Ofcom boss warns 02-Three merger could be bad for customers
Meanwhile, Vodafone is the latest telco to call for BT to be forced to spin out Openreach.
It’s all guns blazing in telecoms right now. As the industry undergoes a once-a-decade regulatory review, companies are falling over themselves to offer ‘quad-play’ (TV, landline, mobile, broadband) to customers, heralding a wave of mergers and acquisitions.
The BT-EE and O2-Three tie-ups are both under intense scrutiny by competition authorities. And last night, Ofcom boss Sharon White warned consolidation is likely to be bad for customers.
‘I am concerned that the UK could end up with more concentrated markets that lead to higher prices and reduced choice for consumers, without the promised boost to investment and innovation,’ she said at a speech at the London School of Economics.
