Orange and T-Mobile said that their joint venture will adopt the name ‘Everything Everywhere’, but for customers both the companies will continue to compete as distinct brands in the market, each having its own shops, campaigns, propositions and service centres.

The formation of the new entity Everything Everywhere is to combine both the Orange and T-Mobile networks, cut out duplication, and create a single super-network, providing customers with bigger network and better coverage, while reducing the number of stations and sites, the companies said.

The combined entity will boast around 16,500 employees in over 700 stores in the British high street, serving a customer base of around 30 million people.

The companies said that Everything Everywhere will focus on developing new revenue streams in adjacent markets, such as mobile advertising and mobile commerce. It also intends to ramp up offers to the business market, with the best propositions and value for businesses across Britain.

The new entity will be led by Tom Alexander, chief executive, and Richard Moat, chief financial officer and deputy chief executive.

Mr Alexander, said: “Up until a few years ago, mobile was just about voice and text – not now. Multimedia phones have already started to change the way our customers access the world – for entertainment, education, information – wherever they are, whenever they want.

“That is why, through our scale and Britain’s only super-network with its unsurpassed coverage and capacity, we will be leading this revolution, giving customers instant access to everything, everywhere.

The merged company Everything Everywhere is expected to be officially integrated on July 1, 2010.