Telecoms advisory bankers on both sides of the Atlantic were on alert this morning after companies revealed plans for bumper deals worth nearly $75bn (€48.5bn), putting the sector on course for its second biggest week globally for announced deals since the height of the industry boom in the late 1990s.

UK mobile phone giant Vodafone, whose chief executive Arun Sarin is stepping down next month to be replaced by his deputy, former Morgan Stanley banker Vittorio Colao, confirmed in a statement this morning that Verizon Wireless, the US company in which it has a 45% stake, was in “advanced discussions regarding the potential acquisition of Alltel Corp."