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The Billionaire Dealmaker Who Just Acquired a 12.1% Stake in BT

Telecom tycoon Patrick Drahi was born in Casablanca, Morocco in 1963, before moving to France as a teenager.

His cosmopolitan reputation precedes him. He currently holds Israeli, French, and Portuguese citizenship. A renowned art lover, his 2019 takeover of British auction house Sotheby’s thrust him into the UK media spotlight.

Understandably, his recent £2.2 billion ($3.1 billion) acquisition of a 12.1% stake in British communications giant BT has only intensified scrutiny on the notoriously private Drahi.

Ericsson Awaits Huawei Decision

Swedish equipment vendor Ericsson could face a backlash in China following Sweden’s 2020 decision to ban cellcos from using Huawei gear in 5G networks.

Behind the Madagascan Company in the Hunt for Africa’s Telecom Assets

Last month Luxembourg-based Millicom International Cellular sealed a pair of deals that will see it exit the African telecom sector once and for all.

Its stake in Ghanaian joint venture AirtelTigo was sold to the country’s government. Tigo Tanzania and Zanzibar Telecommunication (Zantel) were offloaded to a consortium led by Axian—the company that previously acquired Millicom’s Senegal-based business in 2018.

Yes, The 6G Race is Already On

While 5G is still in its early stages of deployment, there are already preparations being made for the introduction of its successor. The initial technical standards for 6G aren’t expected until the second half of this decade, but this hasn’t prevented some players from getting an early start.

Tracking TracFone: Meet the Prepaid Provider Now Worth $6.25 Billion

In September 2020, U.S. telecom giant Verizon announced the surprise takeover of prepaid MVNO TracFone Wireless. The deal is worth a whopping $6.25 billion.

Verizon hopes that the transaction will help it compete in the prepaid space, where T-Mobile U.S. and AT&T rule the roost with their Metro by T-Mobile and Cricket Wireless brands.

2020: A Mixed Year for Russia’s Telcos

Russia’s four main telecom groups had varying levels of financial success in 2020. All operators suffered to some degree from the knock-on effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but some fared better than others.

Deal-Making Down Under: Oceania's Wave of Telecom M&A

Earlier this month, Australian telecom group Vocus accepted a $2.7 billion (AUD3.5 billion) takeover offer from a consortium comprising Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and the pension fund Aware Super.

The deal is the latest in a series of Oceania-focused telecom takeovers.

Eight Billion and Rising: Wireless Market Grows Again in 2020

Figures from TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database show that the global wireless subscriber total has passed 8 billion. User numbers were up 1% in 2020, ending the year at 8.05 billion.

The cellular market showed year-on-year growth despite the negative economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which contributed to downturns in user take-up in a number of countries.

Debt, Distrust, and Dealmaking: the Battle for Digicel Pacific

As GlobalComms Database users know, TeleGeography recently reclassified its regions.

This basically means we kicked off 2021 with some Marie Kondo-level tidying by aligning our country-to-region mapping across all of our research. For the GlobalComms team, this included spinning out Oceania from Asia.

Indeed, the exercise gave me the opportunity to check in on happenings in Oceania. And this is why I thought it was the perfect time to take a closer look at one of the region’s major developments: the likely sale of Digicel Pacific.

Over 100 5G Network Launches in 2020

More than 100 5G mobile networks went live around the world during 2020.

This included launches in Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Poland, Hong Kong, and Sweden.

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