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In a story picked up on by numerous weekend papers, and also MobileToday.co.uk, it would appear that Vodafone (and perhaps others) are mulling over a bid for T-Mobile.
As you might or might not know, the UK Mobile Operator market is a rather packed one, with O2, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and 3 as the infrastructure-owning Operators, then a bunch of MVNOs running services too!
Vodafone’s CEO, Vittorio Colao, was quoted as saying that consolidation of the MNO situation in the UK wouldn’t be a bad thing – and of course adding a number of millions of subs to the successful bidder wouldn’t do that Operator any harm either!
The current situation in the UK means we have a three-tier Operator classification in terms of sub – two big(ger) players in the form of O2 and Vodafone, with approaching 20m subs each, and then another tier with T-Mobile and Orange on it (with a third tier occupied by the smaller 3) – that makes T-Mobile, Orange, and 3 themselves all viable targets – but of course, which ones represents the best value? Well that would entirely depend on the profitability of the user base, and I’d imagine, the network fit with the topology of cell sites, between the purchaser, and er… purchasee! 
On a more serious note though, I think we can expect to see signs of a purchase, and maybe even a rushed completion, within the next 12-24 months. As for the target(s), I say T-Mobile and 3.
[Original story via: MobileToday.co.uk]
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
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