There are plenty of reasons for viewing today’s huge merger deal between the UK mobile networks of Vodafone and Three with suspicion. It could reduce choice for consumers. It may lead to job losses. And it is possible that they will downgrade their service even more than they already have, cut back on investment, and squeeze more money out of a captive market.
Yet that is not quite the whole story. In fact, done right, the merger could even turn out to be a rare Brexit win.
Today’s tie-up between Vodafone and Three was widely expected. The two companies will combine their British networks, and will have 27 million users between them, taking them ahead of Virgin Media O2, with 24 million and BT Group with 20 million. It will become the leading provider in the industry. Of course it remains to be seen whether our new, slightly batty regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority, allows it to go ahead.
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