acquisition of Telefónica UK by Hutchison 3G UK in the sector of the mobile telephony market On 11 May 2016,1the Commission adopted a decision in which it blocked, under the Merger Regulation,2the proposed acquisition of Telefónica UK (‘O2’) by Hutchison 3G UK3(‘Three’). [26] On 20 February 2013 Ofcom announced that Three had been awarded 2 x 5 MHz (10 MHz) of 800 MHz to use for 4G. [33] The service was expanded to a further 24 European countries in September 2016.

It provides 3G, 4G and 5G (certain areas) services through its own network infrastructure.

[6], Three launched SeeMeTV, allowing its customers to submit their own video content that other subscribers could watch. It is a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings, operating under the global Three brand.

[32] The service was relaunched on 30 August 2013 as "Feel At Home" for UK customers visiting Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy and Sweden where calls, texts and data can be consumed without roaming charges; meaning they cost the same as for communication within the UK. [41], This article is about the operation of Three in United Kingdom. In 2010, Three was voted Best Network for Mobile Broadband in a YouGov survey for the second year in a row. The Three mobile service was launched in the UK on 3 March 2003[3] with handsets going on sale (such as the NEC e616 in 2004 and Sony Ericsson Z1010) later that year. Users would make a small micropayment (the price decided by the video's creator) to watch these videos. On 18 December 2007, T-Mobile and Three launched a 50:50 joint venture called Mobile Broadband Network Limited (MBNL) which aimed to combine both of their 3G networks and provide almost complete 3G population coverage by the end of 2008.

Fees can reach 46p per minute for calling most European countries from the UK.

There are more than 4 million subscribers to Three's services in the UK. [38] In June 2018, Three UK and sister company Superdrug entered an MVNO partnership to launch Superdrug Mobile, which is exclusive to members of Superdrug's "Health & Beautycard" loyalty scheme.[39].

[20] From 2013, Three no longer provided a significant 2G fallback for most of the United Kingdom.

[31], Until 2009, Three subscribers in the UK, Ireland, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Hong Kong and Australia could use their service on Three networks around the world for no extra charge with "3 Like Home".

[8], In July 2014, Three introduced the '3 inTouch' app[9], allowing customers to place calls through a Wi-Fi connection. [21] On 12 November 2010, MBNL announced that the network had reached a total of 12,000 combined sites. "Go Roam" does not include calling from the UK to these or other countries. [24][25] In August 2012 Three was given permission to use part of the 1,800 MHz spectrum used by EE's 4G network. Since then, additional countries have been added to "Feel At Home" including: Finland, France, Indonesia, Israel, Macau, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland and the USA. Three customers can also access the Virgin Wi-Fi network implemented at over 130 London Underground stations. [12][13], In early 2020, CEO of Three UK, Dave Dyson, resigned after 9 years at the helm. [2] It provides 3G, 4G and 5G (certain areas) services through its own network infrastructure. 3 Hong Kong is operated by Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong, a subsidiary of CK Hutchison. The company launched on 3 March 2003 as the United Kingdom's first commercial 100% 3G network. Three was the first network to meet its regulatory requirement of 80% population coverage in the UK, meeting this by 9 December 2004. Hutchison 3G UK Holdings Ltd. operates as a holding company. [7], In 2010, Three became the fourth network in the UK to launch the iPhone 4 after O2, Orange and Vodafone.

. For its global brand name, see, http://www.three.co.uk/About_Three/Office_locations, http://www.three.co.uk/hub/three-network-firsts/, "Three first to hit regulatory requirement for 3G coverage", "3 brings next generation of mobile stores to life", "3 acquires 95 prime-location stores from the Link and O2", "People's channel 'SeeMeTV' tops 4 million downloads", "Telefonica finalises £10bn sale of O2 mobile phone firm", "Three Ireland boss Finnegan to also lead operator's UK business", "Chelsea announces Three as new official shirt partner", "Chelsea FC unveils Three as next shirt sponsor", "3 selects Orange as new national roaming partner", "Orange and T-Mobile settle for Everything Everywhere", "Mobile giants promise Everything Everywhere", "T-Mobile and 3 create Britain's largest 3G network", "Three and Everything Everywhere joint venturereaches 12,000 shared 3G sites", "Three offers free US roaming, confirms stealth 4G rollout", "Three finally unveils 4G rollout plans: The stage is now set for UK's 4G future", "4G timetable agreed by UK mobile network operators", "Ofcom announces winners of the 4G mobile auction", "Three UK Delays 4G Mobile Broadband Launch to Q4 2013", "Three to offer latest technology as standard with no price premium", "Three says auf wiedersehen to roaming charges in even more destinations", "Three UK and Vodafone Grab 1.4GHz Band to Boost 4G Speeds", "Carphone Warehouse launches 'iD' mobile network", "Superdrug launches new mobile network - here's how it stacks up", "Three brings Smarty to the low-cost mobile party", "Three tops latest independent YouGov survey", Telecommunications industry in the United Kingdom, Science and technology in the United Kingdom, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations, Internet Telephony Services Providers’ Association, British Approvals Board for Telecommunications, Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Three_UK&oldid=977577591, British subsidiaries of foreign companies, Telecommunications companies established in 2003, Mobile phone companies of the United Kingdom, Articles with dead external links from November 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Pages using infobox company using trading name, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 9 September 2020, at 17:44. Users were paid once they had accrued £10.

[22], Three began a limited rollout of 4G LTE services in December 2013 in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Reading[23] expanding to over a further 450 locations by the end of 2014. [11] On 11 May 2016, EU commission blocked the purchase of O2 on the grounds that it would affect competition in the UK market. [10], On 24 March 2015, Three's parent company Hutchison Whampoa announced it would acquire the UK operations of O2 for £10.25 billion, subject to regulatory approval. However, Orange was selected as the new national roaming partner from 10 May 2006.[17].