Israel’s Cellcom has inked an agreement with smaller competitors Pelephone Communications and Golan Telecom to share a 4G network and passive cell site elements.
As part of the 4G network deal, the mobile operators will work together to obtain…
Israel’s Cellcom has inked an agreement with smaller competitors Pelephone Communications and Golan Telecom to share a 4G network and passive cell site elements.
As part of the 4G network deal, the mobile operators will work together to obtain frequencies. The network itself will be built by a newly-created entity equally owned by Cellcom and Pelephone and overseen by all three companies, according to a Cellcom statement. The agreement is for 15 years.
The new entity will also “manage and maintain all of the passive elements of cell sites and unify passive elements of cell sites of [Cellcom] and Pelephone, currently used for the 2G and 3G networks”, it noted.
Finally, Golan will be granted the right to access Cellcom’s 2G and 3G networks, for five years, replacing their existing roaming agreement.
These deals, which require governmental and regulatory approvals, are aimed at cutting operating expenses and capex.
Cellcom CEO Nir Sztern added: “The Israeli cellular market will face continued challenges in the coming years to deliver the demand growth for cellular data. The agreements will enable multiple players […] to compete and offer cutting edge services while investing in infrastructure.”
The announcement comes a few weeks after two other Israeli mobile players – Hot Mobile and Partner Communications’ Orange – agreed to share their network assets.
Telecoms investment firm Altice, which has a stake in Hot Mobile, said in early November the companies will each own half of a newly-formed partnership, which will operate an advanced shared mobile network by pooling antennas and frequencies.
The deal will allow Hot Mobile to deploy an LTE network and launch 4G services.
