Two of the world’s largest telecommunications operators have come together to sign an agreement which will see both operators sharing network infrastructure to deliver cost efficiencies of hundreds of millions of Euros for each company over the coming 10 years.
Under this agreement Vodafone and Telefonica propose to share network infrastructure in Germany, Spain, Ireland and the UK through the alignment of planned roll out and the consolidation of existing network infrastructure.
Specifically, in Ireland both companies are to open all network sites for sharing by the other party and new build will also be conducted jointly where roll-out plans are aligned.
The Irish subsidiaries of Vodafone and Telefonica are already stipulated to share the sites of their network infrastructure by way of their licences, this will mean that both companies will have to be ‘more pro-active’ about sharing in Ireland.
It is anticipated that the agreement will offer enhanced quality of service within the network to benefit the consumers experience and to increase mobile broadband coverage, it will reduce the environmental impact by reducing the number of sites and reduce network operating costs as well as jointly building sites where opportunities exist.
