Orange and T-Mobile could exit EE joint venture

The parent companies of EE could exist Britain's biggest mobile network in the near future if new reports are to be believed. According to a new report both the companies - Germany's Deutsche Telekom and France's Orange SA - are considering various options. Orange CEO, Stephane Richard, quoted as saying, The 50-50 situation isn't a long-term scheme" before adding "Don't expect anything spectacular in the short term. Formed of the merger of two of Britain's major networks (Orange and T-Mobile) on July 1st 2010, EE instantly became the UK's largest operator and has stolen a march on all its competitors since the merger. Recent advancements include the rolling out of 4G services a year ahead of its competitors (although perceived leniency from regulator Ofcom played a large part) and marketing campaigns such as the digital advancement of Wembley Stadium. Kester Mann, industry analyst at CCS Insight, said: We have always expected that EE’s owners Orange and Deutsch Telekom will exit the company in the long term. “A 50/50 joint-ownership of the company was never a long term solution in our view and a possible sale could come back on the agenda next year. EE currently boasts 28 million customers and generated revenues upwards of £6 billion ...

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