The European Investment Bank (EIB) said it signed a €375 million loan with Cellnex for infrastructure work across four countries, aimed at adding mobile capacity and modernizing Spain’s broadcast network as demand rises.
The agreement is meant to support €770 million in total investment in Spain, France, Italy and Portugal, the bank said in a Nov. 3 announcement. Alongside the mobile projects, the investment covers an upgrade to Spain’s digital terrestrial television network. The EIB gave no breakdown of spending by country.
For the mobile work, Cellnex plans to add towers and urban sites and upgrade infrastructure so multiple operators can use the same locations. The project also includes distributed antenna systems to increase capacity. The bank expects roughly one in two new towers to be located in EU cohesion regions.
The EIB linked the upgrades to demand in high-traffic areas. It said sharing sites can maintain coverage and capacity while reducing the number of towers needed. Mobile operators and their customers are the intended beneficiaries of the added capacity.
Cellnex Chief Financial Officer Raimon Trias said the loan’s terms would strengthen the company’s financing structure and extend the average maturity of its debt. EIB EU corporate lending director Pilar Solano said advanced connectivity matters for Europe’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy. The bank did not disclose the loan’s interest rate or maturity.
The EIB described the agreement as its third operation with Cellnex. Its project records show a €100 million loan signed Dec. 5, 2017, followed by a €315 million loan signed July 24, 2023. Both earlier loans supported mobile infrastructure projects.
Cellnex’s investor calendar lists third-quarter results for Thursday, Nov. 5, subject to confirmation. The EIB announcement gives no construction timetable for the new investment.
