Getty Images
The merger of Vodafone and Three has been approved, creating the UK's largest mobile network with 27 million customers.
The £16.5bn deal can go ahead if the two companies agree to invest billions to strengthen the country's 5G network and also cap some mobile prices and data for at least three years to protect customers “short-term” price increases.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which cleared the merger, had previously raised concerns about a possible price rise.
But Stuart McIntosh, chairman of the group leading the CMA investigation, said the deal “is likely to boost competition in the UK mobile sector and should be allowed to continue – but only if Vodafone and Three agree to put implement the proposed measures.
Competition issues
Since announcing their plans in June 2023, Vodafone and Three have insisted that joining forces would “put the UK onto the digital fast lane”.
The companies claimed it would unlock £11bn of investment, while increasing competition in the virtual mobile network operator market – operators such as Sky Mobile, Lyca and Lebara, which rely on the infrastructure large telecommunications companies.
Currently, most of them use Virgin Media's O2 and EE networks.
The rising cost of mobile phone contracts and other digital services is a concern for regulators, as is the slow rollout of 5G in the UK.
