Vodafone and Three customers could have bills frozen for 'three years'

Vodafone and Three customers could be handed a "bill freeze" so the merger between the two firms can go through. The Competition and Markets Authority has today appeared to give a “provisional” approval to Vodafone and Three UK’s recently tabled commitments under their proposed merger, which were intended to placate concerns that the deal could result in a “Significant Lessening of Competition” (SLC) in the mobile market.

The merger itself, which would see Vodafone retain a 51% slice of the business and CK Hutchison (Three UK) hold 49%, has repeatedly been promoted as something that would be “great for customers, great for the country and great for competition."

The remedies proposed today would require Vodafone and Three to "deliver their joint network plan" and "commit to retain certain existing mobile tariffs and data plans for at least 3 years, protecting millions of current and future Vodafone / Three customers (including customers on their sub-brands) from short-term price rises in the early years of the network plan."

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Stuart McIntosh, Chair of the CMA Inquiry Group, said: “We believe this deal has the potential to be pro-competitive for the UK mobile sector if our concerns are addressed. Our provisional view is that binding commitments combined with short-term protections for consumers and wholesale providers would address our concerns while preserving the benefits of this merger.

"A legally binding network commitment would boost competition in the longer term and the additional measures would protect consumers and wholesale customers while the network upgrades are being rolled out.” Vodafone and Three said they believe the CMA's provisional findings provide "a path to final clearance" of their merger plans. A spokesperson for the firms said: "The merger will be a catalyst for positive change. It will bring significant benefits to businesses and consumers throughout the UK, and it will bring advanced 5G to every school and hospital across the country. The merger is also closely aligned with the Government's mission to drive growth and to encourage more private investment in the UK."