Europe’s top competition watchdog has approved the proposed merger of Orange and T-Mobile in the UK after obtaining concessions from the mobile phone operators’ parent companies.
The joint venture between France Telecom’s Orange UK and Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile UK is planning to start trading in April, and will be Britain’s largest mobile operator.
British consumer groups reacted angrily to the European Commission’s decision to approve the merger on the fastest possible timetable, accusing Brussels of clearing the transaction with “indecent haste”.
The merger could also destabilise a UK government-sponsored effort to end a dispute between Britain’s mobile operators over their ownership of radio spectrum.
O2, Telefónica’s UK subsidiary, and Vodafone’s British business are not planning a challenge to the Commission’s decision.
O2 and Vodafone, the UK’s largest and second- largest operators, are instead expected to intensify efforts to poach customers from the new market leader.
Orange and T-Mobile, the third- and fourth-largest operators, are attempting an ambitious integration that is supposed to provide cost savings of £3.5bn.
The operators are planning to rationalise their networks and retail shops, and cut staff.
Tom Alexander, chief executive designate of the combined Orange/T-Mobile entity, expressed confidence that the integration would run smoothly and insisted the transaction was “great news” for consumers.
The merger will cut the number of British network operators from five to four, and consumer groups had called on UK competition authorities to investigate the transaction.
Which?, the consumer magazine and campaigns organisation, accused the Commission of failing to protect consumers’ interests.
Brussels’ decision to approve the merger is conditional on the combined Orange/T-Mobile entity having an infrastructure-sharing agreement with 3, the UK’s smallest network operator owned by Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa.
The Commission said 3’s viability could be threatened if it did not have a network-sharing deal with the joint venture that would save costs.
Source: Financial Times
(£30 after discount). Sounds expensive, but this is top tariff which gives you unlimited calls, you can select flexible booster and 1GB internet usage. iPhone will cost you £720 over 2 years, but you will get mobile service as well, so deal is not bad. The only downside is you are tied with this operator for 2 years.
