Telecom Italia, Vodafone to enter new network sharing partnership

MILAN: Telecom Italia and Vodafone said on Thursday they plan to enter into a new network sharing partnership to enable faster deployment of fifth-generation mobile phone services over a wider geographic area at a lower cost.

The companies also plan to evaluate combining their 22,000 telecom towers in Italy into a single entity, they said in a joint statement.

The two have signed a memorandum of understanding and agreed to enter into exclusive talks.