[New wave of mergers forecast as telecomms attempt to position themselves as one of the big dogs.]

by Andrew Ward, London -- "Nortel Networks, the Canadian communications equipment manufacturer, on Thursday added to forecasts of a new wave of mergers in the telecoms sector as operators began developing expensive third-generation mobile phone networks.

"Pascal Debon, European president, said operators would be forced to join together as national infrastructures were integrated into a single pan-European network.

"We will see in the next few years some consolidation in Europe. More and more operators are talking about pan-European services and will need to integrate to achieve it," he said.

"Mr Debon's comments followed Wednesday's prediction by Siemens, the German electronics maker, that some mobile operators would collapse under the weight of debt taken on to pay for 3G licences and networks.

More...

Back to Headlines...