Dr Alistair Robson’s Post

The merger with Three UK would be transformational for the UK, boosting the UK’s economy and market competition, and delivering very real benefits for customers.    Millions of people would get a much better-quality network from day 1, and through our £11 billion investment over ten years as a joint company, 99% of the UK population would get 5G Standalone by 2034.     From mobile to broadband, our lives revolve around – and rely on – fast, reliable connectivity. As tech like AI continues to accelerate, this will only intensify, and we need to be able to provide customers with the best service so they can experience all the benefits tech can bring. https://lnkd.in/eGx_-E9m    #TheNationsNetwork #TogetherWeCan #Vodafone #ThreeUK #CMA #5GSA   

This may be controversial…   We need to pay more for our mobile data.   Seeing that the Competition and Markets Authority will launch a Phase 2 investigation into the proposed merger of local carriers Vodafone and Three, explicitly stating a worry is that mobile customers could face higher prices and reduced quality networks.   But isn’t this counterintuitive? Currently we don’t have ubiquitous, high-quality networks all over the country, and when asked why MNOs reply that it doesn’t make economic sense to invest in them as they can’t earn a return on capital.    So why would the regulator want to stop investment by continuing the status quo that hasn’t delivered 5G networks as quickly as they could have been delivered?   Combine this with price – if MNOs can’t charge the right price for their product why would they continue to invest? In a market where data is more and more becoming a commodity and more and more necessary to everything, we do shouldn’t we value it more highly?   My view is simple – if we want better, more ubiquitous networks we need to value data in a more economical way and allow those companies that need to deploy networks to create business models that work – to just keep on doing the same thing, expecting a different result will not achieve the end result we all want – great networks and happy users.   #connectivity #networks #investment #innovation #mnos #2g #3g #4g #5g #business #enterprise #government #UK #property #growth #mobile #mobilenetworks #telecoms #telecommunications #mergers Vodafone Three UK BT Group EE Virgin Media O2   https://lnkd.in/eVXUvcsw

Big news in UK telecom! 📱 Vodafone & Three UK are merging to boost competition and invest £11B in 5G infrastructure. This move aims to modernize digital connectivity, benefiting everyone from students to businesses. Stay tuned for CMA's final decision on Dec 7! 📅 #TelecomNews

📢 Major Developments in the UK Telecom Sector! 📢 Exciting times are ahead for mobile customers in the UK. Here's a breakdown of the latest news and what it means for you: 📶 Network Sharing Agreement: Vodafone and Virgin Media O2 have announced a new long-term network sharing agreement. This collaboration is set to enhance mobile coverage and service quality across the UK, providing customers with more reliable connections and faster speeds. ➕ Proposed Merger: Vodafone is also in the process of merging with Three UK. This merger aims to create a strong third player in the UK mobile market, enhancing competition and ensuring better options and services at competitive prices. 💷 Investment in Infrastructure: The combined commitment of £11 billion from the proposed MergeCo International and an additional £2 billion annually from Virgin Media O2 will drive significant improvements in network infrastructure. This substantial investment will facilitate better connectivity and more robust services, benefiting both individual consumers and businesses alike. ⚖ Regulatory Approvals: The merger is subject to approval from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) the CMA’s main concern being the merged company’s impact on consumer tariffs and on its wholesale customers, such as Tesco Mobile and Sky Mobile. Stay tuned for more updates as these developments unfold! For more details, check out the full story bellow. Sources: Yahoo Finance | Financial Times | BBC | Vodafone #Telecom #networksharing #Vodafone #VirginMediaO2 #CustomerExperience #DirectCarrierBilling

Empowering Connectivity: CG Corp Global Expands Telecom Portfolio with Acquisition of Beeline as it ventures into Kyrgyzstan Telecom Market. Learn more about this milestone transaction reshaping digital connectivity! #CGCorpGlobal #BeelineKyrgyzstan #TelecomExpansion #Chaudharygroup

Two major telecom operators, Vodafone UK and Three, want to merge (based on an article by The Guardian). How would this impact consumers and the UK economy? 1. This would change the market structure which would be characterised by low competition, risking the operators engaging in price collusion and making consumers pay a premium of up to GBP 300 a year. 2. Better collaboration would enable a full-fledged 5G implementation as the UK currently lags behind most other European countries in 5G availability and coverage. 3. The Labour government's promise of nationwide 5G by 2030 creates political pressure to approve deals that could accelerate 5G deployment. If you think about it, the CMA operates on a semi-public model and would need to be objective in the evaluation of the merger. 4. One of the main aims of the merger is to create a larger entity with enhanced scale, which could imply cost efficiencies in network operations and technology deployment. Regardless, in my opinion, this merger should be blocked. The argument that consumers have to pay the premium is evident across sectors where consumers have lower bargaining power (for example, I posted an article a few months ago on a similar argument for aviation) is plentiful. Moreover, if the two entities fail to deliver outcomes up to Labour's expectations, it could prove detrimental in terms of further lowering consumer welfare. What is your opinion on the merger? #competition #economics #UKeconomy

The CMA issued its Phase 1 decision in the Vodafone / Three UK merger on Friday. This is a classic 4-to-3 telecoms deal where the merging parties argue they are sub-scale and not making sustainable returns. "We'd like to make more money" isn't the easiest argument to make to a competition authority but, to be fair, this case is more complicated than that. The previous attempt to consolidate the UK mobile network operator market failed in 2016 when Three UK and O2 (Telefónica UK) were blocked by the European Commission (loudly supported by the Competition and Markets Authority). The Court of Justice upheld the Commission's decision last year. The market has changed since then, but will the decision be different? The latest post on The Platform Law Blog discusses some of the key issues in the case. #vodafone #three #telecoms #consolidation

An interesting quote from Vodafone's Chief Exec around future national #5G roll out if the proposed Three VF merger doesn't go ahead. We know investment into 5G is high, and given falling mobile tariff prices over the last 15 years, it's hard for the MNO's to recoup their money. We're seeing a growing requirement for in-building 5G outside of sporting, production and manufacturing venues, but investment into such technology remains a reasonable uplift in cost from #4G. I foresee in the future, 4G & 5G will likely become a requirement from the MNO's, as it was with 3G and 4G prior to the 3G phase out, so it's certainly important to understand what that upgrade path is today, and the associated cost to your building as it can differ massively (50 - 100% of initial 4G cost) dependant on the technology you have installed i.e. active #DAS, Hybrid DAS or small cell. https://lnkd.in/eV7JqejY

Last week's announcement that the proposed Vodafone and Three merger has been cleared under the National Security and Investment Act by the UK government marks a significant milestone. However, there are still numerous competition concerns to address before the CMA grants approval. Check out my latest blog post for a detailed analysis on the key areas of concern for regulators: #mergersandacquisitions #regulatoryanalysis #competitionconcerns #telecoms #telecommunications #mvno #three #vodafone