Vodafone, O2 and Everything Everywhere have finally submitted a proposal to build a joint mobile payments system in the UK for approval by the European Commission. The proposal faces opposition from Three, the UK’s fourth mobile operator, which has complained about being excluded from the joint venture that will build the m-pay system. The three largest UK operators have had months of discussions with the EC over their proposal to work together on a mobile payment system while competing with one another at the service level. Three’s opposition could result in further delays to their plans.

The operators say they would offer rival Three access to their infrastructure on equal terms even though it is not a shareholder. The venture is code named Project Oscar.  The implications from the EC ruling on the joint venture go wider than the UK. Mobile operators in a number of other European countries are also proposing to build joint mobile payment systems and will be following the EC's deliberations closely.