THE CHIEF executive of Vodafone Group has stated that European regulators need a "reboot" as she advances with her UK merger deal.

"We are at a new junction," Margherita Della Valle said, "and to be on the right road, European policymakers need to change direction now."

"They need to reboot our legacy telecoms regulation and create a real single market supporting 5G standalone rollout at pace."

She made these remarks at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona on Monday. Della Valle is currently pushing ahead with a proposed tie-up between Vodafone's UK business and Three UK.

In January, the UK's competition watchdog launched a formal Phase 1 investigation into the merger of Vodafone and Three, which is owned by the Chinese firm CK Hutchinson.

Vodafone and Three UK argue that their merger is necessary to successfully roll out 5G, which Della Valle said is a "multi-trillion opportunity" for Europe for industrial efficiency, innovation, and to improve public services.

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper