The sale of T-Mobile UK by German parent company Deutsche Telecom is well and truly underway with rumours that both O2 and Vodafone have bids of £3.5 billion on the table. While T-Mobile is currently the fourth largest operator in the UK with a market share of around 15%, the acquisition of the business by either O2 or Vodafone would take either one to the top of the UK mobile league.
While the traditional mobile phone service is obviously attractive to any would-be bidder, it is the hopes for mobile broadband more than anything else which are grabbing the attention of industry leaders. Even though there have been criticisms of UK mobile broadband, with regards to reliability and speed, there is no doubt that progress has been made and the acquisition of a further 16.6 million UK customers would certainly increase the profit potential for the future.
Those close to the talks expect a decision over the next few weeks with an indication that other groups such as Orange may well come forward with their own offer in due course. Despite months and months of denying that the business was up for sale it seems that T-mobile is set to change hands in the coming weeks and could play an integral part in the future shape of the UK mobile broadband industry.