[November 23, 2009] 'OFT set to pass T-Mobile, Orange inquiry to EC - report' Tweet Nov 23, 2009 (DMEUROPE via COMTEX) -- The UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is expected to hand over the competition inquiry into the proposed merger of Orange UK and T-Mobile UK to the European Commission (EC), reports the Independent. The OFT is understood to no longer want the proposed merger to be investigated by competition authorities in the UK. One unnamed industry source told the paper that an investigation by the EC would be quicker than in the UK, which would take around six months longer. The companies are expected to submit documents to EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes before Christmas, who will the pass these onto member states. Meanwhile, the FT reports that Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom are unwilling to agree to concessions to secure approval from competition authorities for the merger. Deutsche Telekom's chief operating officer Hamid Akhavan, head of the company's European mobile operations, told a conference organised by the FT that he was confident that the merger would be approved by regulators. He also rejected suggestions that the UK mobile networks would have to give up spectrum to win approval, and insisted that the ability of UK mobile networks to make new investment was being hindered by falling profit margins. However, Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards told the same conference that the merger would be closely examined by regulators due to the potential harm to consumers. Distributed for DMeurope.com via M2 Communications (www.m2.com) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]