Best Telecom Stocks To Invest In Right Now

In the latest move in a broad deleveraging effort, Spanish telecom incumbent Telefonica (NYSE: TEF  ) has divested one of its European subsidiaries. The company announced that it has reached agreement to sell Telefonica Ireland to Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Group. The potential total price is 850 million euros ($1.1 billion), 780 million euros ($1.0 billion) of which will be handed over at the closing of the transaction while 70 million euros�($92 million) will take the form of a deferred payment to be transferred when certain financial objectives are met.

Telefonica will use the proceeds of the sale to reduce its debt. The company's current deleveraging program aims to reduce total indebtedness to under 47 billion euros ($62 billion) this year. This would be down notably from the peak of 56 billion euros ($73 billion) the firm reached in 2011. Its current market capitalization is nearly 45 billion euros ($59 billion).

Top Warren Buffett Companies To Buy Right Now: United States Cellular Corporation(USM)

United States Cellular Corporation operates as a wireless telecommunications service provider in the United States. The company offers wireless voice and data services to retail consumer and business customers. It provides wireless services in postpaid service plans with voice, messaging, and data services; and prepaid service plans with minutes, messaging, and data services for a monthly fee. The company also offers various additional features, including caller ID blocking, call forwarding, voicemail, call waiting, and three-way calling; and data usage features consisting of Web browsing, email services, instant messaging, text messaging, and picture and video messaging. As of December 31, 2010, it provided wireless voice and data services to 6.1 million customers in 26 states. In addition, the company operates retail stores that sell a range of wireless devices, including handsets, modems, and tablets, as well as accessories, such as carrying cases, hands-free devices, b atteries, battery chargers, memory cards, and other items to consumers and small businesses. Further, it sells wireless devices to agents and other third-party distributors for resale; operates service facilities that provide servicing and repair for wireless devices; and enables customers to activate service and purchase wireless devices online. The company?s business customers include small-to-mid-size businesses in various industries, including construction, retail, professional services, and real estate. It offers its products and services through retail sales and service centers, direct sales, and independent agents. The company was founded in 1983 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. United States Cellular Corporation is a subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Chicago-based wireless carrier U.S. Cellular (NYSE: USM  ) said that since its sale of spectrum to Verizon last month had been so successful, it decided to sell additional spectrum and arranged with T-Mobile (NYSE: TMUS  ) to purchase its�Mississippi Valley 10MHz�REA AWS�spectrum license for $308 million.

• [By Reuters]

  Michael Sohn/APSprint CEO Dan Hesse Sprint has been ranked last among U.S. cellphone service operators in a customer satisfaction survey by the influential Consumer Reports organization, scoring dismal marks for measures ranging from voice to 4G reliability. No-frills carrier Consumer Cellular received the highest overall score of 88 out of 100, followed by U.S. Cellular (USM) with 75. Sprint received the lowest score of 59, faring the worst in terms of value, voice, text and 4G services. The annual ratings were based on a September survey of 58,399 cellphone service subscribers by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, which publishes widely followed surveys and reviews of everything from cars to refrigerators. In last year's survey, Sprint (S) trailed only Verizon Wireless among the four major carriers. Verizon Wireless (VZ) (VOD) ranked highest again this year with a score of 71. T-Mobile US (TMUS) rated 65 and AT&T (T) 64, according to survey results released Thursday. The rankings are based on ratings for voice, text and 4G, taking into account the occurrence of problems and adjusted for frequency of use. Sprint has been revamping its network after years of customer losses. The company, which is 80 percent owned by SoftBank, warned in October that customer defections would remain high in coming quarters. The company reported a decline in third-quarter revenue as it lost more subscribers than expected following the shutdown of its older network. "Our latest cell service satisfaction survey revealed a somewhat precipitous decline by Sprint that shuffled the rankings of the major standard service providers," Glenn Derene, Electronics Content Development Team Leader for Consumer Reports, said in a statement.

  Mint made the Mac App Store's Best of 2012 list for a reason. This simple, clean app shows how much you are spending in each category of your budget by monitoring all of your transactions. We love signing in and getting a quick,

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  Wireless carrier U.S. Cellular (NYSE: USM  ) will get Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) iPhone "later this year," the company has announced.

• [By Jim Probasco]

  CNET said it expects to see ZTE focus on premium quality smartphones at the Mobile World Congress at the end of February this year.�This would be a departure from the company�� previous concentration on mid-range priced phones offered by smaller carriers like Cricket Wireless, U.S. Cellular, (NYSE: USM) and Aio Wireless.

Best Telecom Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Chorus Ltd (CNU)

Chorus Limited maintains and builds a network made up of local telephone exchanges, cabinets and copper and fiber cables. The Company has approximately 32,000 kilometers of fiber and 130,000 kilometers of copper cabling. These cables connect back to local telephone exchanges. Chorus fiber also connects mobile phone towers owned by mobile service providers. About 7,000 cabinets provide interconnection points for around 50% of the lines in its network. A range of these cabinets are mini telephone exchanges and have electronic broadband equipment installed in them. In some cases, retail service providers have chosen to install their own broadband equipment in an exchange and pay the Company for the rental of the access line. It offers a range of products delivered over its copper network and new products designed to provide access to the ultra-fast broadband (UFB) fiber network. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Watsa sold two stocks in the fourth quarter: Continucare Corp. (CNU) and First Place Financial Corp. (FPFC). He reduced Dell (DELL), one of his largest holdings, but almost 60%.

Best Telecom Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Cellcom Israel Ltd.(CEL)

Cellcom Israel Ltd. provides cellular communications services in Israel. It offers basic and advanced cellular telephone services, text and multimedia messaging services, and advanced cellular content and data services. The company?s basic cellular telephony services include voice mail, cellular fax, call waiting, call forwarding, caller identification, collect call, conference calling, ?Talk 2?, additional number services, and collect call services; and outbound and inbound roaming services. It also provides value-added services comprising Cellcom volume that includes downloadable content, such as music, games, on-net-reality programs, drama series, and video games; SMS and MMS services to send and receive text, photos, multimedia, and animation messages; access to third party application providers for notification of roadway speed detectors, mange vehicle fleets, and enable subscribers to manage and operate time clocks and various controllers for industrial, agricultural , and commercial purposes; video calls to communicate with each other through video applications; zone services for calls initiated from a specific location; location-based services; voice-based information services; text-based information services and interactive information services, including news headlines, sports results, and traffic and weather reports; and data services to access handsets, cellular modems, laptops, tablets, and cellular routers, as well as Internet based payment services. In addition, the company sells handsets, modems, routers, tablets, and laptops, as well as provides repair and replacement services; and offers landline telephony, transmission, and data services through its approximately 1,500 kilometers of inland fiber-optic infrastructure and complementary microwave links to selected business customers. As of March 31, 2011, it provided its services to approximately 3.395 million subscribers. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Netanya, Israel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Cellcom Israel (NYSE: CEL  ) is getting a new CFO.

  Following the company's successful merger with Netvision, current Chief Financial Officer Yaacov Heen is declaring his mission accomplished, and says he intends to resign his post on Sept. 17 after 16 years with the company. At that time, Cellcom says it will bring on Shlomi Fruhling, the former VP for strategy and finance at Netvision, to become the merged company's new CFO on Sept. 18.

Best Telecom Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Koninklijke KPN NV (KPN)

Koninklijke KPN NV (KPN) is a Netherlands-based telecommunications and information and communication technology (ICT) service provider. It is divided in two business areas: the Netherlands and Mobile International. The Netherlands includes segments: Mobile Consumer, which offers voice, text and data services, and mobile wholesale; Consumer Residential, providing fixed line services; Business, responsible for wireline and wireless voice and Internet, Cloud and integrated packages for corporate clients; NETCO, which offers wireless, copper and fiber network infrastructure and services for retail and wholesale customers; and Corporate Network, which provides solutions for workspace management, connectivity, information security and data centers, cloud-based and traditional software services and consulting. Mobile International consists of segments such as Germany, Belgium, Rest of the world; and iBasis, providing wholesale voice services and terminating of international calls worldwide. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc each slipped at least 1 percent as crude declined after the U.K. parliament rejected a motion for military action against Syria. Royal KPN (KPN) NV slid 3.4 percent after America Movil SAB said it may withdraw its takeover bid if opposed by the company�� independent foundation. Hermes International SCA climbed 2.1 percent after reporting operating profit that surpassed analysts��estimates.

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  Royal KPN NV (KPN), the former Dutch phone monopoly, surged 13 percent to 1.80 euros as three people familiar with the matter said Telefonica SA is in advanced talks to take over its German mobile-phone business.

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  KPN (KPN) surged 16 percent to 2.32 euros as America Movil offered 2.40 euros a share for the company. The price -- a 20 percent premium to KPN�� close yesterday -- would value the stake that America Movil doesn�� already own at 7.2 billion euros ($9.6 billion). The Mexican mobile-phone operator has a 29.8 percent holding in KPN. An agreement between the two companies to limit America Movil�� stake to 30 percent expired after KPN agreed last month to sell its German business E-Plus to Telefonica SA.