O2 (UK) telephone line and broadband business of Telefónica UK, trading under the O2 and Be brands. The company agreed to pay £180 million initially, followed by a further £20 million after all customers had been transferred to Sky's existing business. The sale was subject to regulatory approval in April 2013, and was subsequently approved by the Office of Fair Trading on 16 May 2013. O2 began trialling a Near Field Communication (NFC) payment system in 2007. In 2009, O2 was in discussions with large retailers, such as Tesco and W. H. Smith, for the deployment of the necessary electronic point of
State monopoly government monopoly. For example, in Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, government-owned companies have monopolies for selling alcoholic beverages. Casinos and other institutions for gambling might also be monopolized. In Finland, the government has also a monopoly to operate slot machines. Governments often create or allow monopolies to exist and grant them patents. This limits entry and allow the patent-holding firm to earn a monopoly profit from an invention. Health care systems where the government controls the industry and specifically prohibits competition, such as in Canada, are government monopolies. State monopoly In economics, a government monopoly (or public monopoly) is a