Vodafone/Three merger set to mean higher prices – CMA
08:16 , Graeme Evans
Vodafone and Three’s planned UK merger could lead to price hikes for millions of customers, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warned today.
Publishing its provisional findings, the CMA said the tie-up had the potential to create a substantial lessening of competition in the UK – in both retail and wholesale mobile markets.
It will now explore potential solutions to its concerns before making a final decision on the tie-up by 7 December.
The CMA said the merger could lead to price increases for tens of millions of mobile customers, or see customers get a reduced service such as smaller data packages in their contracts.
The watchdog has particular concerns that higher bills or reduced services would negatively affect those customers least able to afford mobile services.
It also provisionally found that the merger would…
