Vodafone and O2 to share networks

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 23 Mar 2009 at 11:56

Vodafone and Telefonica, the owner of O2, have agreed to pool their mobile network infrastructure.

The landmark deal will see the companies share equipment including 2G and 3G masts and "several thousand" base stations, though each operator will continue to manage its own calls independently.

A company spokesperson informed PC Pro that a joint planning team is currently looking at potential sites for new mast rollouts: "This is just a property deal. It allows us to say 'do we have coverage there, can it be deeper, or broader?' We expect to roll out 50% of new sites together, but where it doesn't work to share we won't."

According to the spokesperson, the deal will save the companies "hundreds of millions of pounds" over the next 10 years, opening the way for the development of new services and possibly cheaper calls and internet deals for customers.

The deal will see the companies share their network infrastructure in the UK, Germany, Spain and Ireland, with negotiations still ongoing in the Czech Republic.

T-Mobile and 3 have a similar deal in the UK.

Vodafone also announced that it is freezing the wages of its 10,000 UK staff in the coming year.