The search for growth opportunities is getting to be difficult, since mobile operators in some regions such as Western Europe are staring at nearly 90% penetration rate. In North America, the take rate of cellular phones is in the 50-60% range, so the market is not quite as saturated, but the growth prospects are not as bright as they once were.

Increasingly, wireless service providers are seeking to make investments in emerging markets such as Asia/Pacific (penetration in the mid teens), Caribbean and Latin America (penetration at about 20 percent) or Eastern Europe (penetration moving closer to 40%). Take Norway’s Telenor, for instance, which has been that country’s incumbent for nearly 150 years. Faced with a domestic market that was nearly tapped out, Telenor started taking ownership positions in a few foreign operators in countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Russia and Ukraine.

The Pakistani fully owned subsidiary is expected to be launched in April, and there is optimism about the success of that operation, given the low penetration in the region (less than 5%). In Russia’s case, Telenor only owns a 30% stake at Vimpelcom, but the future is looking bright, considering the nearly 8.5 million net adds registered for the entire Russian market last December, which represents more new customers than what all Chinese operators gained during the same period. These foreign investments catapulted Telenor to the 12th spot in the world, with an installed base of around 50 million subs and roughly 19 million net adds in 2004.

Of course, closer to home Cingular prevailed over Vodafone in the AT&T Wireless stakes, thanks to a last-minute bid that triggered a late night board meeting (the idea being not to give Vodafone a chance to up the ante because of the time zone difference).  But after a few so-so investments in regions such as Brazil, are American operators ready to take the plunge again and try their luck with emerging markets?