Three U.K. CEO Says Size Matters in Push for Spectrum

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Three UK, the smallest of the country’s four wireless carriers, needs to double in size to effectively compete with larger players in the market -- and it can only do so if the British government tightens spectrum-ownership rules, Chief Executive Officer Dave Dyson said.

The company, owned by billionaire Li Ka-Shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., is pursuing organic growth after European Union regulators blocked its merger with Telefonica SA’s O2 earlier this year. While Three has captured 10 percent of the marketplace, up from 5 percent five years ago, it’s still much smaller than competitors BT Group Plc and Vodafone Group Plc. At 10 million customers, Three is reaching the limits of its current network capacity, Dyson said in an interview with Bloomberg News in London.