John de Mol, creator of the TV show Big Brother, famously managed to offload his production company Endemol to Telefonica for €5.5bn.

He seems to have had less luck selling Versatel, of which he owns 42 per cent, to Belgium’s incumbent operator. The Dutch alternative carrier announced on Tuesday that takeover discussions with Belgacom had ended.

Versatel’s existential dilemma is typical of Europe’s alternative carriers. Competition in their traditional activity - the corporate market - remains brutal. In response, Versatel, and for example, Jazztel and Cable & Wireless, have all redirected their strategies towards reselling broadband in one form or another. Tele2, which specialises in reselling voice, is also on the hunt for exposure.

Some early movers such as France’s Iliad, have built significant market share. But in general terms, broadband looks like most other telecoms market sectors - that is, governed by fierce price competition, fluid regulatory arbitrage opportunities, and with the incumbent enjoying natural scale and marketing advantages. Broadband is also already maturing: Dutch penetration will hit 50 per cent of households this year.

Versatel, with just a 5 per cent Dutch market share, has concluded that the only way to challenge Europe’s incumbents is to be a product generation ahead of them. It purchased Dutch football rights and has invested heavily to enable its Dutch infrastructure to carry television. The trouble is this is highly capital intensive. Italy’s Fastweb, which is successfully bundling mass market TV with broadband, has €2bn of capital employed, and will invest a further €2.8bn over the next five years. That level of commitment is well beyond the weedy balance sheets and cash flows of Europe’s alternative carriers, suggesting their search for a big brother will continue.