KPN has now reached two-thirds of the Netherlands with fiber, working in tandem with Glaspoort, its fiber joint venture formed with Dutch pensions company APG. This was one of the stats aired by KPN's CEO, Joost Farwerck, as he revealed his company's second-quarter results. Adjusted revenues were up 5.8% year-over-year, to €1.45 billion (US$1.70 billion), while adjusted EBITDAaL (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, after leases) rose 6.4%, to €670 million ($786 million). Service revenues grew in all segments, while a couple of patent settlements during the quarter also helped boost the numbers. KPN raised its full-year outlook for adjusted EBITDAaL to more than €2.63 billion ($3.08 billion) – previously it was less than €2.60 billion ($3.04 billion).
The British government appears to have thrown in its lot with OpenAI, the Microsoft-linked company behind what is possibly the highest-profile AI program, ChatGPT. Indeed, ministers have signed a memorandum of understanding with OpenAI boss Sam Altman, promising to "maintain a world-leading UK AI ecosystem rooted in democratic values." (No sniggering at the back.) Part of the deal could see OpenAI investing in the UK government's AI Growth Zones, which are intended to make it easier to get data centers and other AI-related infrastructure built. OpenAI already has a substantial toehold in British government – ChatGPT underpins several tools in "Humphrey," the AI assistant that is intended to speed up processes in the civil service. (See As AI plans to make us stupid, telco jobs keep disappearing and Eurobites: UK lays down blueprint for safer AI development.)
Total revenues at Austrian operator A1 increased by 4.1% year-over-year in the second quarter, with service revenues benefiting from strong growth in central and eastern Europe. A1's mobile postpaid customer base grew by 11.1% and residential broadband subs were up 4%. CEO Alejandro Plater acknowledged, however, that A1's home market remains "challenging." (See Eurobites: Vodafone, Ericsson and A1 claim 5G SA roaming advance.)
UK converged operator Virgin Media O2 has hooked up with digital payments company Trustly for what it describes as "next-generation direct debit account automation and one-off Pay by Bank payments." The partnership, says VMO2, will enable the operator to streamline payments and sign-up processes.
Vodafone is trumpeting a "Just Ask Once" service for customers tired of talking to a dozen different people when they try to get a problem dealt with satisfactorily. The service, claims Vodafone, will ensure that one person deals with a customer's query from start to finish, until it is resolved. If the issue can't be dealt with straight away, the same Vodafone operative will message the customer with updates until it is solved. Vodafone also promises that if it can't provide the service it promised, customers will able to walk away with no exit fee.
London-headquartered LoopUp has landed a cloud telephony gig with sports brand Puma. The project will replace existing systems – described by LoopUp as a patchwork of local telephony providers and on-premises PBX systems across regions – with a Microsoft Teams-based offering.
Source: https://www.lightreading.com/fttx/eurobites-kpn-spreads-fiber-raises-outlook-after-encouraging-q2
