Charles Dunstone, the founder of Carphone Warehouse, is gearing up for the fight of his life as he takes his company into the increasingly competitive broadband market in the UK and pursues his aim of becoming the number one competitor to BT in the residential market.

The two acquisitions on Monday, of Centrica’s OneTel and Tele2’s UK residential business, mark an important step on the way to achieving that target but it also increases the risk profile of the group.