Parent companies O2 and Virgin Media have committed to creating 4.000 jobs and 1.000 apprenticeships if the proposed €31bn merger between the two organizations receives regulatory approval. At the time of the transaction announcement, Telefónica (O2) and Liberty Global (Virgin Media) committed to invest €10 billion in network infrastructure and services without disclosing too many details. Along with the new jobs, both parties have committed to increasing the combined company's gigabit broadband footprint by an additional one million locations, bringing the total to 16 million, within 12 months of the merger. fusion. Commitments have also been made to add a further seven million homes to 'gigabit networks' and cover more than 100 cities by the end of 2021. "We want to create a National Connectivity Champion for the UK who can support the country in its digital recovery, investing in the infrastructure the country needs and promoting jobs and learning to improve the digital skills base,” said José María Álvarez-Pallete, CEO of Telefónica, and Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global. O2's mobile infrastructure and Virgin Media's cable network would immediately create one of the largest telecommunications organizations in Europe, powering the communications of almost 40 million subscribers.The consolidation would also result in savings of €6.2 billion and provide the scale and ability to compete with BT and Vodafone on converged network services and Openreach in the wholesale market The deal must be approved by both the UK competition authorities and the European Commission (EC), which remains competent until at least the end of this year. The commission set a deadline of November 5 to decide whether to approve the agreement unconditionally or open an investigation that could take up to four months. The EC blocked a proposed €12.5bn merger between Three and O2 in 2016 on the grounds that it would reduce the number of mobile operators in the UK from four to three, though Three has since appealed. appeal of this decision successfully. However, since the Virgin Media and O2 networks are complementary, any objections at the European level would probably not be based on competition. However, Telefónica and Liberty Global are using this period to reveal more details of their planned investments, hoping this will allay lingering doubts that the deal is not a positive development for the industry. Via The Times