The telecoms industry is no longer the darling of the new economy, but is weighed down by debt and tumbling share values. The effects of the downturn have hit the telecom giants not in ripples, but in waves.

The roll call of recent redundancy announcements and profit loss warnings makes depressing reading: Ericsson (3,700 redundancies), Cable & Wireless (2,700 UK redundancies), Nokia (400 redundancies), BT (£30m debt), Orange (pre-tax loss last year of e1.02bn) and Telewest (£701m year loss).