The launch of mobile services with 5G in Europe may bring a range of new infrastructure collaborations as telecom providers look for new ways to upgrade their networks without spending too much money. That’s what Reuters says.
Providers are busy rolling out fibre-optic cables and looking for ways to increase the density of their network, to enable the ultra-fast data rates and low latency that 5G services need. There have already been auctions over the 5G spectrum in Great Britain and Italy, and in Germany and France the auctions will follow next year.
The telecoms companies, however, claim not to collect any investments themselves. Instead, many companies are preparing their mobile tower portfolios for sales or partnerships with infrastructure specialists. These specialists would then maintain and use the mobile towers in exchange for payments.
In this way, the telecom companies would be able to raise money and have more time before 5G would offer a new source of revenue. They can also continue to pay out the high dividends to attract investors. “5G may be the trigger for collaborations,” says Tobias Martinez Gimeno, CEO of Cellnex, Spain.
Cellnex already has portfolios in France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, but also wants to enter new markets such as Germany. Deutsche Telekom adds Dutch and Australian towers to its tower-department that runs 28,000 base stations. CEO Tim Hoettges states that the company is open to a sale of the department.
Agreements
In addition, telecoms companies are looking at ways to share the infrastructure in order to limit the costs of 5G investments. Telefonica Deutschland, for example, has concluded an agreement to connect 5,000 of its base stations to Deutsche Telekom’s fibre-optic network. As a result, the company will also be able to offer 5G fixed wireless broadband.
This technology provides the last piece of connection to the house with a wireless link, and is cheaper than placing an underground cable.
This news article was automatically translated from Dutch to give Techzine.eu a head start. All news articles after September 1, 2019 are written in native English and NOT translated. All our background stories are written in native English as well. For more information read our launch article.
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