"global coalitions of companies do not eliminate competition, but they undermine any traditional notions of free market by turning the two or three dominant players in every global industry into kissing cousins" (Charles Derber)

Telecoms has now been carved into three global partnerships. 

"Source", an equity arrangement in which BT bought a 20 per cent share in MCI, lent to the Spanish carrier Telefonica. Telefonica engaged in an equity swap with Portugal Telecom (in Latin Americ) which is also marketed by a Canadian company Stentor.

A global alliance of Sprint, Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom.

"World Partners" formed by AT&T and Unisource, a European alliance including Telecom Italia , Telia of Sweden, Swiss Telecom and KPM of the Netherlands, as well as KDD (of Japan), Telstra of Australia and Unitel of Canada

(Bennet Harrison “Lean and Mean”