Three in talks to join UK payment JV?
Financial Times is reporting that U.K. carrier Three is in talks with its larger rivals about joining their mobile payment scheme. Three had been fighting the formation of the mobile payment joint venture created by the three largest U.K. carriers, Everything Everywhere, Vodafone and O2.
While no papers have been filed with European regulators by the JV, Three filed a complaint with the EU alleging the partnership would effectively shut it out of the mobile payment market in the U.K.
"Instead of competing for the benefit of consumers, the three operators that hold 90 percent of the U.K. market have engaged in a cosy collaboration and closed ranks against competition," said Three's legal counsel Stephen Lerner in September when the complaint was filed.
According to the FT report, the JV will be submitting its proposal to regulators sometime next month. The discussions with Three, which FT says have been "informal and broad-based," are seen as a way to resolve the issue prior to that submission and smoothing the way towards approval.
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