It has been reported that the Office of Fair Trading is giving some sleepless nights for th eauthorities of Orange and T-Mobile that are looking forward to a promising merger, which would culminate in creating the biggest mobile broadband provider in the United Kingdom.
According to reports, the Office of Fair Trading currently wants the regulatory authorities in the United Kingdom to investigate the proposed merger of the two prominent mobile broadband providers operating in the United Kingdom, rather than being merely subjected to the scrutiny of Brussels.
The view of the OFT has been formed on the grounds that the merger of the two mobile broadband giants could disrupt competition to force a surge in the prices for the consumers, as it is almost certain that it wouyld result in the creation of the largest mobile phone network in the United Kingdom.
While the recent development is undoubtedly a relief for the consumer groups that were campaigning rigorously for an OFT scrutiny of the merger dfeal, it is nothing less than a blow for T-Mobile and Orange, as it sounds a further impediment for the merger that was announced originally in September.
As a matter of fact, the two mobile broadband providers had cherished the hopes that the scrutiny of the deal would be confined to the Brussels based regulatory body, which in its turn would possibly grand clearance as early as in mid-February.
06-02-2010
