The top 10 telecommunications companies globally each have a market value of more than $50 billion dollars. The telecommunications industry is forecast to continue to expand its operations globally, serving the world’s growing telephone and wireless needs. More people in emerging markets are signing up for phone and internet contracts, while new telecommunications technologies in developed countries are expanding existing customer bases.
$50 billion dollars
Investopedia
The market value of the world’s top 10 telecommunications companies .
While various attributes of each company may vary in this top 10, the market value of each company serves as the determining factor for this list. The value and performance of these companies will likely change over time. To invest in any of the following companies, you will need an account with a regulated broker, of the many that are on the internet today.
Table of Contents
1) China Mobile Ltd.
China Mobile Ltd. (CHL ), is the leading provider (by the number of subscribers) of telecommunication services in China, with more than 925 million customers as of early 2019, it is the world’s leading telecommunications company. The market value of the company was US$217.5 billion in February 2019, and between 2016 and 2017 its client base grew by 4.5%.
2) Verizon Communications Inc.
Verizon Communications, Inc. (VZ) is the largest telecommunications company in the United States. Its market value was estimated at $221.39 billion as of February 2019. Its sales were $131.8 billion in 2017. Formed in 2000, and headquartered in New York City, Verizon was the result of a merger between Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp. In 2015, Verizon completed the acquisition of AOL. The sale followed a 2014 purchase by Verizon of Vodafone’s 45% stake in Verizon stock. Verizon currently operates in more than 150 countries.
3) AT&T Inc.
AT&T Inc. (T) is the second largest telecommunications company in the United States, with a market value of US$211,688 million as of February 2019. AT&T offers voice services in more than 200 countries and operates more than 34,000 points Wi-Fi access. According to its website, AT&T covers more than 355 million people. In 2017, the company expanded AT&T GigaPower, an ultra-fast Internet service, to 56 metropolitan locations in the United States, with plans for further expansion. In 2006, AT&T acquired BellSouth. It acquired DirecTV in July 2015 for $48.5 billion, allowing the company to offer customers the option of bundling more services into the same package.
4) Vodafone Group Plc
Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) is headquartered in the UK, and the company served more than 500 million mobile customers in 2018. Vodafone’s market value was US$48.39 billion in February 2019. From 2012 to 2014, Vodafone acquired three companies: Cable & Wireless Worldwide, Kabel Deutschland, and Ono. Standard & Poor’s long-term credit rating on the company is A-. Mobile bundle sales represent 42% of Vodafone’s group service revenue, while 27% of revenue comes from non-bundled mobile device sales. At the start of 2019, Vodafone was the most valuable brand in the UK and had operations in 26 countries.
5) Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp.
Founded in Japan, where fast internet connections abound, Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation (NTT) had a market value of US$81.564 billion as of February 2019. Japan highly values fiber optic connections, and it is known that Japanese companies spend a lot of money to catch up with the newest Internet technologies. This environment has helped drive the prevalence of the Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation. Unlike other telcos, Nippon derives much of its business from fiber Internet connections rather than packets. Increasingly, the company is looking to earn sales revenue from its cloud computing services to expand its customer base.
6) Softbank Group Corp.
Softbank Group Corp. began in 1981 as a packaged software distributor and has since built up a national telecommunications segment serving Japan’s broadband, device and mobile communications needs. The company’s market value was US$98.785 million as of February 2019. In early 2019, Softbank further expanded its holdings in US phone service provider Sprint, to an 84.7% stake, apart from taking over Yahoo! _ Japan. In 2015, Softbank bought the IBM license for its “Watson” robot to create a Japanese android named “Pepper,” with plans to sell the robot to retail customers. Softbank announced that the robot could read human emotions. The first 1,000 units of Pepper robots were sold out in November 2015. In 2018, Softbank announced a plan for the merger of Sprint and T-Mobile, Inc. (TMUS), but gave up its majority stake in the securities of the combined company.
7) Deutsche Telekom AG
Deutsche Telekom AG serves more than 160 million mobile customers and has a presence in more than 50 countries, as well as 216,000 employees. The German company had a market value of $67.334 billion at the start of 2019, with two-thirds of its revenue generated outside of Germany. Telekom seeks to build efficient networks that meet future broadband needs. In 2013, Telekom became the first telecommunications company to introduce a smartphone running the Firefox operating system. In 2015, the company launched a standardized European network, implementing cross-border infrastructure development in three countries.
8) Telefonica S.A.
Telefónica SA (TEF) was born in Spain. It had a presence in 24 countries in 2018 and its client base is mainly concentrated in Latin America. Telefónica’s market value was US$43.01 billion at the beginning of 2019, and its products and services include cloud computing, mobility services, data centers, business voice and security services.
Telefónica markets its three main brands to different audiences: Movistar serves Spain and Latin America; O2 serves the UK, Germany and Spain; and VIVO serves Brazil. In the last two years, Telefónica has focused on investment as a means to expand its business. The company also runs several smaller specialty brands, such as Wayra, a startup accelerator.
9) America Movil
The Mexican company América Móvil (AMOV) served 363.5 million access lines, including 280.6 million mobile subscribers worldwide in 2017. The total coverage of América Móvil’s mobile, fixed, broadband and television services is extensive. It had a market value of $52.505 billion at the beginning of 2019; however, this is a much lower value than in previous years, as the company fights against a series of anti-trust rules aimed at dismantling its dominant position in telecommunications.
In 2018, Mexican regulators approved América Móvil’s plan to legally separate its Telmex fixed-line infrastructure division from its cellular division, Claro.
10) China Telecom
China Telecom is a Chinese state-owned company that provides fixed-line telephone services to 194 million customers. According to its website, as of December 2018, its mobile services reached 303 million customers and broadband service reached more than 145 million people. The company’s market value was US$42.558 billion in 2019. The company’s headquarters are located in Beijing. The holding company China Telecom Corporation Limited (CHA) launched a public offering in 2002 in Hong Kong and New York. China Telecom’s second holding company, China Communications Services Corporation Limited, launched its public offering of shares in Hong Kong in 2006. China Telecom’s trademarks include E-surfing, E-surfing Navigator, My eHome and E-surfing Flying Young.
