| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : DECEMBER 6, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
The Pressure Mounts on Europe's Former Telecom Monopolies BRITISH TELECOM Its strategy of taking minority stakes in strong local players now looks questionable. Like Deutsche Telekom, BT needs access to the French cellular market. Global joint venture with AT&T could result in a full-scale merger. DEUTSCHE TELEKOM With acquisition of British mobile operator One 2 One in August, Deutsche Telekom is the Continental leader, with 12 million subscribers. Needs to build a presence in France, where it could compete with BT for ownership of Cegetel. FRANCE TELECOM Strong player in France and Germany but lacking any presence in Britain or Italy. Could bid for Britain's Orange. Another possible target: Spain's Telefonica, which has no Continentwide ambitions. TELECOM ITALIA Mired in debt and heavily dependent on its home market, it has limited opportunities for expansion in the former Yugoslavia, Greece, and Spain. Its mobile unit, Telecom Italia Mobile, may be on the block. TELEFONICA Spain's former monopoly is a power in Latin America but the weakest of Europe's big five players. One possible alliance could be with Portugal Telecom, but an Iberian telco would also be an attractive target for any of the major incumbents. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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RELATED ITEMS Telecoms Are Running Scared TABLE: The Pressure Mounts on Europe's Former Telecom Monopolies Commentary: Germany Should Get Over Its Takeover Phobia INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
