but was still put through to emergency services. She was trying to help a distressed man who approached her on a train, asking if she could call the police, just before she got off on the evening of 19 September this year. A day earlier, about 600 calls to the Triple Zero (000) national emergency services number failed due to a technical fault on the Optus network, resulting in the death of at least four people. Optus, a subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel), apologised for the failure and said the technical failure had been rectified. “I tapped in 911 without even thinking about it and I got straight through,” Taylor told Azzet. “I was tired. I had been up since 5 o’clock in the morning. It wasn’t deliberate thing. I have never had to call Triple Zero before in my life. It was 9.30 pm by then.” She dialled the same number a second time after pol
Telcos
Telco complaints rise amid mobile service issues in Q1
A new report from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman has found an increase in people making compensation claims over the last quarter. The Complaints Data Report also found an increase in mobile complaints, but reported a decrease in service reliability issues from regional Australia. Between July to September, the TIO received a slight increase in complaints, to the tune of 1.1% or a total of 13,547 complaints compared to the previous quarter. The biggest increase out of the top 10 issues reported was in compensation claims, which were up more than 16% from the last quarter. Prolonged outages, confusing information and difficulties getting resolutions with their telco were key reasons that customers were seeking compensation, citing stress and inconvenience as a result. Another complaint category up this quarter was financial hardship, which increased 9.6% compared to the last quarter, and mobile service complaints climbed by 9% from the previous quarter to a total of 5,988 complaints. However, in regional Australia, services seemed to be on the up, as reliability issues were down considerably during this last quarter. Complaints about slow data speeds were down by over 25%, intermittent service or dro

Telcos
'Failure across the board' as telcos breach compliance
Financial hardship complaints to Australia's telecommunications ombudsman have surged 71.9% year-on-year, as four major telcos receive formal government warnings for breaching rules designed to protect struggling customers. Investigations by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found breaches of the Financial Hardship Standard by Optus Mobile, Origin Energy, Skymesh and Swoop Telecommunications. The enforcement action comes as 2.4 million Australian adults experienced financial difficulty or had concerns relating to their telco bill in the past 12 months, yet only 4,388 residential customers had financial hardship arrangements in place.Compliance failures across the boardUnder rules that came into effect in March last year, telcos must include certain information in written communications with customers. Bills, reminder notifications about overdue bills, and communications to identify if a customer is in financial hardship must include information about options for assistance and how to contact their telco for help. Each of the telcos was found to have failed to provide all the required information in at least one of these types of written communications with its customers. “Struggling to pay hou
Telcos
Verizon upgrades guidance after Q2 earnings lift
Verizon Communications has lifted its profit outlook for the 2025 financial year (FY25) after reporting an 8.9% earnings increase for the second quarter (Q2). The American telecommunications company said net income was US$5.12 billion (A$7.87 billion) in the three months ended 30 June 2025 compared with $4.70 billion in the previous corresponding period (pcp). Diluted earnings per share (EPS) rose 8.3% to $1.18 on operating revenue which grew 5.2% to $34.5 billion in Q2. In the half year ended 30 June, net income rose 7.2% to $10.10 billion and diluted EPS grew 7.2% to $2.34 on revenue which increased 3.4% to $67.99 billion. Cash flow from operations totalled $16.8 billion in the first-half, up from $16.6 billion in the pcp. "Verizon's strong second-quarter financial performance reflects our high-quality, industry-leading customer base, our multiple growth paths, the success of our disciplined, segmented approach, and the inherent strength of our company,” Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg said in a press release.Source: VerizonVerizon introduced customer retention promotions as it faces intense competition from AT&T (NYSE: T), T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS), Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Charter (NASDAQ: CHTR). The company,
Telcos
FIRB waves through TPG Telecom asset sale to Vocus Group
TPG Telecom has cleared the final regulatory hurdle to completing the A$5.25 billion (US$3.41 billion) sale of its fixed line infrastructure to Vocus Group with the transaction receiving Australian Government approval. The telecommunications company said Vocus had informed it that the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) had approved the purchase of TPG’s fibre network infrastructure assets and Enterprise, Government and Wholesale (EGW) fixed operations. The company said that the FIRB had advised Vocus that the Government had no objection to the transaction, marking the last regulatory approval needed to complete a deal that will deliver net cash proceeds to TPG of $4.650 billion to $4.750 billion. “Completion of the transaction remains subject to satisfaction of other remaining conditions precedent, including completion of an internal restructure,” TPG said in an ASX announcement. The transaction, which was announced last year, received approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) earlier this year. TPG, whose brands include Vodafone, TPG, iiNet and AAPT, pitched it as an important part of a strategy to simplify its business and accelerate and increase the streamlining of its operating
Telcos
A positive earnings report boosts Vodafone shares
Vodafone Group Plc has unveiled its FY25 preliminary results, showcasing a 2.0% revenue increase to €37.4 billion (A$65.728 billion), despite foreign exchange headwinds. Service revenue climbed 2.8% to €30.8 billion, with organic growth hitting 5.1%. However, adjusted EBITDAaL dipped 0.8% to €10.9 billion, and a €4.5 billion impairment charge resulted in a €0.4 billion operating loss. Shareholders felt the pinch, with the basic loss per share from continuing operations at 15.86 euro cents, a sharp drop from 4.45 euro cents in FY24. Dividends were halved to 4.5 euro cents, reflecting Vodafone’s cautious financial stance.Credit: VodafoneThe telecom giant is restructuring its European footprint with the sale of Vodafone Spain and Italy. A merger with Three UK is on track for H1 2025, while digital services now contribute 10% to Group service revenue. Customer satisfaction is improving, particularly in the UK, and Vodafone expects broad-based momentum across Europe and Africa, with Germany poised for a turnaround. Earnings per share took a hit due to impairment losses and tax expenses, but adjusted basic earnings per share rose to 7.87 euro cents, up from 7.47 euro cents in FY24, thanks to lower financing costs.