Orange & T-Mobile Merger Finalised Comments

So will there be any immediate tangible benefits to the public, and exactly when will T-Mobile and Orange flick the switch on allowing customers to use each other's base stations and data networks?

Or will they start 'streamlining' the numbers of towers in overlap areas so that in actual fact the contention ratios stay the same or get worse and the whole thing heads south?!

Oh dear, this is definitely not a good move for consumers. I really hope the UK competition commission steps in a blocks a merger. Obviously the EUCC won't do anything to upset the French or Germans but the UKCC should stand up for UK consumers at least. If Voda end up buying 3 (which is a distinct possibility) it leaves the UK mobile networks split in three rather than 5, that will have a massive knock on effect to contract pricing and mobile subsidies and neither will be good for the consumer.

Other countries is which there are less than four main players have shown time and again that competition is lacking and prices are too high. If anything the UKCC should be leading the break up of Voda and O2 rather than the consolidation of the carriers.

Any hope of a DEAF TARIFF for the 9 million deaf and hard of hearing in the UK who are sick to the teeth of paying out for "talk-time" every month they don't want has further receded.
All hopes are on 3 or 02 to make the move and grab this huge segment of the market with a tasty Android....

These two companies are a perfect match - both suffer from poor coverage and dreadful customer service having being a customer of both networks.

Does anyone at TR's know any info about when this techno mash up will actually happen? (as in my first post) Or is this at the 'sometime in the future' phase?