Vodafone and Three have announced the merger of their UK operations, forming a "new force in UK mobile" - VodafoneThree.
An update issued this morning confirmed the merger of the firms' UK arms was completed on May 31, with the new company 51% owned by Vodafone and 49% by CKHGT, the firm being Three.
VodafoneThree will invest £11billion over the next 10 years - creating one of Europe's most advanced 5G networks.
The announcement also states high quality network connectivity is "central to the UK's economic growth prospects" as well as key for the science and technology sectors, and important for improving public services and narrowing the digital divide across the country.
It said the significant investment in a 5G Standalone network will "propel the UK's mobile infrastructure to the forefront of European connectivity".
Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group chief executive, said: "The merger will create a new force in UK mobile, transform the country's digital infrastructure and propel the UK to the forefront of European connectivity.
"We are now eager to kick-off our network build and rapidly bring customers greater coverage and superior network quality.#
"The transaction completes the reshaping of Vodafone in Europe, and following this period of transition we are now well-positioned for growth ahead."
Canning Fok, deputy chairman of CK Hutchison and executive chairman of CKHGT, said: "As we have demonstrated in other European markets, scale enables the significant investment needed to deliver the world-beating mobile networks our customers expect, and the Vodafone and Three merger provides that scale.
"In addition, this transaction unlocks significant shareholder value, returning approximately £1.3billion in net cash to the group."
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