KPN and Vodafone Netherlands plan to try sharing mobile tower sites from September. The pilot will be limited to a certain area, with competition authority NMa and spectrum regulator Agentschap Telecom informed in advance about its form and content. The idea is to see if the shared use of mobile tower sites and associated facilities could lead to lower network costs, better coverage and environmental benefits. The bottom line will be whether the quality of the network remains the same or is improved by sharing.
KPN and Vodafone Netherlands have said the pilot will take place in an unspecified limited area. The companies will share mobile tower sites and their support facilities, including air conditioning, power supply and transmission. Operators are already required to accommodate the antennas of other providers in their masts, space permitting. The pilot extends these agreements to sites not previously shared, such as sites on top of the roofs of buildings.
In a joint press release, the companies said the trial is in line with developments in Europe and worldwide, where operators find they have to work more with each other when it comes to mobile network infrastructure. No active network devices such as antennas will be shared. Also, the companies’ individual networks as well as telephone, SMS and internet traffic will remain fully separated. The pilot will run over several months. At the end of the year, KPN and Vodafone NL will evaluate the results and determine if they continue cooperating and how.
