Fone Forum

Sources familiar with the merger deal between France Telecom owned Orange UK and T-Mobile, which is owned by Deutsche Telekom, have reported that the two companies have offered concessions to the European Commission in an attempt to secure an approval from the European competition watchdog.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, sources close to the matter reported that the companies were willing to sell off part of their combined radio spectrum and to provide some network-sharing guarantees so that the EC is convinced that their merger will not hamper competition in UK's telecom industry.

When contacted, European Commission representatives confirmed the offer made by the two leading companies but failed to comment any further on the matter.

The merger between two of UK's leading telecom services providers will create a massive market force with a combined market share of 37 percent compared to O2's 27 percent and Vodafone's 25 percent .

In September last year, both companies had jointly announced that they will be merging their UK businesses in order to compete in the UK market as the companies were struggling against the massive popularity enjoyed by Vodafone and O2.

Source:-   ITProPortal (http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2010/2/18/orange-t-mobile-make-concessions-get-eu-approval/?utm_source=email_marketing_system&utm_medium=email&utm_content=9012401&utm_campaign=7%20Reasons%20Why%20HTC%20Desire%20Will%20Beat%20Google%27s%20Nexus%20One%20%7C%20Windows%207%20Ultimate%20Runs%20On%2010-year%20Old%20PC%20%7C%20UK%20Customers%20To%20Pay%20Premium%20For%20Microsoft%20Office%202010).

Their comment:-

"The merger may give an edge to the combined company in UK telecom market, which is why it has come under the scrutiny of the European watchdog.  This will also cause concern for the likes of Three or Virgin Media which rely partly on Orange and T-Mobile to plug any holes they might have in their network coverage".