Shock, horror. Hold the front page. 'European telecoms company wins major deal.' Why all the hullaballoo over something only marginally less dull than ditchwater? Well, the year is 2003, and what sociologists call the Americanisation of the globe has spread to the European telecommunications sector.
   It is only a scenario, but it is a likely one. The Americanisation of this European market has been happening for years. Last week, when Global Crossing acquired Racal's telecoms business for £1 billion, what had previously been done by stealth was thrown into sharp focus. The US telecoms firms are over-financed and over here. If they are not building their own networks, they are buying those built by others. Or they are buying into other companies. 'US funds made a lot of money backing US startups and they've now decided that Europe is the place to be,' said one analyst.