Hutchison Denies It Threatened To Quit UK Mobile Market

Hutchison Whampoa, the parent company of UK’s mobile network Three, has denied reports that it has threatened to stop investment in the UK or quit the UK mobile telecoms market.

Reports over the weekend suggested that the Hong Kong-based company was preparing to pull the plug on Three if it was unable to secure enough 4G spectrum in the upcoming auction.

Groundless speculation

“The speculations that HWL (Hutchison Whampoa Limited) may stop investment in the UK and /or quit the UK telecom market are totally untrue and groundless,” said a spokesman. “HWL is the largest Asian investor in the UK and is happy with its current investments in the country. HWL is actively looking at various different investment opportunities in the UK.”

Hutchison, which owns a portfolio of British businesses including chemist chain Superdrug and ports such as Felixstowe, apparently issued the ultimatum during a meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt and minister Ed Vaizey at Downing Street last month.

Three is set to be the only UK operator to be guaranteed spectrum in the 4G auctions, after Ofcom’s most recently published proposals said that Everything Everywhere would not have any reserved bandwidth.

Everything Everywhere, the UK’s largest network in terms of subscribers, has since announced plans to launch a 4G network on its existing spectrum, a move that could result in legal action from Three.

Three has warned that it could go out of business if it didn’t acquire enough 4G bandwidth. This claim is disputed by rivals who say there will be plenty of opportunities for it in the auction, and are against the idea of the UK’s smallest mobile operator getting special treatment.

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