Vodafone’s Post

Small step for O2 and big for entire GSM network 🦾

Vodafone and Virgin Media O2 have announced a landmark long-term network sharing agreement that could reshape the UK mobile landscape. This strategic move aims to leverage synergies and combine their strengths, delivering enhanced connectivity, increased competition, and unlocking new avenues for growth. The partnership will bolster mobile coverage and deliver superior services across the UK, benefiting millions of customers. A key element of the agreement is Virgin Media O2's plan to acquire spectrum from the merged entity (pending regulatory approval of Vodafone's merger with Three UK). This move is expected to better align spectrum holdings among UK mobile operators and alleviate regulatory concerns regarding the merger. Bottom Line: This agreement represents a significant step forward for the UK telecoms sector, promising enhanced connectivity, increased competition, and new avenues for value creation. It also underscores the industry's commitment to continuous innovation and customer-centric solutions. #Telecoms #Innovation #Growth

Vodafone and VMO2 extend their network sharing agreement. This is an interesting new piece to the Three and Vodafone merger puzzle as there was a question mark over how the site sharing agreements would work. Subject to an approved merger the merged entity would access the site sharing agreement, which would appear to leave BT isolated with regards to site sharing, although their network is extensive. Interestingly (again subject to CMA approval) VMO2 will purchase spectrum from the merged company. The big question is does this address the concerns the CMA had about site sharing and hence sharing of strategic network plans. #mergersandacquisitions #vodafone #three #vmo2 #telecoms #telecommunications #5g https://lnkd.in/eaFhMRhG

Virgin Media O2 is planning a new set of growth initiatives after getting ahead of plan on extraction of financial benefit from its 2021 merger, including ‘incremental’ investments in customer experience, digital, fibre sales, and new products this year. Find out more about VMO2's growth initiatives from their results: #TelcoTitans #Telecoms #VMO2 #Financial #Results #Fibre #Digital #Strategy

The UK was ranked as the 23rd most competitive wireless market in 2023. UK mobile operators hold substantial amount of spectrum (6th highest) but spectrum is being under-utilized. Both spectrum and data usage is low. Will the 4 to 3 proposed merger between Vodafone and Hutchison Three improve or worsen UK's mobile market competitiveness? https://lnkd.in/dbCgukgb

Virgin Media O2 has extended its network-sharing agreement with Vodafone and will acquire spectrum for a merged Vodafone/Three UK if a deal is greenlighted by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority VMO2 was conspicuous by its absence when the CMA published responses to its issue statement on the tie-up of the UK’s third and fourth largest mobile network operators, but in a statement today said the deal will “transform the experience for tens of millions of customers across the UK and (subject to CMA approval) will rebalance the mobile market by creating a third scaled network operator,” in rhetoric similar to the two merging parties. The new network sharing agreement “significantly extends” the current agreement between Vodafone UK and VMO2. Although the agreement is independent of the merger being waved through, if approval is granted then the merged entity of Vodafone and Three (MergeCo) will be permitted to participate in the agreement. In this instance, VMO2 will also acquire spectrum from MergeCo at market value, a condition that was widely expected to be mandated by the CMA anyway. Thanks to Massimo Fatato, NTT DATA UK&I for weighing in on the impact on the UK's MVNO market as well! Read more on Capacity: https://lnkd.in/eqJ6vBHS

The CMA considers that combining Three UK and Vodafone gives rise to a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition (SLC) in the supply of 1) retail mobile services and 2) wholesale mobile services in the UK On 1), the CMA believes the merger may lead to higher prices and lower investment in network quality. The parties have announced a plan to invest £11bn over the next 10 years and said that increasing prices was not part of the transaction rationale. However, while it may not be a fan of behavioural remedies, the CMA could push for binding commitments, particularly on not raising prices for a given period. Worth noting that O2 and Three proposed similar back in 2016, but this was rejected by the European Commission On 2), the CMA is concerned by the merger reducing the number of operators competing to host MVNOs. It appears not to have bought the argument proposed by some that much greater network capacity provides an incentive to fill it, driving competition upstream. The CMA might consider seeking commitments to protect retail competition, e.g. reserving capacity or better terms for MVNO access, including for those MVNOs already in the market with some scale

From DTVE: The #Spanish government has approved the #merger of Orange España with MÁSMÓVIL, paving a way for a realignment of the highly competitive Spanish #TV operator market.[...] The #merger of Spain’s number two and four #telecom operators has already received a green light from the EC (European Commission). That approval was conditional on MásMóvil selling #spectrum assets to #Romania-based alternative #telco DIGI, enabling the latter to move from being a pure MVNO to building its owned and operated #mobile network. MásMóvil must divest spectrum in the 1,800MHz, 2m100MHz and 3.5GHz bands to Digi. Orange and MásMóvil must also enter an optional national roaming agreement, which Digi can decide to use or not. This is to enable Digi to provide national mobile coverage as any future network it builds on its own will not cover the entire national territory. The remedy commitments do not include any fixed assets as Digi already has substantial fixed #fibre network in the country, which it is continuing to build. The #JV that will result from the government’s green light will create a new market leader in #Spain in terms of number of customers, with over 30 million mobile services, 3.7 million #broadband customers and 2.2 million TV customers. The combined operator will have revenues of over €7.4 billion and EBITDAaL of €2.3 billion, with an enterprise value of about €18.6 billion. #mergersandacquisitions #mergersacquisitionsdivestitures #ownership

📢 Attention business professionals and telecom enthusiasts! BT Warns Three UK and Vodafone's proposed merger could significantly impact competition and lead to higher prices in the UK's telecom market, according to ISPreview UK. This development has sparked concerns about the potential consequences for consumers and the industry as a whole. The telecom landscape is rapidly evolving, and it's crucial to stay informed about these impactful changes. What are your thoughts on this? Share your insights and let's engage in a meaningful discussion about the future of telecom in the UK. #BT #ThreeUK #Vodafone #TelecomIndustry #CompetitionConcerns #UKTelecomMarket https://ift.tt/oavKhtE

Major telco news in the UK this afternoon as Virgin Media O2 plots a move into the fixed-line wholesale market. This would enable it to offer access to its fibre and cable networks to other providers and represents a direct challenge to BT’s Openreach unit. It could help it pursue merger and acquisition opportunities in fixed-line broadband. With dozens of alternative providers, the UK is ripe for consolidation and such a move would bring Virgin Media O2 crucial scale benefits.   Attention will now turn to which providers would consider signing up with the new entity, how it could be regulated and whether there will be any response from Openreach.   The move should be considered as a positive for UK broadband customers as it creates fresh opportunities for new and existing service providers and long overdue competition to Openreach.