Eastern Europe has been an area of excitement for the telecoms industry since the iron curtain fell, but in general, the area has remained under-developed in terms of infrastructure compared to the western side of the continent. Now the goldrush is really starting, especially with several of the key nations joining the European Community last year. This is sparking a wave of acquisitions among the cellular operators, and a race by start-ups to set up broadband wireless networks in this relatively virgin, but high growth territory. Recently we saw Vodafone agreeing to buy two eastern European mobile operators from Canada-based holding company Telesystems International Wireless for about $3.5bn in cash. It will gain a 79% stake in Mobifon, one of…