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Tom Rebbeck

@tomrebbeck.bsky.social
203 followers 272 following 193 posts

Partner, Analysys Mason, focused on telecoms services.

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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Not sure where to start with this. "most of the work economists have put in to explain Britain’s productivity puzzle over the past 15 years was wasted." "statisticians didn't realise that when people do not answer the telephone.. they might well be on holiday." giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
Why your holiday is good news for the UK
For once we should thank the Office for National Statistics for its productivity reporting
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Interesting point in WSJ article on phone prices - basically, the lack of transparency means it is easier for mobile operators to hide higher prices in new contract plans.
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
SpaceX's figures for Q2 show continued growth in connectivity, but nothing too surprising from a quick read. AI grew a lot in the quarter (from $800m to $2.6bn). Not a surprise given the various announcements, but it means that connectivity is a smaller share of total revenue (55% vs 69% in Q1)
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Fun times. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
Xavier Niel becomes largest Vodafone shareholder
French billionaire purchases stake from Emirati group e& in move to bolster European telecoms businesses
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Satellite, satellite, satellite, satellite. First four telecoms stories on the WSJ today.
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
“Investors are now demanding a yield of almost 9 per cent to hold the company’s long-dated debt.” Ouch giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Virgin Media O2 bonds slide as broadband rivals squeeze cash flow
giftarticle.ft.com
Virgin Media O2 bonds slide as broadband rivals squeeze cash flow
Telecoms group’s bonds tumble as altnets take market share and investors fret over £2bn Netomnia deal
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Starlink will act rationally to grow revenue + subscribers (but it may not look rational to others). Starlink can cut ARPUs lower (potentially much lower where it has spare capacity), and that could disrupt terrestrial operators. www.analysysmason.com/research/con...
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
"Jio could file a draft prospectus for its expected $4bn IPO with India’s capital markets regulator within days" giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
Mukesh Ambani’s Jio set to file for IPO as hopes grow for end to India’s listings drought
Iran war has hit country’s equity market and disrupted what was positioned to be another record year for flotations
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Apropos of nothing: “In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine” Benjamin Graham.
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Neither Vodafone UK or EE have any basic non-smartphones on sale (from a quick look at their sites). Seems odd to me; lots of parents don’t want a smartphone for their kids. Why don’t they offer this? Not enough demand? Something else?
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Not much of a surprise - I suspect this all comes down to price as the fit is obvious. I wonder if it is actually VodafoneThree bidding, or Vodafone Group. Presumably simpler for Group rather than through the unwinding JV. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
VodafoneThree bids for TalkTalk consumer business
Acquisition would help UK’s largest mobile operator fulfil ambition to double its broadband business
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Goldman Sachs expects SpaceX’s AI revenue to increase 100-fold by 2030 “Goldman is expecting SpaceX’s revenue from its Starlink satellite internet service to be $144bn in 2030” So bigger than Verizon in 4 years time. Hmm. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
Goldman Sachs expects SpaceX’s AI revenue to increase 100-fold by 2030
Projections by Wall Street bank underpin the $1.78tn valuation group is pitching in IPO
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Went camping this weekend, same place as in 2025. Last year, there was no coverage. This year I got 2 bars. The D2D opportunity is shrinking fast.
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
I saw a kid in the park yesterday wearing a MAGA hat and a PSG shirt. Not convinced it is the right look for London right now.
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
Vodafone to take full control of UK mobile operator in £4.3bn deal
CK Hutchison’s decision to sell 49% stake is latest in series of Hong Kong conglomerate’s asset disposals
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
You Have No Idea How Much You Still Use BlackBerry www.wsj.com/tech/blackbe...
wsj.com
You Have No Idea How Much You Still Use BlackBerry
Once left for dead, the company is making money again with hidden software in 275 million cars. You use it every day without knowing it.
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Slightly intrigued by the aim of the O2 Satellite ad campaign. TV + billboard ads (so not cheap), but service is only on 3 handsets (cheapest is £600). Must be purely about a hoped-for halo effect. What am I missing?
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Big jump in Gamma share price: up 20%+ in the past few days. It confirmed yesterday that it was in preliminary discussions with "a number of interested counterparties"
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
AI chatbots might be nudging people away from the most extreme views. The shape of the curves is almost identical for all of the AI engines. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
VMO2 or Community Fibre: which has the highest fixed broadband take-up rate? I'll post answer later (or you can find it here). www.analysysmason.com/research/con...
analysysmason.com
Large operators should not be complacent about Digi's entry into the UK market
Promising underlying conditions mean that Digi’s acquisition of Whyfibre deserves closer attention than its small scale might initially suggest.
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Digi buys stake in UK fibre company. Potentially very significant. /https://www.digi-communications.ro/en/see-file/DIGI_Current_Report-Acquisition-shareholding-in-Whyfibre-UK.pdf
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Poste Italiane launches €10.8bn bid for Telecom Italia giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Poste Italiane launches €10.8bn bid for Telecom Italia
giftarticle.ft.com
Poste Italiane launches €10.8bn bid for Telecom Italia
Italy’s state-controlled postal service is hoping to become a key player in Italian and Brazilian telecoms markets
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
I saw this Tensor and a Wayve on my ride to work this morning. No Waymo though, so no full house.
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Reposted by Tom Rebbeck
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 13/03/2026
High court claimant was fed answers through his smart glasses, judge finds
theguardian.com
High court claimant was fed answers through his smart glasses, judge finds
Witness statements by Laimonas Jakštys ‘were clearly prepared by others’, insolvency judge rules A claimant was being fed answers through his smart glasses while giving evidence in the high court in London, a judge has found. Laimonas Jakštys was “untruthful in denying his use of the smart glasses” and his witness statements “were clearly prepared by others”, the insolvency judge Raquel Agnello KC ruled. Continue reading...
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Well, it's one way to accelerate AI adoption. FCC "proposed new rules that could require phone, internet & cable companies to disclose an agent’s location, cap the share of such calls with overseas agents & give consumers the option to be served by a U.S.-based agent." www.wsj.com/business/tel...
wsj.com
The FCC Wants Your Next Customer Service Agent to Be in the U.S.
The federal agency is floating a set of rules requiring companies to offer U.S.-based representatives and cap the volume of calls handled overseas.
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
I’m not sure, but I suspect Starmer couldn’t quite match this.
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Interesting long read on the SpaceX IPO. "SpaceX is an extraordinary success story, but a great company and a well-structured IPO are not the same thing." giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
SpaceX: the final frontier of IPOs
Can Elon Musk’s moonshot deliver the mooted $1.75tn valuation?
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Ziff Davis sold Ookla and other assets for $1.2bn. Before the deal, Ziff Davis's market cap was $1.05bn. Someone did very well out of this deal. www.wsj.com/business/tel...
wsj.com
Ziff Davis to Sell Connectivity Division to Accenture for $1.2 Billion
The company said that the division, which includes Ookla’s Speedtest, Ekahau, Downdetector and RootMetrics brands, generated $231 million in revenue last year.
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Is Orange being realistic about competition? Or complacent? Short piece on the premium vs low-cost debate. www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-pr...
linkedin.com
How premium is premium?
How big is the premium segment — and how much more can operators really charge for it? Orange held its capital markets day in mid‑February 2026. The session was well received: JP Morgan even described...
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Bit late, but catching up on Orange's capital markets day. They were asked about competition in Spain. Low-cost players were dismissed "They are addressing a segment that in terms of revenue is probably not higher than 10-15%" Digi "has a revenue share of probably not more than 5% in the country"
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Watching (or trying to) the Orange Capital markets day. Lots of discussion about the quality of their services, and yet the video keeps glitching. Not the best look. (I don't think it is my internet - everything else works fine)
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
I've not heard any discussion of telecoms as a HALO stock, but telecoms (at least, telecoms networks/wholesale) has a lot of its characteristics: asset-heavy, low obsolescence (hard to replace with code), high barriers to entry, and providing an essential function www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
wsj.com
Wall Street’s Latest Bet Is on ‘HALO’ Companies With AI Immunity
Deere and McDonald’s have become darlings to investors worried about broad AI disruption.
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Interesting that this has been developed with StarHub. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... English Premier League to launch streaming service in international shake-up
giftarticle.ft.com
English Premier League to launch streaming service in international shake-up
Online platform will be available in Singapore next season and could be rolled out to other overseas markets
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
O2 Satellite will work with a curious mix of services. Lots of weather apps. And does anyone still use Yahoo Mail?
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Pile ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap. Digi’s quarterly investor calls always worth a listen. When asked about prices in Portugal: “We have no intention to do any price increases...becoming profitable is just a matter of volume. It is not a matter of price.” Words that will thrill its competitors.
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Is the telecoms sector losing its religion? This and other topics discussed in this podcast on Analysys Mason research priorities for 2026. analysysmason.podbean.com/e/analysys-m...
analysysmason.podbean.com
Analysys Mason’s research topics for 2026 | Analysys Mason Podcast
In this podcast, Research Partners Caroline Gabriel, Chris Baugh and Tom Rebbeck discuss the key topics that we will cover in our research in 2026. They explore spectrum, AI and why the telecoms indus...
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
The European Commission wants European Champions in the telco sector. Liberty Global, meanwhile, plans to move in the opposite direction and spin Ziggo out from the group. www.libertyglobal.com/wp-content/u...
libertyglobal.com
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
“promotion to leadership positions would require “regular adoption” of AI” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Accenture combats AI refuseniks by linking promotions to log-ins
giftarticle.ft.com
Accenture combats AI refuseniks by linking promotions to log-ins
Consulting firms use ‘carrot and stick’ with some senior staff less willing to use technology than junior colleagues
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Fascinating article. In 1914, the FT had a competition for readers to see who could guess the map of future Europe. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... The FT contest that challenged readers to redraw Europe’s borders
giftarticle.ft.com
The FT contest that challenged readers to redraw Europe’s borders
The extraordinary story of when, two months into the bloody Great War, the newspaper launched an unusual competition
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Reshuffle at BT. Clive Selley, Openreach boss, given control of BT International while his deputy at Openreach, Kate Mulligan, steps up to CEO role. Possibly a sign that BT wants more of the same at Openreach, while more changes to come for International. newsroom.bt.com/bt-group-ann...
newsroom.bt.com
BT Group announces leadership succession within Openreach and BT International
BT Group today announces leadership succession within Openreach and BT International.  Katie Milligan, currently Deputy CEO of Openreach, will become CEO, Openreach on 01 April 2026. She succeeds Cliv...
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
"In the mid-1990s American firms kept about 30% of their software investment in-house; the figure today is half that" www.economist.com/business/202...
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
“this incident has seriously damaged the credibility of KDDI", according to CEO. Which seems to be putting it mildly. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
Japan’s KDDI finds up to $1.5bn in fictitious revenues
Telecoms group postpones third-quarter results amid probe into ‘suspicions regarding inappropriate transactions’
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
“We just don’t have the people to do the work” www.wsj.com/business/tel...
wsj.com
High-Speed Internet Boom Hits Low-Tech Snag: a Labor Shortage
There aren’t enough linemen and other skilled workers to lay all the fiber-optic cable needed to achieve nationwide broadband internet.
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
"its junior bonds are trading at just 24 cents on the euro." Reading this, 24 cents still sounds pretty high to me. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
Patrick Drahi shifts assets worth billions away from creditors
New filings reveal the full extent to which the tycoon has weakened the position of lenders to his telecoms business
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
"There are now more members of Liz Truss’s cabinet in Reform than on Kemi Badenoch’s front bench" www.independent.co.uk/voices/conse...
independent.co.uk
Reform UK is filling up nicely with all the ‘wrong’ Tories
There are now more members of Liz Truss’s cabinet in Reform than on Kemi Badenoch’s front bench, says Julian Glover
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
"Yet here he was: from bored of peace to board of peace in five days. Forget the road to Damascus; true conversions happen on the jet to Davos." Good piece from @henrymance.ft.com giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
From bored of peace to the Board of Peace
Forget the road to Damascus; Trump’s conversion has happened on the jet to Davos
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Long, recorded presentation on the state of the telecoms market. Most customers have (or soon will) all of the fixed and mobile they need. What do operators do next? www.analysysmason.com/research/con...
analysysmason.com
What to give the consumer who has everything
What can an operator sell to a consumer who already has all that they need? This presentation explores the options.
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Mobile customers like large data plans, but not unlimited plans. We've seen this result in previous years and it isn't changing - I suspect customers feel they pay more for something they don't need . Hard to reverse move to unlimited where it's the default, but that's not the case everywhere.
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
After years of going sideways, shares in European telcos did well in 2025. Most are seeing slight increases in revenue and profits, and may face reduced competition. Interesting too to see how well Digi is doing - presumably as investors think it will increase competition (and do well).
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Tom Rebbeck @tomrebbeck.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Hard to see this ending well: "creditors have been left with about €300mn of earnings underpinning their €8bn of debt" giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
Billionaire Patrick Drahi comes out fighting as creditors fall through ‘trap doors’
Lenders to Franco-Israeli tycoon’s Altice empire are guessing his next move after falling victim to an aggressive restructuring
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