The boards of French mobile operators Bouygues Telecom and Vivendi-owned SFR are set to vote on a proposed mobile network sharing deal on Friday, according to local title Les Echos.
The agreement will reportedly involve the dismantling of some of their…
The boards of French mobile operators Bouygues Telecom and Vivendi-owned SFR are set to vote on a proposed mobile network sharing deal on Friday, according to local title Les Echos.
The agreement will reportedly involve the dismantling of some of their antennas to create a single network.
The operators will also launch a new bidding process for their network equipment, with Les Echos suggesting that China’s Huawei would be a “well positioned” supplier.
Spokespersons from both Bouygues and SFR declined to comment on the matter.
The companies entered exclusive talks about mobile network sharing in July 2013.
At the time, Bouygues said that the two telcos would continue to be commercially independent and any deal would be comparable to similar sharing agreements in other European countries.
The agreement, which would result in significant capex savings, is however expected to be subject to approval by the national telecoms and the antitrust regulator.
In November last year, Iliad’s Free Mobile, the latest entrant in the French mobile market, signalled its intention to join the proposed network sharing agreement.
Iliad chief executive Maxime Lombardini said at the time it would be a “major destabilising factor” if the agreement between the two large operators did not make room for Free.
Free’s entrance into the French market in 2012 sparked a price war with the three historical operators – Orange, SFR, and Bouygues – losing market shares rapidly.
The partnership between Bouygues and SFR is seen as an attempt to address their declining market shares.
