Vodafone PLC (LON:VOD) and O2 have extended their network sharing deal to cover 5G, enabling them to accelerate the deployment of the faster mobile service at a lower cost and stepping up the battle with BT Group PLC (LON:BT.A).
In a statement, the FTSE 100-listed mobile phones group and its rival, which is owned by Spanish firm Telefonica, said they would share the fibre that runs between their individual core networks and jointly-owned masts to improve their offering.
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However, the two firms will become more autonomous in major cities, deploying their own separate radio equipment on approximately 2,500 sites outside London, giving them the freedom to decide how much they invest in equipment to boost data capacity.
The two companies, which formed a joint venture in 2012 to help share the cost of rolling out faster networks, also said they would explore “a potential monetisation” of the joint venture after the new arrangements have been finalised.
Nick Jeffery, Vodafone UK’s chief executive said: “We believe that these plans will generate significant benefits for our business and our customers as we move into the digital era of connected devices, appliances and systems on a mass scale.”
Vodafone is scheduled to issue a trading update on Friday. In early afternoon trading, its shares were 0.4% higher at 148.78p.