Bouygues Telecom and SFR have reached an agreement on sharing network infrastructure. The French mobile operators first announced in July 2013 talks on the matter and have now struck a deal. The shared infrastructure will target 57 percent of the population, those living outside the 32 biggest cities in France, providing them with better indoor and outdoor coverage and higher quality of service.
SFR and Bouygues will set up a joint venture company to run the shared infrastructure. The agreement covers the radio sites and equipment for 2G, 3G and 4G services. Each operator will continue run its own commercial and pricing strategy, as well as its own core network and frequencies. The aim is to complete the network integration by the end of 2017.
French telecom regulator Arcep said it welcomed the agreement as a way to improve services to customers. Along with the competition regulator, it will examine the SFR-Bouygues deal in the coming weeks.
