scoobystu2
05-05-2006, 05:11 AM
O2, the mobile phone operator now owned by Spain's Telefonica, is considering a move for a UK internet service provider and is understood to have Cable & Wireless's Bulldog division and Tiscali's UK broadband business in its sights.
Although the company has yet to make an approach, the fact that it is considering an acquisition shows that O2 is responding to the threat posed by rivals which can bundle mobile, fixed-line and broadband products or deliver services using both fixed and mobile networks.
An O2 spokesman said: "We're looking at options to either buy an ISP or go down the wholesale route or, alternatively, we may do nothing. However, no approaches have been made and no decision has yet been taken." One source said that O2's examination of potential UK targets was at a preliminary stage.
C&W is thought to prefer an alliance with a mobile operator but has not ruled out a sale of Bulldog if the price was acceptable.
O2's Spanish owner operates ISP Terra Networks, which serves more than 2 million internet customers, predominantly in Spain, Brazil and Chile with broadband, dial-up services and internet content. Across Telefonica's European network, it is only in the UK and Ireland that it does not offer a broadband service.
Ref:
http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article362134.ece
Although the company has yet to make an approach, the fact that it is considering an acquisition shows that O2 is responding to the threat posed by rivals which can bundle mobile, fixed-line and broadband products or deliver services using both fixed and mobile networks.
An O2 spokesman said: "We're looking at options to either buy an ISP or go down the wholesale route or, alternatively, we may do nothing. However, no approaches have been made and no decision has yet been taken." One source said that O2's examination of potential UK targets was at a preliminary stage.
C&W is thought to prefer an alliance with a mobile operator but has not ruled out a sale of Bulldog if the price was acceptable.
O2's Spanish owner operates ISP Terra Networks, which serves more than 2 million internet customers, predominantly in Spain, Brazil and Chile with broadband, dial-up services and internet content. Across Telefonica's European network, it is only in the UK and Ireland that it does not offer a broadband service.
Ref:
http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article362134.ece