The EC added that the newly-merged Inwit will only be able to refuse to provide space on the towers for technical reasons, setting out in writing the reasons for the refusal and allowing an independent expert to resolve any possible disputes. Additional conditions include a commitment on the part of Inwit, Telecom Italia and Vodafone not to exercise any early termination right as regards all existing hosting contracts and framework agreements in place and a pledge to offer the opportunity to extend those contracts and agreements.
In addition, the Commission was keen to stress that the companies offered to scale back their active network sharing deal, leaving out the most densely and highly populated cities and centres of economic importance, after an initial investigation. “The Commission welcomes this development, which increases the areas (and the percentage of Italian population) in which Telecom Italia and Vodafone will continue to compete on network quality while retaining the benefits of network sharing in other cities and towns as well as rural areas,” it said.
In a statement, TIM confirmed that the active sharing partnership will now exclude municipalities with populations of over 100,000 inhabitants, as well as their more densely populated suburbs. Vodafone in turn said the new commitments will ensure that Inwit can maximise tower utilisation while preserving the ability of the two operators to efficiently roll out their respective 5G networks.
When the EUR 10 billion merger is complete, TIM and Vodafone will each have a 37.5 percent stake and equal governance rights in the enlarged Inwit, which will have more than 22,000 sites throughout the Italian territory.
