
The future's... all about network sharing?
Published: 20 February 2008 11:40 GMT
Mobile operators Orange and Vodafone have agreed to share network resources. The pair had been in talks about how they could work together since last year.
Orange and Vodafone said the deal to share 2G and 3G mobile masts in the UK, which will start to be implemented this year, will see more customers benefit from better quality mobile coverage. Half of the UK's population - the pair's combined customer base - will be able to make use of the pooled resources, they said.
The deal will reduce operational costs for the two companies as the number of mast sites can be reduced by an estimated 15 per cent - or almost 3,000 sites - in the first two years alone. This reduction also has environmental benefits, according to the two companies.
The pair said they will continue to maintain separate networks and retain full responsibility for quality of service to their respective customers. They will also continue to compete in the UK mobile and wholesale markets.
The agreement follows a recent network love-in between rival operators 3 and T-Mobile. Network sharing is not on operator O2's agenda, however. Ben Dowd, head of business sales at O2, recently told silicon.com owning its own network is a unique selling point for the company.
With an expanding domestic and global market, and revenues increasing month on month, critical strategic change is on the agenda, in order for us to ...
Were growing fast, but still retain an atmosphere where every individual counts. We believe that effective mentoring and sharing within our small ...
My client is a global operator of ROVs and other subsea products. It is the first name that the major Oil and operators think of when they require a ...
CIO50 2008
The silicon.com CIO50 2008 profiles the most influential and innovative tech chiefs in the UK across all industries and organisation size, from the biggest FTSE100 companies to high growth dot-com start ups and the public sector. The list was voted on by the UK CIO community and a panel of experts. Find out more in our latest special report.
Stories from the web...
Copyright ©1995-2008 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Top of page
Steve Ranger Editor's Blog: Why we write about the iPhone Is it just because it's so shiny?
Siân Croxon Legal Eye: Trademark landmark Pricking O2's bubble…