Operator profiles updated for 2024: part one

It doesn’t really make sense to speak of a “European” telecoms operator, or an Asian or African one. Telecoms has been a multinational affair for many years.

Most telcos do have their origins in particular countries. Vodafone, Orange, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Telenor are strongly associated with key European markets.

But as our updated profiles show, their footprints now extend all over the world. Deutsche Telekom, for example, is present in over 50 countries.

Consolidation, once again, seems to be a key theme of the operator profiles this year. In the UK, Vodafone is planning to merge its operations with Three. In Spain, Orange recently obtained regulatory approval for a merger with Masmovil.

In Northern Europe, there have been claims that Telenor is interested in merging its Swedish and Danish businesses with Three.

As they look for ways to improve profitability in a challenging environment, operators are also becoming increasingly vocal about spectrum policy. Many of them were insistent that WRC-23 should reserve spectrum for mobile in the upper 6 GHz band at the end of 2023.

Spectrum set-asides also bother them. Telefónica, for example, has questioned the benefits of reserving spectrum in Europe for specific technologies such as satellite or private networks rather than making neutral authorisations.

Operators want regulators to keep thinking about spectrum for 6G. “It’s important to recognize and consider spectrum demands for 6G” at WRC-27, Deutsche Telkom has said.

Updated profiles of all these companies are now available to Spectrum Research Service subscribers:

• Deutsche Telekom
• Orange
• Vodafone
• Telefónica
• Telenor