Vodafone, who are currently chilling out in the hope that that get Australian Competition & Consumer Commission approval to acquire Hutchison 3G Australia which trades as 3, has this week officially started marketing the two brands by assuring customers of both brands that they will get either the same or better value deals from the two companies.

Set to go up against Telstra and Optus with their new 3G network the two companies are now facing stiff competition, from mass market retailers who are greedy to grab a share of phone carriers business, either with or without a carrier.

Recently Samsung and LG admitted that they were working on growing handset business via the mass channel because research showed that this is what consumers want “choice” said a Samsung executive.  

An ACCC offical recently told ChannelNews that “the sale of handsets was not so much the issue as limited 3G networks”.  

Last night, Vodafone and 3 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.

The companies say that their respective approaches to mobile phone and mobile broadband pricing, which allow customers to acquire devices for $0 on 24-month contracts, will remain in place.

Nigel Dews, CEO of 3 and proposed CEO of VHA, said: “We operate in a fast-moving market and we want to be clear that, following the merger, Vodafone and 3 will remain extremely competitive and continue to provide great value to customers.”

“We’re happy to reassure our customers with a public commitment that if the merger proceeds as intended, no plan will be withdrawn from market for the next two years,” explained Dews. “During this time we will also be introducing new offers and services to appeal to new customers.”

“Vodafone and 3 customers have everything to gain from the proposed merger,” added Dews. “VHA will be a stronger mobile operator that is better positioned to compete in the Australian telecommunications market. We plan to draw on the best offerings of Vodafone and 3 and will continue to provide innovative consumer and business services to the Australian market.”

“For competitive reasons we will not telegraph our full roadmap of handset and mobile broadband products and prices, but VHA will certainly introduce new offers into the market to acquire new customers,” said Dews.