Technology, Media, & Telecom

Sector Insight

Webcast

Webcast: Italian Telecoms – Further Challenges Ahead

Date: Friday 8 February 2019
Time: 2PM GMT / 9AM EST

Following the publication of the Italian Telecoms Special Report, Fitch Ratings is delighted to invite you to a webcast to discuss the key themes in this report and answer any further questions. Register Now

ABS-CBN

ABS-CBN interview with Fitch Ratings: Philippines telecoms sector

Janice Chong, Director in Fitch Ratings’ APAC Technology team, speaks to ABS-CBN on the credit ratings outlook for Philippine telcos, including the challenges and prospects for the rollout of 5G, the next generation wireless standard.

Investor Focus on Business Risks for China's "BAT"

These companies are driving internet revolution beyond their core internet services to an era of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, amongst others. Fitch Ratings believes that M&A will remain opportunistic and regulatory risk will stay manageable.

Rating Criteria & Sector Companions

Master methodology covers financial adjustments and corporate structures.

Companions: Business Services: DAP, Diversified Media, Technology, Telecommunications.

Webcast: Fitch on the Italian Telecom Market – Recent Developments

You can listen to the webcast on Italian Telecoms. We discussed the latest market developments and the recently concluded 5G spectrum auction.

What Investors Want to Know: U.S. Telecom

Sprint/T-Mobile Combo Hinges on Big Picture View

Investors generally view the proposed Sprint/T-Mobile merger as having relatively low probability for regulatory approval, given its horizontal nature raises concerns that enhanced market power and market concentration may lead to higher prices for consumers. However, we believe a strong case for a materially higher than 50% chance for merger approval exists.

rating action

Sprint's 'B+' IDR on Positive Watch on Proposed T-Mobile Transaction

We believe the merger will substantially strengthen the credit support for existing Sprint bondholders. The combination is expected to create significant scale, asset and synergy benefits that should materially improve the combined entities' long-term competitive position.

rating action

Baidu's USD Notes Rated Final 'A'

Baidu remains the platform of choice for advertisers to promote their products on search engines in China, despite the implementation of new online advertising regulations and the company's higher, self-imposed standards on customer verification.

What to Watch in 2018

Outlook compendium for Global Technology

iHeart Bankruptcy Pushes HY Media Default Rate to 20%

The Chapter 11 filing by iHeartCommunications (iHeart) adds $9.4 billion of bonds to the US high-yield market default volume and $6.3 billion to the US institutional leveraged loan default total. Related: Downgrade: iHeart IDR to 'D'

Featured Research

High-Yield Technology Handbook - our first edition of the High-Yield Technology Handbook provides a profile of 23 high-yield issuers within the US and Canadian technology sector. According to the report, the digital transformation of content, explosion of data, and shift to cloud technology have disrupted IT infrastructure and software but also provided a platform for long-term revenue growth.