3 threatens to exit UK market
3, the UK’s fourth largest mobile network provider, is continuing its crusade against its bigger rivals.
Last month Canning Fok, managing director of Hutchison Whampoa, the Hong Kong-based conglomerate that owns 3, threatened David Cameron that the company could withdraw from the UK telecoms market unless 3 is guaranteed some airwaves in the upcoming auction of fourth-generation mobile spectrum.
“We are trying to ensure the government reserves some spectrum for the operators which don’t already have low frequency,” said a spokesperson for 3, which currently operates on a high frequency 2100MHz spectrum.
“If they don’t do that, there’s a real incentive for the larger operators to bid you out of the market,” the spokesperson added.
The UK’s top four mobile operators – Everything Everywhere, Vodafone, 02 and 3 – have had their fists up since Ofcom announced it would auction off low frequency 800MHz spectrum for 4G use.
The superfast connection will boost data speeds for activities such as video streaming and game play.
3, which has less than 10 per cent of the market, claims it will not be able to compete in a full blown bidding war.
A spokesperson said, “Three was brought in by the government to drive competition in the mobile industry, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
But a source close to the issue told City A.M. that Hutchison Whampoa is highly unlikely to pull out of the UK. The company is the biggest outside investor in the UK and has already ploughed billions into the country.