Vodafone and Three in talks to combine all their operations in Britain

The combination would create a business with about 27 million customers in the UK

A spokesman for Vodafone Ireland said there were no implications for operations in the Republic from the merger plans in Britain.

Vodafone Ireland said there will be no implications for its operations in the Republic after Vodafone and Hutchison Three in Britain said they were in talks about merging their operations there. 

Combining Vodafone UK and Hutchison's Three, Britain's third and fourth largest networks respectively, would create a business with about 27 million customers - more than current leaders BT's and Virgin Media O2.