Vodafone expands 5G equipment sharing agreement with O2

Vodafone has agreed to share 5G active equipment, such as radio antennas, on joint network sites across the UK with its rival network O2, it announced on Wednesday.

The FTSE 100 telecoms giant said it meant more people would get 5G sooner, explaining that network sharing reaped the benefits of 5G while reducing the impact on the environment and lowering roll-out costs, allowing more investment in services for customers.

It explained that it had also agreed to greater 5G network autonomy on approximately 2,700 sites in 23 UK cities with the Telefonica subsidiary, representing just over 16% of combined mast sites.

That was in addition to London, which was previously announced in 2018, bringing the total proportion of autonomous sites to 25%.

It said that would give both parties more flexibility to meet the needs of their customers, and to deploy future network technologies.

At those sites, each party would install its own radio equipment, fibre 'backhaul' connection and power supply, while continuing to limit the environmental impact by sharing the physical elements such as the mast.

Vodafone said the new agreement would see Cornerstone - the 50-50 joint venture company that owned and managed the parties' passive tower infrastructure - take an additional role in the deployment of both networks and look to capture further operational efficiencies.

In addition, Vodafone and O2 would now proceed to explore potential monetisation options for Cornerstone.

“We're driving our 5G roll-out forward with this agreement, and taking our customers, our business and the whole of the UK with us,” said Vodafone UK chief executive officer Nick Jeffery.

“Greater autonomy in major cities will allow us to accelerate deployment, and together with active network sharing, ensures that our customers will get super-fast 5G in even more places more quickly, using fewer masts.”

Jeffery said the firm could boost capacity where customers needed it most, so they could take “full advantage” of new unlimited plans.

“And it demonstrates our commitment to further invest in our multi-billion pound network in the years to come, helping the UK become a digital pioneer.”

Mark Evans, chief executive officer of Telefonica UK, added that the new agreement was an “important step” in demonstrating his company’s commitment to invest for the future, describing mobile connectivity as “one of the UK's most powerful opportunities” to strengthen the economy and improve the lives of British people.

“This agreement will enable us to roll-out 5G faster and more efficiently, benefiting customers while delivering value for our business.

“It also importantly allows us to utilise the spectrum we acquired in the last auction very effectively.”