BT is in talks to acquire EE for £12.5 billion

By John Callaham
published

British Telecom has confirmed it has "entered into an exclusivity agreement with Deutsche Telekom and Orange" which could lead to BT acquiring the wireless carrier EE for about £12.5 billion. This means that the UK's largest land line and broadband company could buy the country's biggest mobile phone carrier.

BT states:

The proposed acquisition would enable BT to accelerate its existing mobility strategy whereby customers will benefit from innovative, seamless services that combine the power of fibre broadband, wi-fi and 4G. BT would own the UK's most advanced 4G network, giving it greater control in terms of future investment and product innovation.

BT previously said it was thinking about buying either EE or rival O2. This deal is far from final; BT says it will spend "several weeks" to complete its due diligence and talks with Deutsche Telekom and Orange, and it's possible that BT could decide to scrap any acquisition plans for EE.

Source: BT

John Callaham
John Callaham
28 Comments
  • Could make for a good package deal
  • Yes your EE contact packaged with worse customer service. I gave up using these Muppets for domestic lines years ago. The last thing I want is then taking over my mobile network.
  • Three would have had cheaper plans imo if they had purchased EE (I know this hasn't went through yet, just saying) :)
  • EE is bad enough. Have never considered BT for anything since the early 1990. Vodafone is shit. So probably move back to 3
  • Wonder why they're after EE rather than O2.  Telefonica's a mess so I'm sure it would be happy to offload O2 much cheaper than EE.  BT has its own 4G spectrum which could be added to O2's.  Very strange.  I wonder what OFCOM and the Competition Commision will have to say about the 2 biggest communications companies mergeing.  Probably nothing, as they're generally toothless.
  • EE customer base is much bigger and 'currently' the best network - I moved from O2 to EE, best move ever. I'm sure things will change, but for me EE are currently working well.
  • Funny, I've just returned to O2 after nothing but trouble with EE. Leaving was the best move ever. Still get fast 4g, more data, cheaper price and so far no billing mistakes or missing deliveries.
    Plus I now get a signal in my office again. No more having to walk outside to call people.
  • My wife is still on O2 after almost leaving because on her then 3G contract she could not get a signal at work - she previously had a good 3G signal.  She eventually got to the bottom of the isssue - O2 had upgraded the local transmitter to 4G and this had screwed up 3G signal. Others in her office also suffered. After threatening to leave and producing techincal proof that their network change was the cause, they gave her a free upgrade to a 4G phone/contract and 6 months airtime free. Although I am happy with EE, I can guarantee that will change, they all do. I've been with every network over 20yrs and they all have had issues at one time or another. By far the worst for me was Three, I had to threaten legal action to cancel my contract  - even though I had been with them over 2 yrs (on a 2yr contract) - they kept renewing it and sending me bills!
  • It depends on your indivudual cicrcumstances for each person, but EE currently have the best network overall - thats just fact. VodaFone worst for coverage, but best 4g speed. Its a mixed bag. For me, VodaFone are the worst. In the South East on trains, I lose the signal much more on VodaFone than other carriers. Right now, EE generally works best for 4g in more places (and against what Opensignal say, I get better throughout on EE than VodaFone). Perhaps thats regional. O2 and 3 aren't bad. But VodaFone has terrible customer service these days (declined rapidly). None of the call centers are brilliant, think about the sort of person you may or may not get on the phone. O2, 3 and EE are all fine choices. I wouldn't touch Voda with a bargepole.
  • Does this means we call them BTEE from now on?
  • Hahaha
  • I know Sky has purchased O2 broadband a wee while ago, I wonder if this may encourage them to purchase O2 mobile from Telefonica? L820, Derby, UK.
  • It is rumoured that Sky's mobile offering will be launched some time next year as a virtual operator using Vodafone. All the while, Vodafone is sniffing around Liberty Global (Virgin Media). It's like a game of musical chairs!
  • Would Microsoft like to purchase O2?
  • !'m a BT and EE customer. Never had any major problems with either. EE have fast 4G in my area and my Infinity broadband works well. Wonder how soon they will mess the networks or billing systems up!
  • BTs infrastructure is fine. Its when a fault occurs things start to go wrong with BT. Mostly Openreach who are the worlds worst organization and holding the UK back in terms of network.  
  • When all consolidation is finished expect less choice and higher prices. Will O2 be bought by Three if the BT/EE deal finally goes through? Who gets the extra spectrum that BT will inevitably have to return/sell to another network if EE is under BT's control? I feel a little negative about the deal.
  • I wonder what will happen to Virginmedia's MVNO deal with EE if this goes through?
  • The agreement between Virgin and EE will have clauses for just instances, which BT will have to legally honour
  • Buy EE, crank up the price... So glad I left EE!
  • Also, Virgin Media need to buy a carrier too, just to keep up...
  • Haven't been with BT for years and never wishing to go back, would never go near EE either, get my home phone (line rental and all calls included, mobile and landline), my broadband ( unlimited and not throttled ever) and 3 mobile phones (Lumia 520, 920 and 925) with unlimited talk and text plus 4gig data on each phone for a total of £65\month. All from TalkTalk....better that one BT
  • Come on... It can't be... TalkTalk throttles data as a standard. I had a broadband connection with them and Twitch was stuttering incredibly in peak hours. No problems on BT or Virgin Media.
  • No totally unlimited and great speed 24/7 and that's even with 3 teenagers using it like crazy...BT used to cap and I got a letter every month
  • If this deal goes ahead the combined 4g spectrum that they will hold will be just insane.... I doubt ofcom would allow that then again you never know...
  • EE: Good
    BT: Shite
    BTEE: Bullshit
  • Hooray open they do something about the call centres, EE have terrible customer service, it's based in India and is just a dire service.
  • I have 3 contracts with EE. Two of them are 4G ones (EE) and one 3G (T-Mobile). Within last three months I had problems with horrible internet speeds on 3G one and interned disappearing on one of the 4G contracts. As of Thursday 11th of December I have horrible issues with very slow internet on 3G T-Mobile contract or no internet at all. I'm sticking to that contact as it has real unlimited internet but people reading scripts in support centres or telling me that results of speed tests I have sent over are from my computer not my phone... No comments! They are investing in 4G and letting the 3G experience slip away... At the moment I am paying for service I am not receiving!