The U.K. mobile market may soon see some disruption, courtesy of Orange and T-Mobile, who are rumored to join forces and rebrand as Everything Everywhere in October, and an 4G LTE iPhone could be the club they use to beat back competitors.
The Verge is reporting that Orange UK and T-Mobile UK could take their 2010 joint venture one step further by rebranding completely as Everything Everywhere. According to Sky News, the companies may no longer operate individually for new customers beginning in October, with existing customers transitioned over by March, 2013.
Apparently what's behind the rebranding talk is 4G LTE, which U.K. regulators finally approved this week and could launch for Orange and T-Mobile customers as early as September 11 -- only a day before Apple is rumored to unveil its sixth-generation iPhone. Such a move would leave rivals Vodafone and O2 in the lurch, with Everything Everywhere cornering the market for LTE data.
According to a separate report by The Verge, Vodafone and O2 have good reason to fear Everything Everywhere, assuming Apple's next iPhone is capable of 1800MHz LTE, which could be used in the U.K. as well as South Korea and Germany.
"In piggybacking on the prospective iPhone announcement, EE would enjoy the halo effect of having Apple conduct the LTE education sessions in advance, plus the comfort of knowing it can charge a premium without consumers scoffing (too much)," writes Vlad Savov.
"Consumers may not immediately comprehend all the advantages of 4G over 3G, but there'll be a fast iPhone to buy on Everything Everywhere's sub-brands and just regular old iPhones to buy elsewhere," the report adds. "This technological advantage would be the closest the UK market has come to a one-operator hegemony since the original iPhone's O2 exclusivity."
However, an Everything Everywhere spokesperson claims talk of a rebranding is "entirely speculative," noting that Orange and T-Mobile "remain committed to our hugely successful brands" and will "continue to invest in them for the foreseeable future."
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