O2 and Vodafone extend UK network
The two will extend their network-sharing deal to cover 5G, accelerating the deployment of the faster mobile service at a lower cost
London — Telefónica’s O2 and Vodafone have stepped up their challenge to British market leader BT by extending their network-sharing deal to cover 5G, enabling them to accelerate the deployment of the faster mobile service at a lower cost. The two groups said on Wednesday they would share the fibre that runs between their individual core networks and jointly owned masts to improve their offering. However, they will become more autonomous in major cities, giving the two firms the freedom to decide how much they invest in equipment to boost data capacity, while they could also seek a third party to take a stake in the joint venture at a later date. “We believe these plans will generate significant benefits for our business and our customers as we move into the digital era of connected devices, appliances and systems on a mass scale,” Vodafone UK CEO Nick Jeffery said. The two companies formed a joint venture in 2012 to help share the cost of rolling out faster networks as customers so...
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