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LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Britain's telecoms regulator Ofcom
said it would assess potential consolidation in the mobile
market on a case-by-case basis rather than taking a fixed view
on an appropriate number of networks.
Ofcom had opposed the proposed merger between Three and O2
in 2015 because it wanted to retain competition between four
networks. The merger was blocked by European regulators.
"The question of whether a particular merger is likely to
result in a substantial lessening of competition will turn on
the effectiveness of competition that can be expected in the
market after the merger, rather than just the number of
competitors," it said on Wednesday in a discussion paper on its
future approach to mobile markets.
Ofcom said competition between EE, O2,
Vodafone, and Three had served Britain well
over the past 10 years, but consumers were increasing using
other networks such as Wifi at home or at work.
The decision to block the O2-Three merger, which would have
created Britain's biggest mobile operator, was overturned by the
EU's General Court last year.
By then O2, owned by Spain's Telefonica, had formed a joint
venture with Liberty Global's Virgin Media broadband network.
Mobile operators in Britain and the rest of Europe have
urged policymakers to allow mergers to encourage investment in
networks.
Vodafone's Chief Executive Nick Read said last week that the
company was pursuing deals with rivals in multiple European
markets, naming Britain, along with Spain, Italy and Portugal,
as a market where it saw merger opportunities.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by William James and Louise
Heavens)
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