Fone Forum

Mobile networks, developments, services, & offers => Network developments => Topic started by: Dan on January 23, 2015, 06:27:18 AM



Title: Mobile network Three to buy O2 in £10bn deal
Post by: Dan on January 23, 2015, 06:27:18 AM
It actually looks like it's going to happen!

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/23/mobile-network-three-to-buy-o2


Title: Re: Mobile network Three to buy O2 in £10bn deal
Post by: davegr on January 23, 2015, 07:24:05 PM

An expected move I think even though both parties denied it for months. Probably a good thing for customers of both networks as far as service quality goes (O2 needs better 3G, Three would benefit from 2G) and probably the reason that Three's 4G roll-out has been quite slow. Why bother if your parent is going to buy a network that already has 4G?

On the other hand there will only be 3 networks left (Vodafone, Three/O2, EE) eventually which isn't very good for competition.



Title: Re: Mobile network Three to buy O2 in £10bn deal
Post by: mobileman on January 25, 2015, 05:18:13 PM
An expected move I think even though both parties denied it for months. Probably a good thing for customers of both networks as far as service quality goes (O2 needs better 3G, Three would benefit from 2G) and probably the reason that Three's 4G roll-out has been quite slow. Why bother if your parent is going to buy a network that already has 4G?

On the other hand there will only be 3 networks left (Vodafone, Three/O2, EE) eventually which isn't very good for competition.

Personally I would have majored on the competitive disadvantages, rather than just making that an afterthought tucked on at the end.  It is rumoured that prices rose after Three took over another mobile network in Austria.   :'(

What interests me is why Three never put in an offer for T-Mobile when Deutsch Telecom wanted to offload them?   :-\
It seemed to make obvious sense, seeing they already shared 3G and HSDPA networks in the UK.   ;)
That would have saved us from the EE monstrosity.   :'(
Any thoughts davegr?   :-\



Title: Re: Mobile network Three to buy O2 in £10bn deal
Post by: davegr on January 26, 2015, 01:38:46 PM
Personally I would have majored on the competitive disadvantages, rather than just making that an afterthought tucked on at the end.  It is rumoured that prices rose after Three took over another mobile network in Austria.   :'(

I know the media has predicted that prices will rise in the UK as a result of consolidation but I think it's best to wait and see.

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What interests me is why Three never put in an offer for T-Mobile when Deutsch Telecom wanted to offload them?   :-\
It seemed to make obvious sense, seeing they already shared 3G and HSDPA networks in the UK.   ;)

I'm sure these is a good reason. O2 isn't such a bad buy for them, with great 2G coverage, great customer satisfaction and a customer base with low smartphone penetration. That could translate to a lot of sales of new phones with associated services.

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That would have saved us from the EE monstrosity.   :'(

I agree that EE is something of a monstrosity. Having had (and still do) several contracts with them I've been through a lot of hassle trying to get problems resolved when they frequently occurred. However, I have to say that they do have the best network in the country at the moment.