Vodafone and Three’s £15 billion merger approved: What does this mean for customers?

Vodafone and Three have been given the green light to merge by the Competitions Market Authority, as ITV News' Sam Holder reports

A £15 billion merger between Vodafone and Three UK has been approved by the Competition and Markets Authority.

The merger will create the UK’s largest mobile operator, with some 27 million customers.

In order for the deal to go ahead, both companies had to agree to invest billions to roll out a combined 5G network across the UK.

Previously, the CMA said they had concerns that the merger could lead to higher bills, but now they say it could benefit customers.

So what is the deal and how will it impact customers?

What is the approved deal?

After 18 months, the CMA has approved the combination of Vodafone and Three in the UK.

The merger will create the UK’s largest mobile operator.

It is expected to complete formally during the first half of 2025. Vodafone will own 51% of the equity and after three years will have the option to buy the rest of the merged company.

Will prices go up for customers?

The CMA previously said it had "particular concerns" that "higher bills or reduced services would negatively affect those customers least able to afford mobile services".

However, they have now said the deal could benefit customers by creating more competition in the UK's mobile sector.

Vodafone's chief executive has insisted the merger won't lead to price increases for customers.

Speaking on BBC Radio Four's Today Programme, Margherita Della Valle said the deal would be "self-funded" and so there would be "no extra costs from public funding and no extra cost for our customers".

In order to get the deal approved by the CMA, the companies had to commit to a price cap for certain mobile bills for the next three years.

It is unclear what plans the price freeze covers and what happens after this period.

Could mobile services improve?

Vodafone and Three have committed to spending £11 billion on improving the 5G network across the country.

Vodafone's CEO Margherita Della Valle claimed customers will "enjoy wider coverage, faster speeds and better-quality connections across the UK."

She said the "new network will reach 99% of the population and benefit over 50 million customers".

Canning Fok, deputy chairman of CK Hutchison, which owns Three UK, said the merger would make sure “customers across the country benefit from world-beating network quality”.

Who had previously opposed the merger?

Unite had previously called on the CMA to block the merger, describing it as "dangerous".

They said it could increase customers' bills by £300 a year and lead to thousands of job losses, in addition to the "brutal" 11,000 global job cuts announced last year by Vodafone.

BT also made its opposition clear when invited to submit its views for the CMA's investigation.

In a lengthy 40-page document, the provider said it would hand Three and Vodafone a "disproportionate share" of the market "unprecedented in the UK and Western European mobile markets", which it argues will "substantially lessen competition and deter investment".

Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.

Have you heard The Trapped? Listen as Daniel Hewitt exposes the UK's dirty secret..