By: Jesse Cryderman

Telefónica acquires E-Plus

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. European network operators are pursuing the same kind of M&A as their US counterparts. On July 23 Telefónica Deutschland (operating as O2) moved to acquire KPN subsidiary E-Plus, which would result in a new leader in the German mobile market with combined revenues of €8.6 billion. The deal still has to clear regulatory hurdles, but the global trend toward consolidation is undeniable.

Emeka Obiodu, principal analyst at Ovum, believes consolidation was inevitable. “Indeed, the deal reduces the number of players in Germany to three, in line with Ovum’s prediction that three players in European markets seems to be the balance in order to ensure adequate market competition while retaining healthy profits for the players,” he wrote on the company’s website. “As the third and fourth players, O2 and E-Plus did not have the scale to adequately compete in a market where ferocious price competition has led to declining revenues and profits for telcos ... This deal catapults the combined O2/E-Plus to be the mobile market leader in Germany, with over 37% mobile market share [at the end of 2012]. For Telefonica, it looks canny how it has struck a deal to become the largest telco in Brazil (through taking control of Vivo), the largest market in Latin America, and now it is doing the same in Germany, the largest market in the EU.”

Sigma Systems scoops Tribold

Sigma Systems completed its “Idea-to-Install” platform with the acquisition of Tribold Limited on July 9. Tribold serves tier 1 CSPs  in Europe, the US, Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, and is best known for its Configure Price Quote (CPG) solution.

In the official announcement of the acquisition, Tim Spencer, president and COO of Sigma Systems, commented on the ways in which the new platform will benefit Sigma’s CSP customers. “Service providers can now take immediate advantage of network and service innovation to roll out value-added services, including consumer, enterprise, cloud, and M2M applications, and to improve revenues and margins in their core businesses.”

The combination makes a lot of sense, as Tribold CEO Simon Muderack explained:“Sigma and Tribold have worked together closely over the last several years to ensure interoperability between our solutions. We have also collaborated on several service-provider cloud projects, including the recently announced deployment with Tiscali in Italy.”

T-Mobile ramps up “un-carrier” strategy

T-Mobile isn’t done agitating the incumbents in the US wireless market. In fact, it’s just getting started. As part of its “un-carrier” strategy, the fourth-place mobile provider is touting cheap family plans, no contracts and no credit checks. And at a promotional event in New York City on July 10, the company’s iconoclastic CEO, John Legere, announced JUMP!, a new program that enables subscribers to upgrade their phones twice a year.

“At some point big wireless companies made a decision for you that you should have to wait two years to get a new phone for a fair price. That’s 730 days of waiting. Seven hundred thirty days of watching new phones come out that you can’t have. Or having to live with a cracked screen or an outdated camera,” said the ever instigating Legere. “We say two years is just too long to wait ... Now customers never have to worry about being stuck with the wrong phone.”