Boss of mobile company Three criticizes ‘terrible’ UK coverage and signal speeds | Business News

The boss of mobile phone company Three has criticized the “terrible” speeds and availability of 5G in the UK.

Chief Executive Robert Finnegan made the comments as he called on regulators to approve the company’s deal Planned merger with Vodafone – arguing that the £15 billion move would pave the way for better investment in network infrastructure.

It came as Three reported pre-tax losses of £30m during the first six months of 2024 – an improvement on the £76m it lost during the same period last year.

Finnegan said that despite reducing its capital expenditure, the company “continued to make losses driven by the rising inflationary costs of operating our network.”

He said: “Our cash flows have been negative since 2020 and our costs have almost doubled in five years, which means investment in [the] network is unsustainable.

“UK mobile networks rank a dismal 22nd out of 25 in Europe in 5G speeds and availabilitywith the dysfunctional market structure denying us the ability to invest sustainably to resolve this situation.”

Finnegan added: “Our merger with Vodafone will unlock £11 billion of investment in digital infrastructure, creating a best-in-class 5G network for the UK and helping to grow the UK economy.”

Three said his comments were based on a report from research firm Opensignal earlier this year, which concluded the UK was lagging behind its European and G7 counterparts.

Denmark topped the survey rankings for mobile download speeds, with only Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland performing worse than the UK.

The UK’s four main mobile operators – Three, Vodafone, BT/EE and Virgin Media-O2 – are rolling out the technology to deliver 5G to phone users across the country.

In 2020 the government decided to block Chinese technology giant Huawei involvement in the construction of the network due to security concerns.

The ministers also ordered the removal of some already installed Huawei equipment.

However, some analysts claimed that the change resulted in disruptions and delays in implementation in the UK.

Fusion investigation

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is currently investigating the proposed merger of Three and Vodafone amid concerns mobile phone users may face higher prices and reduced service quality if plans go ahead.

The watchdog further raised concerns that the deal could make it difficult for smaller “virtual” operators such as Sky Mobile, Lebara and Lyca to negotiate good deals for their own customers, as it would reduce the number of network operators available to host them.

Three and Vodafone dismissed the concerns and said customers would be better off.

They argued that the merger would lead to increased investment in the network, while also allowing the companies to better compete with their main rivals BT/EE and Virgin Media-O2.

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The CMA – which could potentially impede the progress of the deal – expanded its investigation in April. The agency said in an update earlier this month that it will not be able to publish its final report on the matter until December.

The regulator said the delay is a reflection of the “very broad scope” of its inquiry and the “technical and regulatory complexity of the sector”.

Three’s half-year results, published on Thursday, also revealed that its revenues rose 9% to £1,335m during the period, while operating expenses rose 5% to £548m, which it said was boosted by an expanded network and cost inflation.

The number of the company’s customers increased by 3% from the previous year – about 352 thousand – for a total of almost 11 million.