The £16bn merger planned between networks Vodafone and Three UK could lead to higher bills for tens of millions more customers, the UK’s competition watchdog warned. The proposed merger will create Britain’s largest mobile phone operator with around 27 million customers but cut the number of mobile service providers from four to three.

The CMA cited potential negative effects on the consumer and MVNO sectors in the provisional results of its probe into Vodafone and 3's floated merger.

Vodafone’s £15bn merger with Three risks pushing up prices for tens of millions of mobile customers, the competition watchdog has warned. Economic research by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is understood to have concluded that mobile bills could rise by between 3pc and 6pc as a result of the deal.

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority said the proposed merger between Vodafone and Three would lead to a “substantial lessening of competition in the U.K.” phone market

Vodafone’s agreement to merge its U.K. business with rival operator Three raises competition concerns, the U.K.’s antitrust authority said, creating uncertainty on a deal poised to shake up the country’s telecommunications market.

Vodafone's $19 billion merger with Three UK could push up bills for millions of mobile customers and impact providers like Sky Mobile by reducing the number of networks from four to three, Britain's competition regulator said on Friday.

Vodafone and Three have rejected claims by the UK's competition watchdog that their proposed merger would lead to higher prices for millions of mobile users. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has "provisionally concluded" the deal would weaken competition between mobile networks.

The UK competition watchdog has found that the proposed £16.5bn merger of Vodafone’s business with CK Hutchison’s Three UK could lead to higher bills for tens of millions of customers, and demanded that the companies make changes to the deal.

Britain's competition regulator said Vodafone's $19 billion merger with CK Hutchison's Three UK could lead to higher prices for mobile customers and that it would explore potential solutions to its concerns before it makes a final decision about the deal in December.

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the Vodafone and Three U.K. merger would lead to price increases for tens of millions of customers.