Factbox-Vodafone, Hutchison UK merger to create country’s largest mobile operator
7:33 am Wednesday, June 14th, 2023
(Reuters) – Vodafone and CK Hutchison unveiled the merger of their British operations, creating the country’s largest mobile operator.
Hutchison will own 49% and Vodafone 51% of the combined group, which will be led by current Vodafone UK boss Ahmed Essam.
Here are some details on UK operations of both the companies:
CUSTOMERS
Vodafone had 17.9 million mobile customers as of February, while Hutchison, which operates under the name Three UK, had 13.1 million as of March, according to annual reports.
REVENUE
UK represented 14% of group service revenue for Vodafone, and 16% of total revenue for Hutchison, according to latest annual results.
EMPLOYEES
Vodafone had 9,198 employees in UK as of March 2022, while Three UK has more than 4,800 employees, according to its website.
RETAIL STORES
Three has 311 retail stores in UK, according to its website, while Vodafone UK had 410 stores as of January.
SPECTRUM
Vodafone has spectrum access between 3720-3760 MHz, while Three UK has access between 3460-3480 MHz, according to British telecoms regulator Ofcom.
BT Group-owned EE has access between 3680-3720 MHz and O2 has licenses in the range of 3760-3800 MHz.
(Compiled by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru)
