European mobile tower company Vantage Towers has signed a long-term agreement to lease tower infrastructure to German telco 1&1 (formerly 1&1 Drillisch) to enable it to launch as the country’s fourth mobile network operator (MNO). 1&1 will gain access to at least 3,800 sites by end-2025 and potentially up to 5,000 sites over the next 20 years. The first sites will be made available in 2022.
Ralph Dommermuth, CEO of 1&1, commented: ‘With Vantage Towers, we have gained a strong partner for the passive infrastructure of our 5G mobile network. By cooperating with established tower companies, we want to primarily use existing antenna sites. This is environmentally friendly, conserves resources and at the same time accelerates our rollout.’
1&1 currently operates as a virtual provider in Germany’s mobile market, but won 5G-capable spectrum in the government’s 2019 auction. In May 2021 it signed a national roaming agreement with Telefonica Deutschland, which will enable it to offer its customers nationwide coverage during the rollout phase of its new network.
Source: https://www.commsupdate.com/articles/2021/12/13/11-signs-tower-deal-with-vantage/