Tim, agreement with Fastweb + Vodafone to build towers and accelerate 5G
Non-binding agreement with the prospect of up to 6,000 new sites
Key points
Tim and Fastweb + Vodafone have signed a non-binding agreement for the construction and management of new towers (passive infrastructure) for mobile telephony in Italia, with the prospect of building up to 6,000 new sites. The joint initiative is also aimed at accelerating the national roll-out of 5G.
Announcing the project is a joint note pointing out that this will allow 'Tim and Fastweb + Vodafone to improve operational efficiency and bring costs in line with the European average, while maintaining high quality infrastructure standards and the technological flexibility required for the development of next-generation networks'.
Initiative open to new investors
The initiative will initially be realised through a joint-venture equally owned by Tim and Fastweb + Vodafone, "with the objective of evaluating at a later stage the entry of third-party investors into the company structure in order to optimise its financial structure. The infrastructure will also be made available to third-party telecommunications operators on the basis of an open access model'. Construction activities will be started according to a multi-year development plan. Tim and Fastweb + Vodafone will act as anchor tenants of the new infrastructure, signing long-term agreements for the use of the towers at market conditions.
Project subject to OK Authority
The project, the note from Tim and Fastweb + Vodafone makes clear, "is subject to the necessary authorisations from the competent authorities". What is certain is that after years in which the towers had ended up on the market, sold like family jewels to make cash and lighten the balance sheet, now the pendulum has swung back the other way.
The 'return' of the telcos to the towers
In retrospect, this move also tells of a return to the past. Tim had taken Inwit to the stock market in 2015, monetising a stake in the tower subsidiary; then in 2020 Inwit incorporated Vodafone Towers, becoming the sector's national giant. On the opposite front, Wind had already sold 7,377 towers to Cellnex in 2015. The logic then was that of divestment: sell passive infrastructure to free up resources. Today, however, the dossier is being reopened in the opposite direction: not to own everything, perhaps, but to return to governing the infrastructure chain.
