Iliad Group and Italian operator WindTre are reportedly making progress with plans to put in place a new joint venture company that would enable them to share the costs of deploying 5G networks across remote areas of Italy.

Figure 1: After receiving regulatory approval, the deal could be completed in Q4 2022.
(Source: Reuters/Alamy Stock Photo)

France-based Iliad made mention of the plan during the presentation of its first-half results this week, although without providing details. The group merely confirmed that it signed a radio access network (RAN) sharing agreement with rival WindTre in April to "accelerate the rollout of Iliad Italia's mobile network" in "non-densely populated areas."

Iliad already has a roaming agreement to use WindTre sites in remote areas of Italy.

Speculation about the JV first cropped up in March, when Reuters reported that CK Hutchison-owned WindTre would shift around 7,000 mobile sites into a new company. The report suggested that Iliad would then buy a 50% stake in the new operation to create a 50-50 JV valued at between €600 million (US$599.6 million) and €900 million ($899 million).

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According to Reuters, Iliad CEO Thomas Reynaud has since confirmed that the agreement would include up to about 7,000 mobile sites as suggested. In April, Italian newspaper CorCom indicated that the two operators reached an agreement with trade unions over the transfer of WindTre employees to the new JV.

Italy's telecoms regulator Agcom gave the green light to the proposed venture earlier this month.

According to news site Mondo Mobile Web, the deal is now expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022.

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— Anne Morris, contributing editor, special to Light Reading