Globalization is hardly a new trend in telecom, but it is one with a spotty history. In the 1990s, as the telecom bubble was inflating, multiple megadeals were proposed to create global giants -remember the ill-fated BT/MCI merger or Sprint's alliance with France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom? The thinking then was that a handful of major global operators would literally take over the world. Those deals unraveled for multiple reasons, including regulatory delays, cultural differences and Bemie Ebbers' WorldCom ambitions, but the lessons learned informed the entire industry. With the advent of all-IP networks and the coming of competition to many major markets, it was no longer necessary to build, own and operate your own network infrastructure to compete for the business of much-coveted multinational corporations.
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