Merger could wreck T-Mobile plan to boost business offer

T-Mobile, the Deutsche Telekomowned company, has unveiled two new roles, with former Vodafone marketer Max Taylor stepping in as head of business marketing and Oliver Chivers shifted internally to head the marketing acquisition team.

T-Mobile UK chief marketing officer Srini Gopalan says the mobile operator is “gearing up” to offer “greater value to the business community”.

But Enders Analysis telecoms specialist Will Harris says it is a “strange time” for such a move. “There could be customer service continuity problems following a merger, which could be a concern for corporates signing up to T-Mobile,” he says.

Uncertainty regarding the Merger: Continuity problems? telecoms landscape has increased with the Office of Fair Trading weighing in on the proposed T-Mobile/Orange merger. The OFT is expected to call on EU regulators to allow the Competition Commission to investigate the deal.

This would delay the merger further and could force Orange and T-Mobile to sell some of their mobile phone spectrum.

Ovum head of mobile Jeremy Green says while T-Mobile already has a presence among small to medium-sized enterprises it will need to do more to prove its worth to larger organisations.

“It all comes down to the extent to which it can support its customers, which Vodafone has historically been very good at and which is not a low cost exercise,” he says.