Renewed growth thanks to highly dynamic market segments: - the mobile market grew by 67.8% in 1999 (in terms of subscribers) and is continuing this growth with a 25.8% increase during the first half of 2000.
- Internet activities are now proving to be a powerful vehicle for growth for national operators and are accounting for a growing share of revenues: the introduction of Internet subsidiaries on the stock market is proliferating (e.g.
T-Online, Wanadoo, etc.).
Backbones and access offerings (fixed and mobile) are multiplying, generating new competition in the sector and giving rise to a race for high-speed access: - deployment of pan-European backbones is as much a concern for specialised players (Level (3), COLT, GTS, etc.) as for incumbent operators (BT, France Telecom, Deutsche Telecom, etc.) - a reshuffling of the cards as cable networks are sold by national operators has resulted in consolidation in this sector.
Not only in the United Kingdom but also in continental Europe, especially with the increasing presence of UPC - the first DSL services are being launched, while unbundling is slowly being implemented - wireless local loop licences are in the process of being allocated (Germany, Spain, France) - the battle raging around UMTS licences has, in certain cases (United Kingdom and Germany), given rise to record high-auction bids.
Consolidation among major players in the sector through numerous merger moves: - in national markets (ENEL , the major shareholder in Wind, takes control of Infostrada) - in the pan-European market, particularly in the mobile sector (Vodafone-Mannesmann, France Telecom-Orange, etc.).