Sprint to pull out of Global One in wake of MCI deal

The future of Global One, the joint venture between Deutsche Telecom, France Telecom and Sprint looks bleak after the US operator announced it will pull out of the alliance in light of its $129bn merger with MCI WorldCom.

France Telecom says it will sell its 10 per cent share in Sprint, and Global One will have to undergo a change in its ownership structure.

Steve Wallage, telecoms analyst at Dataquest, believes France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom will have to seek alternative international alliances. "One of the things that has kept Global One going as long as it has done is the operators' need for a global operation. Without Sprint they won't have the US presence, which they need in order to serve their mulitnational customers," he said.