Telefonica has sold part of its ADSL network in Spain to infrastructure fund Macquarie for around EUR 200 million, according to unnamed sources cited by business daily Cinco Dias. The sale is part of Telefonica’s plans to monetise assets, reduce debt and accelerate the shutdown of its copper network in Spain, scheduled for 2025. The company has closed a total of over 1,400 of its ADSL exchanges in the five years since its first copper plant was shut down and it intends to reach 2,200 by the end of 2022 as it migrates to fibre.
Macquarie is the leading shareholder in Spanish wholesale fibre provider Onivia and intends to upgrade Telefonica’s ADSL network to fibre before leasing it operators, said the report. Onivia was created in late 2019 and last year announced plans to increase its fibre to the home (FTTH) network from 2.2 million to 9 million premises by 2025.
Telefonica currently accounts for around 4.8 million of Spain’s 12.5 million active fibre lines and around 750,000 of its 1.4 million ADSL lines. The operator said the divestment of its ADSL assets will also allow it to reach its environmental goals thanks to an FTTH network that consumes 85 percent less energy and requires less maintenance.
