The UK arm of Hutchison’s mobile group, Three UK, is leveraging plentiful 3.5 GHz spectrum and an advanced push into cloud-based networks to improve its 5G costs and mount a stronger challenge to its rivals in an over-competitive market. Three has been innovative in the 3G and 4G eras, in terms of tariffs, marketing and attractive consumer propositions, prefiguring some of the tactics of the USA’s ‘Uncarrier, T-Mobile. Its economics have been helped by its site sharing joint venture with BT/EE, MBNL, but it has been deeply disadvantaged by a poor spectrum position. That has changed for 5G because of its acquisition of UK Broadband, a very minor fixed wireless player but owner of a substantial block of the most…