After months of speculation linking Spanish telecom giant Telefonica to a sale of its Central American operations, in January and February 2019 the group agreed to offload all five of its units in the region. Today we look at the deals in question and evaluate how they’ll impact the competitive landscape in Central America.
It’s been a bruising start to the year for the global MVNO market. A number of virtual operators have been squeezed out of the sector or swallowed up by larger rivals.
But after spending a few days with representatives from the world’s top virtual operators, network operators, vendors, and tech developers at the 18th annual MVNOs World Congress in Amsterdam, I left feeling confident about the health of the MVNO industry.
These highlights should explain why.
Mexican telecom giant America Movil (AM) recently struck an agreement to acquire 100 percent of Nextel Brazil from its co-owners, U.S.-based NII Holdings (70 percent) and AI Brazil Holdings (30 percent). They’ll pay $905 million for the business.
When the deal receives regulatory approval, Nextel will likely merge with AM’s existing Claro business. This will make use of Nextel’s substantial spectrum holdings in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Last month Liberty Latin America (LLA)–a new player formed in 2017 following a split-off from Liberty Global–launched a surprise $7.6 billion takeover bid for LatAm-focused Millicom International Cellular (MIC). LLA was clearly looking to create a regional telecom giant with operations spanning South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
After a week of negotiations, the merger talks were abruptly cancelled. MIC’s management was reportedly unconvinced of the merits of the half-cash, half-stock deal.
As the telecom world prepares to enter the 5G era, our GlobalComms team has been tracking major 5G auctions around the globe. Catch up on all of them here.
Today we’ll look at what’s happening in major markets in the Middle East. We'll explore what’s happening in the Arab States that border the Persian Gulf, with a focus on Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
This month saw the 15th annual MVNOs Europe event take place at the ILEC Conference Centre in London.
I was glad to be there and connect with representatives from some of the region’s top virtual operators, network operators, vendors, and tech developers.
Some highlights from the conference stage:
