Vodafone-3 Promises No Swift Price Changes After Merger

Vodafone and 3 are still waiting on approval for their proposed merger, but one thing that apparently won't change in a hurry if it goes ahead are existing prices.

In a press statement today, the two companies confirmed that if the merger did go ahead, no prices would change on any existing plans for a two-year period. (Unsurprisingly, that's the same length as most of the $0 plans for phones and broadband offered by each company.) Here's the phrasing from the release:

Both companies confirmed that, in the event of the merger proceeding as planned, all new and existing contract customers of Vodafone and 3 will be able to enjoy the same great value offered on all existing Vodafone and 3 mobile voice and data plans for the next 2 years.

That's reassuring from a pricing point of view, though there are still questions that won't be answered until the merger gets approved. The big issue for 3 data users is how long roaming onto Telstra's Next G network would continue. That's a pricey option and many users might be just as happy to use Vodafone's own recently-expanded 3G network, but others might have signed up to 3 to effectively get emergency Next G access.