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A recent Transparency International report reveals that major telecommunications companies frequently provide insufficient disclosure about their corporate holdings, complicating efforts to hold them accountable for their activities.
This analysis, the organisation’s first focused assessment of corporate reporting among leading telecom firms, examined 35 of the largest companies worldwide. It found that 27 of these companies failed to disclose the operating locations of their subsidiaries. In addition, only four out of five firms reported country-by-country information about their tax payments.
While many operators performed well in disclosing anti-corruption programmes, significant gaps remain in reporting corporate holdings. These omissions contribute to opaque and poorly developed corporate structures that make oversight and accountability more difficult. The study is published under the title “Transparency in Corporate Reporting: Assessing the World’s Largest Telecommunications Companies.”
The report evaluated both service providers and equipment manufacturers, scoring them on three main areas: measures to prevent corruption, transparency about holdings and subsidiaries, and key financial disclosures such as payments made in foreign jurisdictions.
Regional differences were notable. European companies generally achieved higher scores, while several Asian firms ranked among the lowest. Notably, Telenor, Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom each scored above 50% across all three assessment categories.
Jermyn Brooks, chair of Transparency International’s business advisory board, emphasised the sector’s public responsibility: “Mobile phones, the Internet and widespread access to cellular networks have proven vital to economic growth, the spread of democracy and even reducing inequality. Telecommunications companies have an important obligation to do everything possible to keep their businesses as clean as possible and stop corruption in their companies.”
József Péter Martin, executive director of Transparency International Hungary, highlighted the importance of strong internal controls: “To ensure compliance with laws and to manage the broader risks of corruption and poor performance against ethical standards, telecommunications companies must adopt strong and clear policies and management systems to curb bribery and corruption.”
Overall, the report underscores the need for improved transparency across the telecommunications industry. Better disclosure of subsidiary locations, clearer reporting of tax and financial information by country, and more comprehensive publication of anti-corruption measures would help regulators, investors and the public evaluate corporate behaviour and reduce the risk of misconduct. Stronger disclosure standards would also make it easier to identify and address questionable practices, enhancing trust in a sector that plays a central role in modern life.
For telecom companies, adopting more rigorous reporting practices can deliver several benefits: it supports regulatory compliance, strengthens investor confidence, reduces reputational risk, and helps build a corporate culture that discourages unethical behaviour. For stakeholders, transparent reporting enables more effective scrutiny of company operations and promotes accountability where it matters most.
The findings suggest that policymakers and industry leaders should push for clearer, harmonised reporting requirements that make corporate structures and financial flows more visible. Implementing such reforms would improve governance across the sector and better protect the public interest while preserving the benefits that telecommunications bring to societies worldwide.