Eurobites: CMA throws spanner into Vodafone-Three merger works

The proposed merger of UK mobile operators Vodafone and Three has been thrown into doubt by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has announced it is mandating a "phase 2" investigation into the proposed deal while expressing concern that the tie-up could lead to customers facing higher prices and "reduced quality." The CMA also worries that the merger may make it difficult for MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) such as Sky Mobile and Lyca Mobile to negotiate good deals for their customers. But – and here's the tricky bit – Vodafone and Three have just five working days to come up with "meaningful solutions" to the perceived problems thrown up by the merger. Better cancel that early Easter getaway, guys.

Kester Mann, an analyst with CCS Insight, said that the CMA's decision comes as no surprise but he believes the deal should and will still go ahead: "It is better to have three strong providers than two that are dominant and two that are sub-scale. Blocking it could thwart the long-term development of the UK's telecom infrastructure."

Independent analyst Paolo Pescatore agreed that this was a not unexpected turn of events, adding: "Both parties need to demonstrate that this is genuinely in the interest of UK plc, the economy, and consumers for it to have a chance of getting over the line."

No such complications for Dutch operator KPN, which has had its proposed acquisition of MVNO Youfone unconditionally approved by ACM, the competition authority in the Netherlands. The €200 million (US$220 million) deal is expected to close in early April. Youfone had around 540,000 Dutch customers as of September 2023.

Max, the streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, is heading to Europe in May. Offering a combination of content from HBO Max, Discovery and Eurosport, Max will initially become available across the Nordics, Iberia and in Central and Eastern Europe. Further launches will follow in Poland, the Netherlands, France and Belgium. These launches mean Max will be available in 25 countries in Europe and 65 countries and territories worldwide.

A new notification system between BT, the emergency services and the UK government has been set up as part of a review looking into potential measures that could help prevent a repeat of last summer's emergency-call system failure. On June 25, BT experienced a technical fault affecting its ability to transfer 999 calls to the emergency authorities. It marked the first nationwide loss of the 999 service in more than 86 years. First, calls to 999 were unintentionally disconnected, and then failed to connect, until BT's backup system was successfully activated, which then caused delays in transferring 999 calls before the issue was resolved later the same day.

Totem, the Orange-owned towers company, has begun deploying 5G equipment in the tunnels of what will become Line 15 South of the Paris Metro. In all, 1,000 pieces of 5G gear from Totem will be helping to provide connectivity to the 16 stations and 33km of the line, once it is complete. Totem hopes to complete the project by the end of next year.

Eutelsat has agreed a deal with NEC XON, part of Japan's NEC Group, enabling NEC XON to add Eutelsat OneWeb satellite capacity to its connectivity offering in sub-Saharan Africa. The service will be launched initially in South Africa, with a view to deploying it in 15 other countries in due course.

UK communications regulator Ofcom has introduced new rules forcing mobile network operators to provide its customers with clearer information about how much roaming abroad might cost them. From October 1, 2024, mobile providers will need to notify customers when they start roaming about any extra charges that might be incurred. The new measures also attempt to address the issue of "inadvertent roaming," whereby people living near, say, the English south coast can find themselves straying onto French networks and being charged extra as a result. But not everyone is convinced that Ofcom is doing enough. Ernest Doku, a telecom expert at price-comparison service Uswitch, said: "While we support these new rules, including roaming alerts and clear information on costs, they fall vastly short of the protections that consumers had come to expect. They will only come into force from October, so those traveling abroad this summer will still need to take extra precautions to avoid any surprises."

The UK's pre-eminent public broadcaster, the BBC, is thinking of building its own artificial intelligence foundation model and "training" it through exposure to its massive text archives, according to a Reuters report. A BBC spokesperson said that the output of any such GenAI model would be reserved exclusively for the broadcaster's own use.

Vodafone Germany says it has collected more than 1.5 million phones for recycling since it set up its One for One scheme with recycling firm Closing the Loop nearly two years ago. In total, more than 80 metric tonnes of e-waste have been collected through the scheme, from which  more than 6,300kg of copper, 37kg of silver and 7kg of gold will be returned into the recycling system.