Oi bankruptcy will leave three primary operators in Brazil
1. The Brexit vote has wiped out billions of dollars of market value for British companies, including wireless carriers. Shares of Vodafone, BT Group, which owns EE, and CKH Holdings, (which owns Three), all sold off sharply this morning. Shares of Telefónica, which owns O2, were less impacted by Brexit, with some selling probably offset by news that Telefónica has an opportunity to gain share in Brazil due to the Oi bankruptcy.
Vodafone CEO Vittorio Calao has suggested that the company could move its headquarters out of the U.K. if Brexit leads to restrictions on the movement of capital and people in Europe. He said that the U.K. is well-positioned in the emerging digital economy and will lose a huge opportunity by leaving the European Union.
2. Oi, Brazil’s fourth-largest mobile operator, has filed for bankruptcy protection as the country prepares to host the 2016 Olympic Games. Oi’s exit from the market would leave Telefónica’s Vivo, Telecom Italia’s TIM, and Carlos Slim’s América Móvil as the dominant mobile service providers in the country. Earlier this year, Telecom Italia reportedly expressed interest in a merger of TIM and Oi, but the Italian carrier denied reports that it was in talks with the Brazilian carrier. Oi sought bankruptcy protection after trying unsuccessfully to restructure $19 billion in debt.
3. SBA Communications is refinancing more than $500 million of debt due next year with a new $700 million bond offering. Secured by tower revenue, the new securities will carry a 2.8% interest rate, producing interest expense savings for SBAC of approximately $4 million in 2016 and $8 million annually thereafter, according to analyst Simon Leopold of Raymond James. The news helped boost shares of SBAC more than 4% on Thursday.
4. The California Assembly decided not to vote on a bill that would have enabled wireless carriers and their agents to pull fewer permits when deploying small cells. Sponsor Mike Gatto is unlikely to reintroduce the legislation. California Assembly Bill 2788 would have required cities to issue building or administrative permits within 60 days, and would have eliminated most government reviews that are based on aesthetic concerns. The bill also would have prohibited a city or county from blocking the leasing or licensing of government-owned sites to telecom companies, except in certain situations.
5. Cambium Networks said it has launched the first commercially available massive multi-user, multiple-input multiple-output platform for fixed wireless broadband. The solution uses a 14×14 integrated antenna array and supports both 802.11ac Wave 2 Wi-Fi and the LTE-A planned implementation of 8×8 MIMO. Cambium said the platform can support up to seven simultaneous carrier chains.
