EU mobile operators urged to consolidate

If Europe wants its mobile networks to be as advanced as those in the US, further mergers are necessary among wireless operators, said Ronan Dunne, the chief executive of Telefonica SA’s O2 unit.

European regulations need reforms to allow cross-border mergers, which will support investment in new networks and increasing wireless data use, he said. Bigger companies, like Telefonica and its peers with operations in several countries, will then be in a position to “roll up” some of the smaller operators.

“This place is just so fragmented” and that’s discouraging acquirers, Dunne said. In Europe “there’s a realisation that you need in-country scale, but you also need some European champions”.