The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has called on third parties to comment on the impact of the proposed UK merger between Three and Vodafone.

The opportunity for comment on the merger comes in advance of the CMA launching a formal investigation once it has received the information it needs from the merging companies.

Vodafone UK, which is owned by Vodafone Group, and Three UK, which is owned by CK Hutchinson Holdings, are major providers of telecommunications services in the UK.

The deal is set to be worth $19bn (£15.4bn) but the CMA is concerned that the merger will substantially lessen competition in the UK, Reuters has said.

The CMA’s remit, by law, is to assess the potential impact of a merger on competition. It cannot consider other potential effects that a merger might have, for example, on employment or access to personal data.

Any national securities concerns would be a matter for the Government, which may choose to intervene under the national security and investment act if it finds concerns.

The phase one investigation will take place once the relevant information has been gathered over the next 40 working days.

However, this could lead to a deeper investigation that will last 24 weeks, should the CMA find that the deal lead to less competition.

Chief executive of the CMA, Sarah Cardell, said: “Millions of consumers and businesses in the UK rely on Vodafone’s and Three’s mobile networks to stay connected.

“We will be carefully considering how this deal may affect competition in the UK, which could affect the options and prices available to customers. We will also assess how it may affect incentives to invest in the quality of UK mobile networks.

“This is an opportunity for those with an interest in this merger to let us know their views before we launch a full investigation.”

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