Jersey's competition watchdog has begun a further public consultation into Sure's proposed acquisition of Airtel Vodafone.

The JCRA is giving interested parties an opportunity to comment on the takeover deal.

The merger of the two mobile phone operators was first proposed in November 2022 and is still being scrutinised. Last July, the regulator expressed concern that it would reduce choice for consumers.

The authority put the review on hold, pending further information.

It has now restarted its investigation of the tie-up's impact on the retail mobile market.

The JCRA has begun a four-week consultation and is inviting comments on whether remedies being made by Sure address its concerns about the lessening of competition.

Those commitments include a deal with the Channel Islands Co-op to launch Co-op Mobile - a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), which would maintain the number of service providers at three..

The boss of Sure has called the consultation 'a significant step forward in the process'.

CEO Alistair Beak said, "Once the public consultation concludes, and if the JCRA then approves the merger, the final remaining element to the acquisition proceeding will be securing approval from the Guernsey authorities.

“Last June the Committee for Economic Development published a policy letter which recommended that a temporary exemption be applied to the approval process, given the strategic benefits of the transaction and the legally binding commitments we were making.

"We firmly believe that the reasons for that approach remain very much intact, and in fact have been strengthened by our agreement with the Channel Islands Coop, announced last week, to facilitate Coop Mobile’s entry to the market as a virtual operator.

"This, alongside the other legally binding commitments, provides further protection for consumers. In short, the strategic benefits of the acquisition remain but the impact on competition has been significantly reduced."

Sure added that if the deal goes ahead, they will invest almost £50m in the islands' mobile networks, including 5G technology that it says will improve data speeds, coverage and network security.