- Telefonica SA
- 09 March 2026 10:02:26
Source: Sharecast
Chief executive Marc Mutra told the Financial Times at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week that "if the deal is right, it is the more efficient and effective way" of expanding its fibre networks.
Telefonica is doubling down on the UK as one of its four key markets alongside Spain, Germany and Brazil as part of the executive chair’s effort to refocus the group away from Latin America.
Last month, the company - which owns a 50% stake in Virgin Media O2 - made the first move in the long-expected consolidation of the UK’s "altnet" sector, as it agreed a £2bn deal for broadband rival Netomnia.
The deal will be done through Nexfibre, a fibre broadband joint venture also owned by fellow VMO2 shareholder Liberty Global and InfraVia Capital, which hosts thousands of VMO2 broadband customers on its network. The upgraded Nexfibre will cover 8m UK homes and give VMO2 access to about 20m premises. By comparison, BT’s Openreach covers more than 30m homes, 22m of which have full fibre, the FT said.
Murtra told the FT: "We must help VMO2 to build all the assets and the capacities to offer a best-in-class service in range and in quality. And if BT has the best-in-class service, that is where we need to be."
"This is a marathon, not a sprint, and we are 500 metres into the marathon and we’re exactly where we said we would be," Murtra said, pointing to Telefonica’s recent fourth-quarter results that matched company guidance.
However, the Telefonica boss declined to comment on market speculation that he was in talks for a takeover of rival German telecoms operator 1&1.
Murtra, who has regularly warned that Europe risks being sidelined if the EU does not loosen regulations to support economic growth, gave a stark warning about the influence of AI: "We’ve seen the work of maybe a dozen people, or dozens of people, working for six or seven months being done in a few minutes."