Iliad and WindTre
An important co-investment between two of the major telecommunications operators to improve the state of the network infrastructures in the less densely populated and low-profit areas of the Italian territory: this is the intention of the project outlined by WindTre and Iliad.The news was communicated by Corriere delle Comunicazioni, which was able to view a letter sent by WindTre to the trade union parties through Unindustria. Also available, thanks to the header, a first map of the perimeter covered by the newco, which corresponds to the green areas highlighted in the image below.
Source: CorCom
The newco thus created provides for the sharing of antennas and the RAN (Radio Access Network, or the final part of the mobile networks), in addition to the right to use the spaces and passive infrastructures of Cellnex, former partner of WindTre.
The percentage of population Italian involved in the WindTre and Iliad newco project reaches 25%: the goal of WindTre and Iliad is the distribution of the resources available on the double track of optical fiber and 5G connectivity.
There is no news yet regarding the date of the agreement between WindTre and Iliad for the constitution of the newco, but based on the amount of detail contained in the documentation released in these hours, there would be very little missing in the final stages.
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Iliad talks Italian 5G with WindTre
Iliad Group CEO Thomas Reynaud (pictured) reportedly confirmed the operator was in talks with WindTre on a network-sharing deal in Italy which would help reduce the cost of rolling out a 5G mobile network in the country.
Reuters quoted Reynaud as saying Iliad and CK Hutchison-owned WindTre are in the process of finalising a network-sharing agreement involving about 7,000 mobile sites which would cover more than 60 per cent of Italy’s territory.
Reynaud believes the deal “should strengthen our independence in the long term”, Reuters wrote.
The news agency reported last week the groups were in discussions about sharing the cost of 5G deployments in remote areas of Italy.
It was suggested the pair would establish a 50:50 joint venture valued at €600 million to €900 million.
Iliad already has a national roaming agreement with WindTre, but has been engaged in building its own network in Italy since late 2016. It acquired 5G-enabling spectrum in October 2018, and had activated 8,727 and equipped 9,700 mobile sites in Italy by the end of 2021.
The group recently attempted to instigate a merger with Vodafone Italy, but the latter rejected a preliminary offer.
Buoyant year In 2021, Iliad Italia increased its mobile subscriber base by almost 1.3 million to more than 8.5 million and now claims to have secured at least a 10 per cent share of the country’s mobile market.
The Italian business increased revenue 19 per cent year-on-year to €802 million and reduced its loss from ordinary activities by 40.4 per cent to €248 million.
Iliad noted the Italian unit also made a positive contribution to consolidated EBITDA after leases (EBITDAaL) for the first time.
France remains Iliad’s biggest market, with 13.6 million mobile and 6.9 million fixed users at the end of 2021. Revenue increased 3.8 per cent to €5.1 billion, while profit from ordinary activities rose 3.7 per cent to €958 million.
Including its activities in Poland, Iliad Group reported a 29.2 per cent increase in consolidated revenue to €7.6 billion. Profit from ordinary activities increased 106.3 per cent to €1.2 billion and net profit grew 25.1 per cent to €526 million.
Net debt was 3.5 per cent higher at just over €8 billion by the end of the year.
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