I asked John Strand, of Strand Consult, on the Good, Bad and Ugly Telco Podcast after I read his Research Note on the misinformed (and it turned out predictable outcome) takeover of TDC seven years ago. To give some context to this, TDC was the well capitalised incumbent operator with over a century of service, and it is now facing an uncertain future.

To quote John’s Research Note

In a significant development, three prominent Danish pension funds ATP, PFA, and PKA are divesting their 50% stakes in TDC to Macquarie[their partner], marking the culmination of a troubled seven-year partnership. This research note examines the flawed strategy behind the 2018 acquisition, the subsequent financial deterioration, and the lessons for the telecommunications sector. Strand Consult’s assessment of the flawed deal from 2018 is validated.

John is a very clear thinker and speaker, and he related the full story very well. It’s even more shocking as he clearly predicted what the outcome would be.

The focus on Financial Engineering, as opposed to Customer Innovation and Marketing, ultimately means that the that many billions of Kroner have been written off.

You can find the full Research Note here:

https://strandconsult.dk/the-three-danish-pension-funds-atp-pfa-and-pka-sell-their-share-of-tdc-to-macquarie-at-a-big-loss-what-went-wrong-and-whats-ahead/

John can be contacted via his website or via LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/strand-consult/

If you have an interesting topic or story you’d like to talk about on the Good, Bad and Ugly Podcast in the areas of Innovation, Product Marketing, Market Trends, contact me via LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paddyflynn/

We were delighted to talk to our good friends Luke and Deryck in this Telco Industry Review Special

Luke Kehoe is a well-known Industry Analyst with Ookla, he provides very insightful and data based reporting on the state of the Telco, Mobile and Fixed, and the implications for the future of the industry.

Deryck Fay is an experienced Requirements Guru, Product Owner, Agile Transformer and author ‘Connecting A Nation’ which relates the story of the growth of the Telco Industry in Ireland over 160 years and significantly the story of the first Trans-Atlantic cables in the late 1800’s.

In a lively and wide ranging discussion we cover all topics from the current slowdown in Data growth to the future markets that will bring growth and new players.

Enjoy this one hour special that is available here on Audio and on Video on YouTube at:

https://www.youtube.com/@GoodBadandUglyTelecomsInno-h4t

Thanks to Luke and Deryck for being great guest and analysing the biggest issues in Telecoms today.

Luke Kehoe can be contacted at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-kehoe/

Deryck Fay can be contacted at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/deryckfay/

Producer - Pat Flynn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paddyflynn/

The Good, Bad and Ugly Theme (less than 30 seconds) was composed by the great Ennio Morricone

Music credits to the relevant artist and composers.

We were delighted to talk to our good friend Dr Roslyn Layton talking about how we can ensure that the Mobile and Broadband Industries become attractive for investment. We are in the sorry state where the long-term Capital Return in the Mobile and Broadband industries are effectively zero or negative.

In comparison the Big Tech Industries who are the main users of these Networks have returns up to 9,000% in the long term. And they are resisting any change in the Telecoms Business Model, a model designed for different times.

The Regulatory environment for Mobile and Broadband companies in Europe is not supportive, mergers and shared costs are being resisted by Regulators. Europe is missing between €50 to €200 Billion in under-investment in its networks today.

Roslyn argues that we need flexible two-sided business models where the Consumer of the Data and the Originator of the Data contribute to the Investment in the Network. Fixing this issue is also one of the most Humanitarian things we can do for developing and poorer markets.

Thanks to Roslyn for being a great guest and analyzing the biggest issue and most important issue in Telecoms today.

Roslyn can be contacted via:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/roslynlayton/

Producer - Pat Flynn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paddyflynn/

Music credits to the relevant artist and composers.