T-Mobile and Orange merger under scrutiny
3 hopes move will create level playing field
The UK Office of Fair Trading has requested to the EU that it take over the anti-trust case regarding the Orange and T-Mobile merger.
The EU is currently considering the proposal, although will continue its own probe until the beginning of March this year.
3, the network in the UK with the lowest consumer base, is anxious to see the merger conducted fairly, and has contacted TechRadar with a statement from CEO Kevin Russell:
"We are concerned about the short and long-term competitive issues which the proposed merger raises for UK consumers and the mobile market. We believe that the OFT is right to call for the merger to be scrutinised where it matters most, the UK.
Digital future
The statement continues: "The proposed merger could lead to a concentration of 84 per cent of the nation's 1800Mhz radio spectrum in the hands of a single company. This spectrum is crucial for the realisation of the Digital Britain initiative.
"For the merger to take place without significant harm to consumers and competition we believe the merged operator should be required to release at least a third of the 1800Mhz spectrum it currently leases."
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The 1800MHz spectrum band is currently used for 2G voice calls, but in the future (as part of the Digital Britain initiative to allow broadband connections to the whole country) it will be freed up to be used for 3G data, and Orange and T-Mobile would currently be able to provide a faster service to more customers if allocations stay as they are.
Via WSJ
Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grew with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.