Vodafone and Three merger approved – when will it happen and what does it mean for customers?

UK mobile networks Vodafone and Three are to merge, after the Competition and Market's Authority finally rubber-stamped the proposal on Thursday.

Its approval means that the two will become a combined company in the first half of 2025 and will likely become the single largest operator in the country.

It's unclear exactly how that will impact customers of Three and Vodafone at present, nor do we know if the merged company will adopt a new name, combine the two (a la Virgin Media O2 after its merger) or simply go with one or the other, but it's suggested that the UK's 5G network stands to benefit.

"Consumers and businesses will enjoy wider coverage, faster speeds and better-quality connections across the UK, as we build the biggest and best network in our home market," said Vodafone Group's CEO, Margherita Della Valle.

As part of the merger, the two companies involved have committed to invest £11 billion in continuing to roll out a combined 5G network which, they claim, will cover 99% of the UK's population. This will expand on their own existing networks, of course.

How will the merger affect Three and Vodafone customers?

It's too early to say exactly how much of an impact there will be on existing customers of either network, whether they are on Android or iPhone. However, history tells us (from the mergers of EE/BT and Virgin Media O2) that it is more than likely that nothing much will change initially.

As customer contracts expire, they might be asked to sign up for a new plan from the combined company, but can also equally opt for a competitor instead.

It is very likely that all customers will be informed by email about any changes to their agreements by email when the final merger goes through next year.

The CMA initially feared that by the two combining, phone plan prices could soar, but there were reassurances this wouldn't happen. We're not entirely sure what the safeguards are at this time, though.

In more positive terms, Vodafone and Three customers could find that signal quality improves, as the network size increases dramatically. Three customers will finally get 5G signals in areas in which Vodafone has masts, and vice versa.

It has also been pointed out that Virgin Media O2 customers are set to benefit too. Vodafone and VM O2 have recently extended a long term network sharing partnership that means customers of all of the relevant operators will be able to get signals from the wider mobile phone network across the UK.