Ofcom says BT merger with EE could harm other mobile firms
Telecoms giant BT could be facing double trouble from the industry regulator, after Ofcom revealed concerns surrounding its proposed merger with mobile network EE.
The planned £12.5bn takeover is being probed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which issued an update regarding the scope of its investigation at the end of last week.
Ofcom is assisting the CMA with its inquiry. Earlier last week the regulator published a wide-ranging review of the UK’s digital communications sector that said it would consider splitting BT from its network Openreach. BT chief executive Gavin Patterson told the Sunday Telegraph that he would consider legal action if such a verdict was reached.
The review also said that BT could be incentivised to discriminate against other mobile providers. “This is one of the potential concerns arising from the proposed BT / EE merger,” Ofcom said.