Last year, we investigated how major Scandinavian telecom groups Telenor, Telia, and Tele2 have followed a similar international strategy over the past decade: divesting the bulk of their Eastern European and Asian operations to concentrate on business closer to home.
Today, we examine their ongoing activities within Scandinavia and the Baltic States and inspect how 5G and M&A continue to drive their respective strategies.
The telecom landscape in Eastern Europe has changed dramatically over the last decade, with sustained deal-making reshaping a number of markets across the region.
The latest player to jump aboard the M&A merry-go-round is 4iG, an ICT firm based in Budapest. Today, we take a look at the company’s key takeover deals to date.
In December, Greece's OTE Group announced a major broadband investment plan. The group revealed that its domestic telco unit Cosmote would be pumping €3 billion ($3.4 billion) into the expansion of its infrastructure between 2022 and 2027.
The investment was backed by OTE Group’s controlling shareholder Deutsche Telekom.
Starlink—the satellite broadband venture established by Elon Musk’s SpaceX business—has attracted plenty of attention this year, especially as the outspoken entrepreneur continues to share his company’s ambitious plans on social media.
With fellow tycoon Jeff Bezos plotting an alternative satellite broadband launch via Project Kuiper, the two billionaires have become embroiled in an increasingly bitter public feud in recent months.
But these two heavyweights aren’t the only parties determined to enter the satellite broadband sector. From China, to Canada, to the UK, let’s break down the key international players targeting the low earth orbit (LEO) sector to see how their respective proposals stack up.
More and more wireless operators in Europe are announcing plans to switch off their 3G networks to free up spectrum for newer, faster 4G and 5G services.
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.
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.
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