From the hills to the farms: Avatel’s commitment to connect everyone – Saudi Gazette

From the hills to the farms: Avatel’s commitment to connect everyone – Saudi Gazette

How do we bridge the digital divide? The chairman of the frontrunner to acquire Orange-MásMóvil merger remediesexplains how, and why his market is drawing in GCC investorsAmid untrammelled commercial activity in pursuit of Vision 2030, telecoms players in Saudi Arabia have looked to Europe as a growth prospect. Last year, STC took a 4.9% stake in Spanish operator Telefónica, and Tawal, a subsidiary of STC, acquired the infrastructure of United Group in Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovenia. The kingdom’s Gulf neighbour, the UAE, has engaged in similar activity in the bloc. In 2023, its incumbent telco e& (formerly Etisalat) bought a range of assets in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia from the Czech Republic’s PPF Group. It has also built up a substantial stake in Vodafone. And in 2021, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign investor Mubadala poured millions of dollars into UK network provider CityFibre.Jorge Gómez is Chairman of Avatel Telecom, which has become a key player in the future of the fluctuating European telecoms sector.“Gulf investors are drawn to the vibrant competitive atmosphere of Europe’s telecom markets, aware that across the EU, network rollouts, especially those for 5G, are gathering steam and need investment,” he said, citing “predicted market consolidation” as a