European carriers await AT&T's first move

According to Bloomberg, operators including Deutsche Telekom, Orange and others are slowing or putting on hold major sales and other financial transactions as the market waits for U.S. operator AT&T to make an entry into the market. AT&T's examination of Europe--it has reportedly considered transactions with the likes of Vodafone and others--has caused DT and Orange to slow their efforts to sell their UK joint venture EE, Bloomberg reported.

But AT&T is not alone in its interest in Europe. Due to the slowdown in the European financial scene, and the sluggish rollout of LTE in the region, international players like Carlos Slim's América Móvil and Li Ka-shing's Hutchison Whampoa are joining AT&T in testing the waters in Europe for possible expansion there.

"The valuation of the European companies reflects the last two years' horrendous events, but we are at an inflection point both for the U.S. and for Europe," Robin Bienenstock, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, told Bloomberg. "There will be one or two big alliances of footprints that run across Europe." Article