Orange and Vodafone’s Romanian units have agreed to share network infrastructure in the Eastern European nation.
The mobile operators announced today that the deal will enable them to continue to invest in developing technologies nationwide….
Orange and Vodafone’s Romanian units have agreed to share network infrastructure in the Eastern European nation.
The mobile operators announced today that the deal will enable them to continue to invest in developing technologies nationwide. Specifically, they expect to be able to expand their 4G and rural coverage and roll out advanced technologies more quickly.
“Also, the agreement will eliminate duplication of network infrastructure, with significant benefits [for] the environment,” they said.
Orange and Vodafone, Romania’s number one and two mobile network operators respectively, highlighted that they will continue to operate independently and maintain their own networks, actively competing against one another for all products and services.
Noting that deals of this type are now common both within and outside the EU, they described their own agreement as “a natural evolution” of their previous collaboration in sharing sites.
Earlier this month, Spanish telco Telefonica agreed to share part of its fibre optic network with local rivals Orange and Vodafone. In France, SFR and Bouygues recently entered into exclusive talks about mobile network sharing. And in Greece, Vodafone and rival mobile operator Wind Hellas agreed in June to share 2G and 3G networks in parts of the country.
Romania’s other mobile operators are Cosmote, in which Greek telco OTE has a majority stake, RCS&RDS’ Digi.Mobil and Romtelecom, also majority-owned by OTE.
