Vodafone UK corporate and external affairs director Helen Lamprell, tells Mobile News her thoughts on what might happen this year, including the separation of Openreach from BT and incoming challenges for UK businesses
It’s been a year of some very significant strategic developments for the industry as a whole. BT’s acquisition of EE means the monopoly provider of the UK’s digital infrastructure now owns the largest mobile provider, which can only lead to less competition in the market for providers and customers alike.
This is another reason why Ofcom must stand firm and drive through the legal separation of Openreach from BT: the UK needs Openreach to be truly independent if it is to stimulate the innovation and investment needed to build the fibre networks of the future. It’s also why it was very encouraging to hear the new digital minister Matt Hancock committing the Government for the first time to a market structure which delivers fibre as widely as possible.
UK business will face opportunity and uncertainty over the coming year. It’s important that improving productivity is top of the agenda to make sure the UK is ‘ready for anything. The need for greater business agility and efficiency will continue to drive interest in mobility, unified communications and cloud technologies.