BT and EE merger given the go ahead by monopolies commission (1 Viewer)

[buttons]

This sounds like a monopoly to me. Who does that leave outside apart from Three......

 

[iandsm]

O2 and Vodafone is about it

 

[buttons]

With such a large part of communication companies going on infrastructure it must reduce costs significantly for the big boys. BT and EE would be very big. Could the others compete.

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[GJH]

Large size of a company doesn't necessarily equate to high quality of service provision. Having used both BT and EE in the past I would have to invest in a much longer bargepole to do so again.

 

[tofo]

O2 and Vodafone is about it

I read somewhere recently
O2 and three are merging also

Which will leave us with
vodaphone
o2+three
Bt+ we

Sky is looking for a partner also

 

[buttons]

Large size of a company doesn't necessarily equate to high quality of service provision. Having used both BT and EE in the past I would have to invest in a much longer bargepole to do so again.

I have a few three contracts which I have had for fifteen+ years and one orange now EE which I have had for twenty+ years. Never felt the need to change but I did prefer Orange before they become involved with EE.

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[Gizmouk]

Three and O2 are looking to merge, and is currently awaiting regulatory approval
Talks between Vodafone and Liberty Global (Virgin Media) have just broken down, so Vodafone are turning to Sky - as both need to offer the "full monty"

 

[mariner]

I read somewhere recently
O2 and three are merging also

Which will leave us with
vodaphone
o2+three
Bt+ we

Sky is looking for a partner also

I've been with O2 for years and happy with them. I believe they are owned by Telefonica a Spanish company!
A merger with 3 would not be a bad idea!

I think, that if Telefonica, who have mobile phone systems in UK. Germany and Spain, allowed their customers to use their mobiles openly, in any of these countries, they would clean up, especially in Spain and the UK.

 

[teddybard]

Large size of a company doesn't necessarily equate to high quality of service provision. Having used both BT and EE in the past I would have to invest in a much longer bargepole to do so again.

I have such a Bargepole for sale Graham £500.

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[GJH]

I have such a Bargepole for sale Graham £500.

Sorry Roger, nice pole but it's £1500 too much

 

[Tootles]

 

[WynandJean]

Three and O2 are looking to merge,

Will they be known as 05?

Wyn

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[Gellyneck]

Will they be known as 05?

Wyn

Or just Oh Oh Oh!

 

[GJH]

Or just Oh Oh Oh!

That would be Magic (Never believe it's not so)

 

[DBK]

Will they be known as 05?

Wyn

Oh Cinque? (to rhyme with sink) We have half decent O2 reception here but Three reception sucks. I just hope they don't unplug the O2 transmitter if it happens.

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[chaser]

It wouldn't be so bad if they all used the same sat dishes or whatever they use , where we live we have to have o2 as nothing else works.

 

[mike mcglynn]

I found out the hard way that EE are ruthless it cost me a lot of money

 

[GJH]

I found out the hard way that EE are ruthless it cost me a lot of money

One of our sons used to be with T-Mobile and once received a £200 bill for a call from Oxford. Luckily he was able to prove that he had signed out from work ten minutes before the alleged call was made. Even T-Mobile had to admit that it takes more than ten minutes to get to Oxford from Middlesbrough

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[Gromett]

The way I see it. BT isn't a mobile phone carrier provider at the moment. So BT merging with EE won't reduce the number of competitors in the market. It shouldn't affect competition. However it may affect MVNO operations which is what the commission looked into.

The Three/O2 merger will be a different beast as it will reduce the number of operators in the market. In my opinion we need at least 3 operators to ensure competition. 2 operators will likely not compete as hard to avoid a price war. Whereas with 3 in the market there will be a smaller operator for whom the risk of a price war is worth taking. This is what leads to benefits for the consumer.

Just my opinion of course.

 

[teddybard]

Sorry Roger, nice pole but it's £1500 too much

cheapskate

 

[Gizmouk]

It wouldn't be so bad if they all used the same sat dishes or whatever they use , where we live we have to have o2 as nothing else works.

Historical.
Are you sitting comfortably ?
Back in the day, Vodafone and Cellnet had the UK mobile market sewn up tighter than a ducks chuff. To save costs they shared cell sites, although if you go inside one of their cabins they have their own transmission and power kit. Call costs were the same <cough> price fixing <cough>. Where there was a low potential subscriber base, they'd agree on who was going to cover that cell.
Along came the new boys on the block - One2One (now T-Mobile) and Hutchison (now Orange). They wanted to offer cheaper calls, and <jaw drop> free incoming calls. This caused "The Cartel" much anxiety, and so a devious plan was concocted. They wouldn't allow the upstarts to share their cell sites because - "they use a completely different bandwidth (true) which will interfere with our equipment" (cough). And thus One2One and Hutchison had to go to much expense keeping me and many others in the lifestyle we're accustomed.
The Cartel got away with it for some time, until some boffins proved that "interference" claim was about as plausible as an MPs expenses claim. Oftel (now OFcom) decreed that thus forth all four had to get on like bestie mates - and that never happened.
Three normally use their own masts / cabins ... cos no one liked their idea of giving stuff away for free. Twats.
And that's why you sometimes see two or more masts in close proximity.
The End

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[Gromett]

Historical.
Are you sitting comfortably ?
Back in the day, Vodafone and Cellnet had the UK mobile market sewn up tighter than a ducks chuff. To save costs they shared cell sites, although if you go inside one of their cabins they have their own transmission and power kit. Call costs were the same <cough> price fixing <cough>. Where there was a low potential subscriber base, they'd agree on who was going to cover that cell.
Along came the new boys on the block - One2One (now T-Mobile) and Hutchison (now Orange). They wanted to offer cheaper calls, and <jaw drop> free incoming calls. This caused "The Cartel" much anxiety, and so a devious plan was concocted. They wouldn't allow the upstarts to share their cell sites because - "they use a completely different bandwidth (true) which will interfere with our equipment" (cough). And thus One2One and Hutchison had to go to much expense keeping me and many others in the lifestyle we're accustomed.
The Cartel got away with it for some time, until some boffins proved that "interference" claim was about as plausible as an MPs expenses claim. Oftel (now OFcom) decreed that thus forth all four had to get on like bestie mates - and that never happened.
Three normally use their own masts / cabins ... cos no one liked their idea of giving stuff away for free. Twats.
And that's why you sometimes see two or more masts in close proximity.
The End

Thanks for that most interesting. It confirms my beliefs to some extent that you do need at least 3 serious contenders in a market place to keep them competitive. Well done Three.

 

[GJH]

Cellnet and Vodafone developed their first (analogue) cell phone systems in parallel, Cellnet (jointly owned by BT and Securicor) using Motorola technology and Vodafone (owned by Racal) using technology developed by Racal itself in the UK and South Africa.
My late cousin, Dave Larsen, retired as CEO of Racal Electronics South Africa in 1978 and concentrated on development of cellular radio technology at his own experimental radio station at Salbu near Centurion. Much of what we now take for granted in digital cell phone technology was developed at Salbu.

 

[gus-lopez]

I've been with O2 for years and happy with them. I believe they are owned by Telefonica a Spanish company!
A merger with 3 would not be a bad idea!

I think, that if Telefonica, who have mobile phone systems in UK. Germany and Spain, allowed their customers to use their mobiles openly, in any of these countries, they would clean up, especially in Spain and the UK.

Put all the rest of them together & all the scams they get up to & they won't even come within a whisker of the absolute scum that Telefonica are.
Anyway didn't Telefonica sell out to Hutchinson whampoa earlier in the year or did it all fall through.?

Even this doesn't say that it has been appreoved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O2_(United_Kingdom)

Historical.
Are you sitting comfortably ?

And that's why you sometimes see two or more masts in close proximity.
The End

But the poor farmers get more money for each company using the mast .

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[premiere99]

@gus-lopez , O2 and Three it seems have no chance of joining together, the report today about the BT/EE merger states

"After a detailed investigation, our provisional view is that these concerns will not translate into a competition problem in practice.

"We provisionally think that the retail mobile market in the UK, with four main mobile providers and a substantial number of smaller operators, is competitive. As BT is a smaller operator in mobile, it is unlikely that the merger will have a significant effect on competition.

"By the same token, it is unlikely that the merger will have a significant effect on competition in the retail broadband market, where EE is only a minor player."

So I think 4 providers is OK but 3 is not enough competition and would make O2/Three the major player and Vodaphone and BT/EE will complain bitterly.

 

[Red Sonja]

In Ireland 3 have taken over 02. It does not offer any of the free stuff that I get with my 3 contract in the UK. I only use it for the calls I make in Ireland as it's convent for me. As 3 have taken over the 02 masts my signal in Ireland using my at home minutes and data us brilliant.