Vodafone Network Sharing Agreements

“Sharing the network in the direction now signed responds positively to the challenges of the current context and offers undeniable benefits by reducing the environmental impact and reducing the cost of implementation and development, which allows higher investments in high-quality services for all customers,” says Mã¡rio Vaz. Based on a sustainable investment model, Vodafone Portugal and NOS will be able to increase the coverage of the mobile network and the quality of their services in order to promote greater territorial cohesion, meet the real and differentiated needs of the population and meet the challenges of the current social and economic situation. Although Vodafone UK and Telefónica UK have dismantled active network sharing agreements in London (Vodafonewatch, #156 and passim) to give each greater strategic control in the capital, both partners are pursuing a form of “active” community that could help reduce the cost of deploying the 5G network and accelerate deployment in other parts of the UK. As telecoms companies across Europe prepare for the roll-out of 5G across the continent, the Commission`s decision and accompanying remarks on broader network sharing issues are a timely reminder of the potential challenges faced by telecoms companies considering consolidating through mergers or structural joint ventures or cooperation through the use of Promote Network Sharing Agreements (NAAs). Vodafone and Orange have signed a new agreement to share mobile and fixed networks in Spain, with the main objective of enabling faster deployment of 5G in a wider geographical area, Vodafone said in a press release. Unlike full-fledged network sharing agreements, MORAN does not involve spectrum sharing, which would mean abandoning independence and autonomous decision-making. Everything else in the RAN – the antenna, tower, location and power supply – is always shared in a MORAN environment. Orange and Vodafone have reached an agreement to strengthen their existing partnership in mobile and fixed networks in Spain. With the aim of promoting a sustainable investment model, this agreement will lead to a faster and more efficient deployment of NGA networks (including new technologies such as 5G) in a wider geographical area and will bring significant benefits to their respective commercial and retail customers. In July 2018, Vodafone Spain began rolling out its 5G network in these six cities with the deployment of a limited number of 5G nodes.

Network sharing efforts are largely focused on rural Germany, as Read has been described as “multiple challenges” in more densely populated communities. O2 and Vodafone today agreed to share active 5G devices such as radio antennas on shared network sites across the UK. The approach aimed to accelerate the rollout of 5G in areas where infrastructure investments are not as commercially attractive, even though the 23 largest cities were excluded from the deal. The new agreement extends the agreement signed by the two companies in 2006 and renewed in 2016. The new conditions will allow the sharing of the network of cities between 1,000 and 25,000 inhabitants in municipalities with fewer than 175,000 inhabitants. The agreement includes active sharing for the two companies` 2G, 3G and 4G technologies. The planned number of shared sites will be 14,800. The active sharing initiative will be extended to the future deployment of 5G. Thus, more customers will benefit from the new features of 5G, such as.B.

low latency and high speed. Also, achieve a more efficient deployment. Laurent Paillassot, CEO of Orange Spain, said: “We have always promoted infrastructure sharing as an important lever to reach more customers faster and more efficiently on fixed and mobile networks. The extension of the agreement with Vodafone will allow Orange to further expand mobile coverage in Spain and accelerate the future deployment of 5G at a more efficient cost. The agreement also extends previous fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) co-investment agreements across new geographies through new wholesale access or co-investment agreements. This new wholesale agreement will allow Vodafone to offer its fibre optic and convergent services to an additional 1 million households on Orange`s network. In addition, both companies will have access to each other`s future fixed broadband expansions Vodafone Portugal and NOS today signed a landmark agreement on national sharing of mobile assets, which will enable faster and more efficient development of mobile networks across the country. The carrier said it has entered into commercial agreements with Samsung, Huawei, LG and Xiaomi to offer 5G smartphones as soon as they become commercially available.

Vodafone is in talks with Deutsche Telekom to share networks in so-called “grey dots”, where only one mobile service is currently available. The agreement signed today is based on the principle of sharing network assets between the two operators, with Vodafone Portugal and NOS ensuring their full independence in defining and providing services to their end customers, while always maintaining strategic control over each of the networks. The context of the merger investigation is perhaps more interesting. The joint venture is taking place in the context of a broader network cooperation between the two operators aimed at accelerating the roll-out of 5G in Italy (TIM and Vodafone plan to extend existing “passive” network sharing agreements across Italy and share the “active” infrastructure of their 2G, 4G and 5G networks in specific areas). Although these cooperation agreements have not been assessed in the context of the merger control procedure, the Commission`s press release also appears to give TIM and Vodafone the green light to pursue these plans from a antitrust perspective, albeit in a lighter form and subject to continuous monitoring by the Commission. This is a signal for the further development of the Commission`s approach. The Commission does not issue formal “administrative letters” to parties considering cooperation agreements. However, Commissioner Vestager recently noted that the Commission is increasingly willing to “provide informal guidance when needed – in new or unclear situations”. This new agreement goes even further in the relationship. Although many telecom companies around the world believe that active equipment is a way to differentiate experiences, the two put aside their differences to expand the network to all regions of the UK. In areas where the return on investment is more difficult to achieve, spectrum assets will be the only differentiator.

The two operators, who are already arguing with regulators over the terms of The Portuguese 5G auction (see separate report), stressed that market differentiation will be maintained by sticking to their own spectrum concessions rather than sharing them. Mário Vaz, Managing Director of VfP, spoke of “total independence in the definition and provision of services by each operator”. The deployment of 2G, 3G and 4G networks in less densely populated areas is done through a single RAN that includes both passive and active network sharing: the former includes towers and masts; the latter antennas and base stations. Jose Pedro Faria Pereira da Costa, NOS` chief financial officer, would not be asked about either issue on a subsequent conference call. “The end result of this agreement for both partners,” he dared, “will be a significantly higher coverage network with significantly lower annual investments and operating costs” Although Vaz calls the NOS connection a “historic agreement”, Vodafone seems to have gained some experience with this type of frequency exclusive network sharing agreement in the UK through the introduction of MORAN (Multi-Operator Radio Access Network) technology. (Vodafonewatch, No. 183). . . .