The world's largest mobile telecoms provider, Vodafone, today announced that it has reached an agreement to buy general telecoms provider, Cable and Wireless WorldWide, a large, multinational supplier of corporate IP services, for £1 billion.
Vodafone has often focused its image and advertisements on the business customer and, with the acquisition of C&W, will become the third-largest supplier of IP services to FTSE350 companies, whilst gaining significant clientèle from the firm's international wholesale services.
C&W also has its own LLU capability, which it currently wholesales to network providers. The combination of LLU and C&W's network infrastructure could prove a big cost saver for Vodafone, as it becomes cheaper to deploy new services and shuffle voice and data traffic around the world, whilst opening doors for a potential wired broadband service here in the UK.
"The acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide creates a leading integrated player in the enterprise segment of the UK communications market and brings attractive cost savings to our UK and international operations," stated Vittorio Colao, CEO of the Vodafone Group.
