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News

The £15 billion merger would drastically reshape the UK mobile market, creating a new market leader with 28 million customers

This week, a report from The Financial Times suggests that the long-awaited merger between Vodafone UK and Three UK is soon to become reality, with an announcement expected later this month.

Sources suggest that negotiations between the two companies are almost finished, with the deal valued at around £15 billion, around £6 billion of which is debt.

Rumours that the two companies have been considering a merger have been circling for years, though discussions between the two companies were only formally acknowledged in October last year.

Initial outlines suggest that the merger will see majority ownership of the combined entity go to Vodafone with a 51% stake, while CK Hutchison, Three UK’s owner, taking the remaining 49% stake. Rumours even suggest that the deal could be something of a steppingstone for Hutchison to exit the UK market entirely, likely by selling off its minority stake to Vodafone at a later date.

Vodafone’s interim CEO Margherita Della Valle took on the role permanently last month, a move that likely steadied the ship and helped advance negotiations with Hutchison.

Naturally, such a mega merger would present a huge shakeup for the UK telecoms market, shrinking the country’s mobile ecosystem down to just three players.

In the past, regulatory bodies within both the UK and the EU have been loathe to allow just three mobile players in a single market; in fact, this was one of the main reasons why the Telefonica’s O2 was disallowed from merging with Three back in 2016.

In recent years, however, the regulatory landscape has gradually grown more relaxed when it comes to major M&A. Earlier this year, for example, European Commissioner Thierry Breton said there were “no taboos” when it came to mergers in the telecoms space, especially when doing so would encourage cross-market consolidation.

But despite regulators warming to the concept of major telecoms mergers, it seems likely they will still impose some form of restrictions on any tie-up between Three and Vodafone. Exactly what stipulations might be imposed on the two companies is unclear, but they could include price freezes for customers and various network rollout assurances, particularly in rural areas.

How would the merger of Vodafone and Three impact the UK’s telecoms industry?  Join the ecosystem in discussion at this year’s live Connected Britain conference

Also in the news:
ECTA calls on the European Commission to think again
Research claims FTTH reduces internet CO2 emissions by a third
Fibre will underpin our 5G future, says ITS Technology Group at Connected North

Press Release

This week, Air Canada and Bell have announced a multi-year partnership that will make it even easier to stay connected — both on the ground and in the skies. The partnership delivers on Air Canada and Bell’s longstanding commitments to elevating the customer experience, while focusing on added benefits for newcomers and visitors to Canada, preparing them to connect to Canada’s best network as soon as they land.

Starting May 15, Air Canada and Bell will offer free messaging for all Aeroplan members worldwide on all Wi-Fi equipped aircraft across Air Canada’s fleet, including Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express flights. This offering will enable customers to send and receive text-based messages via onboard Wi-Fi using popular messaging apps including Apple’s iMessage, Meta’s WhatsApp and Messenger, Rakuten’s Viber, and Messages by Google.  Also, this benefit will be available to strategic partner airline loyalty members, including customers of United MileagePlus, Lufthansa Group Miles & More and Emirates Skywards when their account numbers are associated with an Air Canada booking.

Additionally, with this new partnership, newcomers and visitors to Canada will gain easy and immediate ways to stay connected as they arrive in Canada. With complimentary mobile SIM cards on select inbound international flights, newcomers and visitors can activate in flight, allowing them to walk off the plane and be connected.

In keeping with Air Canada and Bell’s commitment to its customers, this partnership will enable additional areas of collaboration and customer benefit, including the development and offering of Aeroplan promotional rewards, as well as building upon Air Canada’s award-winning in-flight entertainment offering with the expansion of Live TV service on flights to the U.S., expected later this summer.

“Canadians are at the centre of this exciting new partnership. We’re so proud to join with an iconic brand to deliver real value to customers across the country, and, importantly, to those new to our country. This multi-faceted partnership with Bell will allow Air Canada customers to keep in touch with friends, family, or colleagues wherever they travel. What’s more, we’re elated that Bell will be joining as the latest Aeroplan partner, creating another way for members to travel more, and travel better,” said Mark Nasr, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Digital, and President of Aeroplan at Air Canada.

“We’re excited to partner with Air Canada, and innovate on delivering enhanced experiences for our customers. For those new to Canada or visiting, we recognize how important it is to stay connected with family and friends, and the new opportunities being connected can bring. Many are already familiar with Bell and know we offer the best network, and we’re thrilled to be making it even easier for them to connect when they arrive in Canada,” said Claire Gillies, Executive Vice President, Marketing and President Consumer at Bell.

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Also in the news:
ECTA calls on the European Commission to think again
Research claims FTTH reduces internet CO2 emissions by a third
Fibre will underpin our 5G future, says ITS Technology Group at Connected North

Interview

Speaking at Connected North, Steve Doddington, Director of Telecoms at Netceed, formerly Comtec, discusses what the changing market means for them and their customers, while also touching on how the rebrand and continuous growth of the group can benefit all

Netceed, formerly Comtec, have had a busy year with their transition as well as servicing Tier 1 customers and trading with over 90 altnets and 230 contractors.

With the transition well underway, Netceed has come together in 14 countries with 1,200 employees. But what does this mean for their customers?

“Our customers benefit in lots of ways. We leverage our group ability to offer products to our customers, so through the wide product portfolio we have, we give our customers the options so we can truly offer them a one-stop-shop solution,” explained Doddington.

“And then, we take that leveraging a step further where we buy very well because we have group volume and we can pass that on to our customers and be very competitive with prices. So, the benefits our customers see are real and what we can also do with that is by implementing our supply chain method, we can add forecasting and inventory management, we hold £20m worth of stock here in the UK and then we can put logistics and value-added services around that as well.”

“So ultimately, we provide a full package that allows our customers to really concentrate on what they are good at, which is building networks and hooking up customers, and allow us to do the rest for them.”

You can watch the full interview from the link below

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Is the UK on track to reach its full fibre ambitions? Join the ecosystem in discussion at this year’s live Connected Britain conference

Also in the news:
ECTA calls on the European Commission to think again
Research claims FTTH reduces internet CO2 emissions by a third
Fibre will underpin our 5G future, says ITS Technology Group at Connected North