• BT unveils sovereign services plan
• Vodacom takes control of Safaricom
• Orange Cyberdefense highlights cyber extortion trends

In today’s industry news roundup: BT boards the digital sovereignty bandwagon; Vodacom splashes more than $2bn to take a majority stake in Kenya’s Safaricom; the number of cyber extortion victims has tripled since 2020, according to Orange’s cybersecurity unit; and much more!

BT Group is to launch a new sovereign data platform aimed at supporting its public sector and business customers, as enterprises demand more resilience “in the face of growing geopolitical instability”. The UK national telco says the “sovereign platform will deliver a pioneering suite of new digital sovereignty services,” but didn’t specify what those services would be, noting only that the platform will “underpin new voice, cloud and AI services” and enable a sovereign option for a range of its existing products in the first half of 2026. Reuters noted that the BT Business platform will store and process customer data within the UK’s borders. BT Business CEO Jon James, who joined BT earlier this year, noted: “Sovereignty isn’t simply a matter of compliance or risk management – it’s key to unleashing the potential of AI and ensuring resilient operations in an increasingly uncertain world. Our pioneering launch reflects BT’s unique position as the digital backbone of the UK, and the only provider with the scale, capabilities and experience to enable true UK sovereign solutions. Organisations are increasingly looking for sovereignty in their services and it’s up to us to make sure we deliver for our customers. That means making sure we’re offering the right sovereign solutions that ensure data and operations remain secure, compliant, resilient and future-proofed.” Data sovereignty is high up on the agenda for businesses due to escalating cyber threats, geopolitics and the impact of regulation. The growth of AI has also driven discussion as operators and hyperscalers debate where to locate their services. Check out the debate on digital sovereignty from TelecomTV’s inaugural Digital Sovereignty Forum, which was held on 3 December in London: The sessions will be available to view on demand in the coming days.

Vodacom has agreed a $2.1bn deal to increase its ownership of Kenyan operator Safaricom, picking up the 15% stake owned by the government of Kenya and another 5% from Vodafone. If approval is granted by regulators in Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa, Vodacom’s shareholding in Safaricom will rise from 35% to 55%. Safaricom CEO, Peter Ndegwa, said: “Vodacom has been a trusted partner in Safaricom’s journey from the very beginning and we welcome their continued commitment and long-term investment in our business.” Vodacom previously acquired a 35% stake in Safaricom directly from Vodafone in 2017. Vodacom Group CEO, Shameel Joosub, said: “This landmark transaction will mark a pivotal step in Vodacom’s journey to accelerate growth and deepen our impact across Africa. Acquiring a controlling stake in Safaricom strengthens our position as a market leader, while at the same time unlocks new opportunities to drive digital and financial inclusion at scale in Kenya and Ethiopia.” This latest move is part of Vodacom’s Vision2030 strategy and could spark further investment. Bloomberg, citing two people familiar with the talks, said Vodacom has explored raising its stake even further, though no final decision has been reached.

The number of cyber extortion victims has tripled since 2020, with more than 19,000 organisations hit worldwide, according to the latest figures from Orange Cyberdefense. The cybersecurity unit of Orange has just published its Security Navigator 2026 report, which includes analysis of more than 139,000 security incidents between October 2024 and September 2025. SMEs account for two-thirds of the companies affected by cyber extortion, with hackers taking particular aim at the supply chain. Other critical sectors being targeted include finance and insurance, which saw a 71% increase, and health and transport, with a 69% and 67% increase respectively in the number of organisations affected. It comes as the motives and backgrounds of those carrying out attacks continue to shift, Orange said. The cyberworld is dividing into geopolitical blocs, with the continuing rise of hacktivists, who are often ideologically aligned with complicit states. Charl van der Walt, head of security research at Orange Cyberdefense, said: “As attackers diversify across geographies and business sizes, what’s clear is that the traditional perception of the ‘supply chain’ as linear is obsolete. In reality, we exist within a dense web of interdependence where a single weakness can enable mass compromise.” But it isn’t all negative, as the increased cyber threat has opened the door to unprecedented global co-operation: Some 74 private organisations, under the aegis of Europol, Interpol and the Five Eyes alliance, worked together, Orange said, leading to a steady increase in arrests (29%), takedowns (17%) and charges (14%).

US regulator the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has given its approval for AT&T’s acquisition of spectrum licences in the 3.45GHz and 700MHz bands from UScellular, a deal valued at just over $1bn and first announced in November 2024, after AT&T wrote to the FCC to say it had effectively ditched its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies as its US telco peers had done previously. AT&T stated: “To bring 5G and fibre to more customers than anyone else, we have realigned our priorities, our budgets and our personnel, and we are positioning our workforce to meet the connectivity needs of all Americans. As part of this operational focus, we have reviewed our policies and relationships with external groups to ensure that they are aligned with our business priorities. The legal landscape governing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and programmes has changed. We have closely followed the recent Executive Orders, Supreme Court rulings, and guidance issued by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and have adjusted our employment and business practices to ensure that they comply with all applicable laws and related requirements, including ending DEI-related policies as described below, not just in name but in substance.” The telco added: “AT&T has always stood for merit-based opportunity, and we are pleased to reaffirm our commitment to equal employment opportunity and nondiscrimination today.” Earlier this year, the FCC approved T-Mobile US acquisitions after the operator ditched its own DEI policies, while the same scenario also played out with Verizon.

Global network security vendor revenues topped $6bn in the third quarter of 2025 and are on track to exceed $26bn for the full year, according to Dell’Oro Group. The research firm noted that sales of cloud-delivered security controls, led by security service edge (SSE) and web application firewalls (WAF), are driving significant growth, while revenues from the sale of traditional hardware firewall appliances grew “at a more measured pace.” Mauricio Sanchez, senior director of enterprise security and networking at Dell’Oro, stated: “The gap between cloud-native agility and legacy hardware has never been starker; while the total market grew 9%, SSE surged 20%, and WAF climbed 12%, proving that the edge is where the modern security budget is actually being spent. We are seeing a clear bifurcation in the market: Traditional firewall appliances are growing in the low single digits as refresh cycles normalise, but the urgent demand for decentralised access and robust application protection is fuelling a massive migration of value to the cloud edge.” 

– The staff, TelecomTV