Virgin Media O2 to “shake up” UK market after £31bn merger
Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) has pledged to “upgrade the UK” and offer “unbeatable choice” to consumers after unveiling its new brand following the completion of a £31bn merger.
Regulators have given the green light to what is now the largest UK telecoms deal ever, with parent companies Liberty Global and Telefónica joining forces to provide broadband, mobile and TV services across the country.
Virgin Media and O2 already have 47 million customers, and while there are no plans to change services immediately, the newly formed company wants to provide “seamless” connections “all in one place” before the end of the year.
The merger will also see greater investment in infrastructure, with VMO2 set to spend £10bn over the next five years on upgrades for 5G and ultrafast broadband.
This will help it to meet the government’s ambitious rollout targets, with VMO2 set to bring fibre broadband to one million more premises during the next 12 months.
VMO2 CEO Lutz Schüler said that bringing together the two companies has created the “complete package” for customers desiring the best broadband and mobile services.
He noted: “We are ready to shake up the market and be the competitor the country needs at a time when choice has never been more important.”
Perhaps more importantly in the long term, the new company believes that the network convergence will enable it to finally challenge BT.
In the meantime, mobile customers with O2 have been assured that there will be no impact on customer service, contracts or signal quality as the merger goes ahead.