France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom have both announced today that they will merge there UK operations to become the biggest UK mobile phone network.
The deal is currently under review by the regulatory authorities which should be completed in the first half of 2010
Orange & T-Mobile Joint Venture
Timotheus Höttges, Deutsche Telekom CFO said:
‘This joint venture is based on the full commitment of Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom to a long-term partnership.
‘The negotiations were conducted in a fair way on both sides and I am certain that this spirit of professionalism and partnership will shape the future of our joint venture. It will set new standards as the number one in the UK mobile market.’
It will be interesting to see how this pans out for current customers of both Orange and T-Mobile. And what will the knock on effect be for general consumers? Is this going to reduce competition and encourage industry wide price rises?
