Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone have brokered a new network sharing deal that will also see the former acquire spectrum from a merged Vodafone/Three, should that tie-up come to fruition.
The UK mobile operators have essentially extended their existing network sharing arrangements, regardless of what happens with the Vodafone/Three merger. But the spectrum transfer element of the upgraded deal is the newsworthy item here.
Clearly, Vodafone and Three are hoping to smooth the regulatory process by offering spectrum concessions now. A spectrum imbalance in the UK market resulting from the merger has been one of the key criticisms levelled by opponents of the deal.
BT, whose EE unit will lose its crown as the UK's biggest mobile operator if the merger goes ahead, picked up on the spectrum issue in its response to the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA's) probe, published last month. Specifically, it noted that Vodafone/Three would have a disproportionate share of spectrum and capacity in the UK, warning of a lessening of competition and resulting threat to investment in the market.
Virgin Media O2 and the CMA, amongst others, have also highlighted surplus spectrum as being a competitive threat in the case of this tie-up. But now it is on the receiving end of the airwaves, VMO2 is understandably appeased.
