Sector performance
As the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, the telecoms sector became even more essential to how society operates. The sector has proven resilient, and deal activity was sustained throughout 2020.
Telecoms deals were influenced by a demand for long-term 5G rollout and a pursuit by acquirors to optimize the full value of telecoms infrastructure assets within their portfolio of resources. In Europe, as conglomerates pursued streaming platforms and data-driven advertising, the number of telecoms deals increased year-on-year by an extraordinary multiple.
Hogan Lovells activities
In 2020, our Telecoms industry sector hosted a number of events focused on the increased need for virtual connectivity. Our webinars covered hot topics like the importance of payments to the growth of connected devices, and advances in appliances allowing transacting and paying remotely.
We hosted a session on the telecom sector lessons learned from COVID-19 in the EU and next steps for liability and regulation. This session explored how IoT products have been helping tackle the global pandemic, and provided an overview on the European Commission’s antitrust inquiry into IoT consumer-related products and services within the EU.