Orange, T-Mobile merge as Everything Everywhere

The combined entity formed by UK mobile operators Orange and T-Mobile will be called Everything Everywhere, it was announced on Tuesday. We’re not sure about the name but both the Orange and T-Mobile brands will be maintained – a wise decision.

We already know that the 50:50 joint venture will create a new market leader, with over 34 million subscribers and a 43 per cent share of the UK market, compared to current leader O2’s 22.4 million strong user base and 28.5 per cent market share, according to the latest figures from Informa Telecoms & Media’s WCIS.

But it’s only been made clear today that Orange and T-Mobile will continue as separate brands, with each brand owning clear emotional territory in terms of propositions, marketing and brand identity. To customers, Orange and T-Mobile will continue to compete as distinct brands in the market, each having its own shops, campaigns, offerings and service centres. Together the two brands have over 700 stores on the British high street. And later this year, customers will have the ability to roam across both networks at no additional cost.

So from its official integration on July 1, Everything Everywhere is being pitched, in part at least, as a network management company, operating “the country’s biggest and best mobile network.” According to the announcement, the ambition of the venture is to combine both the Orange and T-Mobile networks, cut out duplication, and create a single ‘super-network’ with a smaller impact on the environment.

The company also intends to propel itself beyond the sphere of mobile communications, with the intent of developing new revenue streams in adjacent markets, such as mobile advertising and mobile commerce, and the way customers will use their devices in the future.

Tom Alexander, chief executive of Everything Everywhere, said: “Up until a few years ago, mobile was just about voice and text – not now. Multimedia phones have already started to change the way our customers access the world – for entertainment, education, information – wherever they are, whenever they want.”

Everything Everywhere is led by Alexander and Richard Moat, chief financial officer and deputy chief executive and has 16,500 employees.