British Telecom:
BT is one of the largest telephone companies in Europe, with more than 20 million residential lines and extensive business, data and Internet operations. It owns a controlling share of Cellnet, Britain's second-largest mobile operator, with five million customers.
The company has extensive interests outside of Britain. These include BT Belgium, a wholly owned subsidiary currently rolling out its own network, and BT Comunicaciones in Spain, the country's second-largest datacommunications network. BT also holds 17.8 per cent of Airtel, Spain's second mobile provider. In France, BT owns 26 per cent of Cegetel, which has more than one million fixed-line customers and a further 4.6 million mobile customers through SFR. In Germany, BT owns 45 per cent of Viag Interkom, a small mobile network that also provides fixedline and Internet service.
In Italy, BT and Banca Nazionale del Lavoro together own a 45.5 per cent stake in Albacom, a voice and data services provider. BT is also part of the Blue consortium, which was recently awarded Italy's fourth mobile telephone licence.
In the Netherlands, BT and Nederlandse Spoorwegen, the national railway company, have formed a 50-50 joint venture, Telfort. In Switzerland, the company has a 24.4 per cent stake in the Sunrise consortium which offers fixed-line and Internet service to some 335,000 customers.
SBC-Ameritech:
One of the "Baby Bells", SBC acquired so many other US telephone companies - including Ameritech - it is now the largest, with 59 million access lines, and third biggest mobile carrier with more than 10 million subscribers. The company describes itself as the largest non-European telecommunications investor in Europe.
SBC has a 41.6 per cent stake in Tele Danmark, Denmark's largest operator, which serves more than 3.4 million access lines and has 995,000 wireless and 812,000 cable TV customers. Through this, the company has stakes in businesses in Belgium, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Russia, Austria, Hungary, Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Ukraine.
The company also controls a 17.5 per cent stake in Belgacom, Belgium's largest telecommunications operator with 5.1 million access lines and 1.2 million wireless customers. Through this, SBC has investments in France, Russia and the Netherlands.
SBC also holds a 15 per cent equity stake in a joint venture with France's Cegetel, which owns 80 per cent of SFR, a wireless subsidiary with over 5.1 million customers. In Germany, SBC owns 100 per cent of Talkline Group (WLW), which publishes and markets local and regional commercial directories to more than one million business-to-business customers throughout Europe.
In Hungary, SBC holds a 29.8 per cent stake in MATAV, the country's largest operator with 2.8 million access lines and more than 700,000 wireless customers.
In Norway, SBC has a 19.7 per cent stake in NetCom GSM, the country's largest mobile provider. In Switzerland, SBC owns 40 per cent of diAX, a consortium formed with Switzerland's six largest electric utilities to construct a telecommunications network offering long-distance service, and 40 per cent of diAx Mobile, a fast-growing mobile company.
Bell Atlantic-GTE:
The merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE is expected to be formally approved early in the New Year, creating another mammoth US telephone company, with 60 million access lines, 14 million mobile customers, and serious ambitions in Europe.
The merging entity already owns a 23 per cent stake in Italy's Omnitel Pronto, a rapidly-growing mobile business with nine million customers, a 24.5 per cent share in EuroTels, with more than one million customers in the Czech and Slovak republics, and a one-fifth stake in Greece's STET Hellas, which has more than one million customers.
In Romania, the OTE consortium has awarded GTE the contract to manage and operate the newly privatised Romanian Telephone Company. Bell Atlantic owns a 34.2 per cent interest in FLAG (Fibreoptic Link Around the Globe), the world's longest undersea fibre-optic cable. Construction is now under way of Flag Atlantic-1, which will connect London, Paris and New York. Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), Britain's largest provider of integrated telecommunications and TV services, is being restructured, and Bell Atlantic's 18.6 per cent interest will be exchanged for 11.2 per cent of NTL and 4.7 per cent of Cable & Wireless plc.
