CONNECTED BRITAIN 2020: Robert Finnegan, CEO of 3 UK and Ireland (pictured), asserted consolidation in the UK would boost network quality and competition in a market he claimed was overcrowded.
He said the UK market was “dysfunctional” because large players were “maybe hamstrung by their parent company in terms of their ability to invest”, and noted the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak had brought network quality to the fore.
Consolidation, he argued, would aid the industry along with government goals for broadband availability. “And it would serve the customer well, because it would create a more pro-competitive environment”.
He cited consolidation moves in Austria, Italy and Republic of Ireland as examples of creating markets which were “functioning extremely well, are really very competitive and have heavily invested over the last number of years so the quality of infrastructure is really strong”.
Going forward, he emphasised on a need for a pro-investment environment.
“We need the government to ensure that legislation is put in place or regulation is in place to allow investment to flow into the industry”, and pointed to change in the way of allocating spectrum as an option.
In 2016, the European Commission blocked a proposal [1] by 3 UK’s parent CK Hutchison to acquire O2 UK, a move recently annulled [2] by the General Court of the European Union.
[1] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/home-banner/european-commission-blocks-hutcho2-tie-up
[2] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/eu-court-finds-no-harm-in-hutchison-o2-uk-tie-up
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