The UK mobile industry - here today, strong tomorrow

Today, it was made public that BT have agreed to buy the mobile operator, EE, in order to strengthen its domestic portfolio. We have entered a similar process with Hutchison Whampoa for them to acquire O2 in the UK.

Should the agreement being penned for O2 go ahead, it will strengthen its future as a leading UK communications provider at a time when the demand for mobile connectivity has never been greater. It is my belief that O2 and Three share core brand values - not least a mutual passion for putting customers first - and that, together, the two companies would create a powerful and more capable UK business.

Both sets of industry negotiations are said to be in their infancy and will be subject to the necessary approvals, including merger clearance. As a result, the future is far from certain. That being said, such events - regardless of outcome - suggest that a new era is being realised across the mobile communications industry.

In O2’s forthcoming report entitled ‘The Rise of Mobile and the Connected Society’, we explore how the nature of connectivity by UK citizens has broadened over the last 30 years. Our mobiles now connect us to businesses and brands, to internet products and services and – through the emergence of digital government – to local and national authorities (now at 28%).

This hyper-connectivity is dependent on the stability and scalability of mobile networks. From basic voice calls through to text and today’s scaling reliance on data services, the network is an essential infrastructure for today’s digital Britain. Unsurprisingly, our report found that 62% of smartphone owners admitted to regularly using their device for ‘general internet browsing or searching for information’.

And it is not just the private sector that is cognisant of this trend. The UK Government – recognising the benefits of digital – has committed to developing these services, pledging in 2014 to be ‘digital by default’.[1] The importance of this ambition being reflected at the highest political level should not be understated.

Recognition of our changing landscape is unavoidable, and that change requires action. As I have said many times before, the pace of evolution in the mobile industry is unrivalled - as is our ability to move with it. Today harbours no exception and the industry owes it to its customers, employees and wider society to grow and adapt.

To do that takes vision. As we, ourselves, respond to growing customer demand and the dawning of a new digital reality, I am confident that an agreement such as Hutchison and Telefonica are considering, would mutually benefit customers of both companies, as well as drive better value, quality and investment in one of the most digitally competitive countries in the world.

***O2’s report “The Rise of Mobile and the Connected Society” will be published in the coming weeks. www.o2.co.uk/news

[1] REFORM: Disruptive Innovation in Public Service Reform, 2014