• Sovereign trend drives DT’s formation of T Cloud unit
• Virgin Media O2 to splash £343m on additional spectrum
• AIS and True hail success in Thai spectrum auction

In today’s industry news roundup: Deutsche Telekom consolidates its cloud services offerings under a single leader and brand to better meet ‘sovereign cloud’ demand; Virgin Media O2 is to acquire spectrum from Vodafone to boost capacity, speeds and coverage in the UK; Thai operators splash $1.27bn on new spectrum licences; and much more!

Deutsche Telekom has grouped its cloud services as one operation, T Cloud, under the leadership of Lars Neumann, who brings together the offers of T-Systems, the telco’s B2B division and Telekom Deutschland, its domestic operation. At the heart of the move is one of the growing trends in telecom, AI and IT services – sovereign services. “Regardless of whether they are SMEs or large companies, business customers can put together their own customised cloud offering from a comprehensive portfolio of solutions – at different levels of sovereignty,” noted the telco in this announcement. “The Bonn-based company is thus responding to the growing call for sovereign solutions in Europe. T Cloud combines all cloud offerings – whether public cloud or private cloud – and thus guarantees a multicloud approach from a single source with the desired level of functionality and sovereignty. Customers benefit from simplified access as well as secure, scalable and stable solutions from a European source in accordance with European law,” added DT. In a LinkedIn post, Neumann, who has been Telekom Deutschland’s senior VP of business solutions since February 2022, noted: “Why is this more important than ever? In a world shaped by geopolitical challenges, digital sovereignty is becoming a top priority. Companies are looking for secure, trustworthy and high-performance cloud solutions – ‘Made in Germany’. With T Cloud, that’s exactly what we deliver: Security, transparency, and innovation – all brought together in a clear go-to-market approach and powering the potential of Europe’s best Deutsche Telekom network. I’m truly excited to take on the role of Tribe Lead [at] T Cloud starting 1 July 2025, and to shape the future of cloud at Telekom alongside fantastic colleagues – for our customers, for Europe, and for digital sovereignty.”

UK operator Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) is spending £343m to acquire 78.8 MHz of spectrum from Vodafone UK following the recent completion of the latter’s merger with Three UK and in line with an agreement struck almost a year ago. The acquisition, which is in addition to VMO2’s annual £2bn investment in its networks and services, will boost the quality of the cellular services that VMO2, (with 24 million mobile connections) provides to consumers, businesses and its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) customers. The acquisition will be partially funded by the previously announced sale of a stake in UK mobile tower joint venture Cornerstone, with payments being made this year and beyond and the spectrum deployed by VMO2 “over the medium term, starting this year”. The move will bring VMO2’s total mobile spectrum share to about 30%, “ensuring the UK has three scaled mobile network operators with a greater balance in terms of spectrum holdings,” noted the operator in this announcement. It added: “The transfer of spectrum reduces the previous imbalances in spectrum between mobile network operators in the UK, enhancing competition and allowing Virgin Media O2 to provide increased capacity, speeds and greater coverage for its customers.” VMO2’s CEO Lutz Schüler noted that the deal will enable the operator “to boost coverage and further improve our network quality, building on the significant investment we are already making in our mobile network. We’re committed to giving our customers a reliable mobile experience across the country and this increase in spectrum will help us deliver on that.” And not before time… VMO2’s mobile customers will know only too well that the operator’s services are often sub-par, especially in key areas like the centre of London. 

Still in the spectrum world… Thailand’s AIS and True Corp picked up useful spectrum in an auction held on 29 June. Advanced Wireless Network, a subsidiary of AIS, picked up three blocks in the 2100 MHz band for 14.85bn baht ($456m), while True landed seven blocks in the 2300 MHz band for 21.77bn baht ($669m) and four blocks in the 1500MHz band for 4.65bn baht ($143m). In total, the auction raised 41.27bn baht ($1.27bn). The auction process was attended by AIS CEO Somchai Lertsutiwong and Sigve Brekke, the former group CEO of Telenor who earlier this year was appointed as executive chairman of the Telecom and Digital Business Group at Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group) which, along with Telenor, is the main shareholder in True. 

Vodafone Group and low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite operator AST SpaceMobile are to base the headquarters of their satellite-to-smartphone wholesale services company, unveiled in early March, in Luxembourg (often a location favoured by companies seeking an optimum tax regime) in order to – and here’s that word again – create a “European sovereign integrated satellite service”. Vodafone notes that the joint venture, still referred to as SatCo, “has generated expressions of interest from network operators in 21 EU member states, as well as in other European markets.” Commercial services are expected to begin in 2026. Margherita Della Valle, CEO of Vodafone, said: “This is an important initiative for Europe. Our service will ensure all European citizens, businesses and governments enjoy uninterrupted, ubiquitous mobile broadband connectivity across the whole continent. Europe can take the lead in new direct-to-device mobile broadband technology.” SatCo will deploy a network of earth stations that integrate with operators of existing 4G/5G terrestrial networks, providing secure backhaul links, as well as extended coverage across Europe from the AST SpaceMobile satellite constellation, enabling “users to switch automatically between space and land-based networks,” noted Vodafone in this announcement.

– The staff, TelecomTV