It was announced in September 2009 that the two mobile phone network operators Orange and T-Mobile planned to merge. A move that would seem them become the largest network provider in the UK. The merger is now a step closer after the European Commission gave it the green light.
The move, which affects the France Telecom-owned Orange UK and the British arm of T-Mobile will see them gain 37% of UK market share according to The Times newspaper resulting in them overtaking O2 as the biggest network operator.
Orange UK
On its Orange UK website, the company gives a run down on how it became the fourth network to enter the UK market to now having over 17 million customers in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1994 by the Hutchison Telecom group, Orange UK fast became a popular network in the UK and quickly attracted a large customer base seeing them become the fastest growing operator. The company, famous for its ‘Orange Wednesdays’ offer was bought by France Telecom in 2000 who still remains the parent company today.
T-Mobile UK
The British arm of the T-Mobile group which is owned by Deutsche Telekom started life in the UK in 1993 when it was known as ‘Mercury One2One’, later rebranded as ‘One2One’. The company was bought by the German firm in 1999 and was rebranded as T-Mobile. According to its website, T-Mobile also has just over 17 million customers almost the same amount as their new partner. Operating 275 UK stores and employing almost 6000 members of the staff, the company has been one of the four big network operators in Britain for some time.
Merged Companies to be Rebranded
The amalgamation of the two firms is expected to be completed in spring of this year but as yet, no details have been released regarding the rebranding of the firms and any possible name changes. It is likely that both company names will remain until a later a date when rebranding can go ahead. Staff within the two firms are now waiting hear of any job losses. No details have been released as to how many stores will close or how many redundancies may be necessary but it has been acknowledged that adjustments will have to be made with the new company to meet the predicted £600 million cost of the merger.
Customers and Office of Fair Trading Question the Affect on the UK Market
There are fears that the merger may lead to customers getting a raw deal with some predicted price increases on contracts and tariffs, however, other customers share a different view and believe that prices may actually fall as a result of cost-savings within the company.
A revised deal had to be submitted from the two firms before it could be passed by the European Commission to due concerns from industry watchdogs, rival operators and the Office of Fair Trading regarding its future operations. Now that revised plans have been put into place, the fears of various groups seem to have been calmed.
Sources:
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article7035175.ece
http://newsroom.orange.co.uk/about/
http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/services/about-t-mobile/our-company/facts-and-figures/
David Myerscough - David, a Business Studies graduate from the UK began his professional writing career in early 2010. Currently, David writes for online ...
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