New network partnership for O2 and Vodafone

Vodafone and O2 have announced plans which will see them merge their networks into one single grid.

The idea behind the new plans is the improve coverage for customers and also to speed up the move to 4G. The partnership will mean they can roll of 4G services much quicker, and want everything in place 2 years before Ofcom’s 2017 deadline.

Though the two networks will merge, this will not mean that customers will be able to roam between the two networks. A similar merger between Orange and T-Mobile which created ‘Everything Everwhere’ does enable customers to roam between the two networks.

Upon the announcement of the merger, Ronan Dunne CEO of O2 commented: “This partnership is about working smarter as an industry, so that we can focus on what really matters to our customers – delivering a superfast network up to two years faster than Ofcom envisages and to as many people as possible.”

“One physical grid, running independent networks, will mean greater efficiency, fewer site builds, broader coverage and, crucially, investment in innovation and better competition for the customer.”

The merage now reduces the amount of independant mobile networks in the UK to three (O2 and Vodafone, Everything Everywhere and Three) when the figure stood at five just three years ago.