The proposed partnership between T-Mobile and Orange would create the UK's largest mobile operator, with an estimated 37 per cent share of the market - something which has prompted quite an outcry from the competition and consumer groups.

According to The Guardian, the merger could now face delays as the Office of Fair Trading calls for EU regulators to investigate the deal. This, in turn, would likely involve the Competition Commission also taking an interest, so even if the deal is allowed, the delays would be significant.

The deal is further complicated by the government's ham-fisted vote bolstering, which prompted it to promise broadband internet to the whole country by 2012.

This meant restructuring the current wireless spectrum administered to the five major network operators, as only O2 and Vodafone have access to the bandwidth required to access more rural areas of the country.

Capping the amount of bandwidth ownership each carrier is allowed was one method of levelling the playing field; a plan that's now been derailed due to the proposed T-Mobile/Orange merger, which would grant the single entity more of the spectrum than the restructuring would allow.

Currently, none of the five major operators will bid for the additional bandwidth that will be recovered when TV broadcasts go digital - all quite reasonably concerned until they know how their current share of the airwaves will be divided up.

None of this bodes well for the partnership, it seems.