Mobile operator Vodafone is seeking a total £450m in loans from the European Investment Bank to upgrade 3G and deploy 4G across the UK and Ireland.
The company is seeking a £350m loan for a project in the UK that will cost £830m, and £100m to help…
Mobile operator Vodafone is seeking a total £450m in loans from the European Investment Bank to upgrade 3G and deploy 4G across the UK and Ireland.
The company is seeking a £350m loan for a project in the UK that will cost £830m, and £100m to help cover its £211m investment in Ireland.
A filing outlining its plans for the UK stated: “The project concerns the expansion of 3G technology based mobile broadband telecommunications network and its upgrading to HSPA+ together with the roll-out of a new 4G LTE network throughout the country in the UK.
“The project, to be implemented from April 2013 until March 2015, is planned to provide a combined 3G and LTE coverage and to roll-out the 3G technology in the 900 MHz spectrum. The project also includes the related investments in the transmission and core components of the network.”
Both requests were filed on 18 June and are subject to EIB’s approval.
Late last year Vodafone’s UK rival EE secured a £350m five-year loan with the EIB to support the expansion of its 4G network in the country.
The loans come as British and Irish mobile operators accelerate their 4G deployments, after recently picking up extra frequencies from separate spectrum auctions.
