Telefónica and Vodafone about to share infrastructure
Two of the world’s largest mobile phone operators, the Spanish company Telefónica and the British giant Vodafone Group, said Monday that they would share infrastructure in some European markets in a move meant to cut costs as the economic downturn erodes their profits.
The companies said they had agreed to share networks in Britain, Germany, Ireland and Spain, and were in “detailed discussions” about doing so in the Czech Republic. In practice, the agreement means the companies will jointly build sites or consolidate existing 2G and 3G antenna mast sites and infrastructure, reducing the total number of cellphone antenna masts in operation.
The companies said they would continue to manage their call traffic independently, but they said they were also considering possible cooperation in the provision of transmission services.
Vodafone, based in Newbury, England, has about 289 million customers around the world. Telefónica, based in Madrid, has about 260 million customers in its fixed, broadband and mobile phone businesses.
Investors greeted the news coolly. Shares of Telefónica rose 1 percent in Madrid, while shares of Vodafone ticked up less than 1 percent in London.
Matthew Key, chief executive of Telefónica Europe, said in a statement that Telefónica and Vodafone would “continue to compete strongly against each other in local markets, while giving our customers enhanced mobile coverage in more places, using fewer mast sites.” Shareholders will benefit, he said, because “by reducing our costs in areas of the business that customers don’t see, we can ensure that we invest in areas they truly value.”
Michel Combes, chief executive of Vodafone Europe, said in the statement that the move would “enable us to focus our resources on developing more innovative and market leading services while delivering on our pledge to reduce the environmental impact of our network roll out.”
Tags: PDA, Satellite Internet
