RE: Jeff Bezos’ Amazon in talks to buy Globalstar in satellite push2 Apr 2026 13:32
This seems quite interesting too (and slightly worrying)
BREAKINGVIEWS-Italian tower feud could be mimicked across Europe
13:32 - RSF
By Jennifer Johnson
LONDON, April 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - An Italian feud may signal the end of the cosy relationship between telecom operators and tower companies. Masts were a cash cow for telcos during the low-rate era – with Telefónica, Vodafone and peers selling these assets to specialist infrastructure groups at high valuations before leasing them back. Now, Fastweb and Telecom Italiahave made a radical move to unpick the long-term contracts they signed.
….……
INWIT’s fate may also matter for other tower companies across Europe, such as Cellnex and privately-held Vantage. Once one telco recuts a towers contract, others are likely to follow.
Zegona Communications, which bought Vodafone’s Spanish unit, had considered terminating that group’s contracts with Vantage over cost concerns, according to reports.
Consolidation may weaken the tower companies' hands. Europe’s telecoms groups have been lobbying for more permissive merger rules in Brussels for years in order to shrink costs and share investment. Assuming a wave of dealmaking hits, the tower companies may have to contend with a smaller number of stronger tenants with greater bargaining power, and excess mast capacity.
And if dealmaking rules don’t change, operators may be forced to explore other cost-saving alternatives. Zegona, for example, is talking with Spanish peers MasOrange and Telefónica about combining network infrastructure like antennas and base stations.
That would leave tower companies facing lower growth coupled with less predictable cashflows.
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