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Difficult economic conditions in many parts of the globe are weighing on communications providers, many of whom saw a drop in brand value last year. Yet many are making strides both at home and in lands far away to compensate.

Wireless is one sector that, according to a Millward Brown's 7th Annual Optimor BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study, "has been shielded" from economic strife simply due to the fact people don't want to cut back on applications, devices and services. That helped telecommunications companies – which on average lost 7 percent in brand value over the past year – from losing any more.

This slide show counts down the top 10 global communications providers – in terms of brand value – as determined by Millward Brown, a global research company.