UK Mobile Networks Shrink From 5 to 2?

Competition seems to take a back seat in a down economy and the United Kingdom’s mobile operator scene is apparently no exception. U.K. carriers are nearing completion on network-sharing deals that will effectively reduce Britain’s mobile network choices from five to two.

O2 and Vodafone plc are working on a network-share agreement involving 2G, 3G, data and transmission sites. Meanwhile 3 UK and T-Mobile UK have had such an arrangement since last year; British newspaper The Guardian says Orange UK may want to hitch up with their wagon train, as it were.

The effects of all of this? Consolidation of infrastructure, transport, base stations, back office and OSS would do what most consolidation does: strip out costs by taking duplicate resources offline, improve coverage and capabilities and build in further efficiencies to operations. The question of course, is whether carriers would pass the savings onto consumers.

In any event, the operators would continue to operate under separate brand names, even though subscribers effectively have a choice of only two networks. It’s unclear what differentiators, beyond billing and handsets, would remain in place if the deals go through.

Any agreements would need approval from the UK's Competition Commission and Office of Fair Trading.

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