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Vodafone Group Plc and Altice USA cable television company announced their partnership for a joint venture that will create a new broadband network in Germany. The companies said on Monday, Oct. 17, that through their FibreCo JV company, they are aiming to challenge Deutsche Telekom, which is the leading telecom firm in the country.
Vodafone and Altice USA are building their fiber broadband network using €7 billion or about $6.8 billion investment fund. As part of the deal, the British multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Berkshire, United Kingdom, is expected to get cash from Altice amounting to €1.2 billion.
The companies have named their joint venture FibreCo, and its main offering is the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service. The goal is to provide this service to about seven million homes in Germany in over a 6-year period.
According to Reuters, FibreCo will invest in this project, but it is expected to be 70% financed by debt. The construction of the office has been assigned to Geodesia, the engineering and construction unit of Altice USA. Vodafone will be responsible for all marketing works to attract new customers.
The stake ownership in FibreCo has been equally split to 50%. Vodafone and Altice’s partnership deal is still subject to regulatory approval, and they are expecting the transaction to close within the first half of 2023.
“This partnership builds on Vodafone’s significant next generation network with Altice’s industrial expertise and proven Fibre-to-the-Home construction capabilities enabling us to bring gigabit connectivity to even more customers in Germany,” Vodafone Group’s chief executive officer, Nick Read, said in a press release. “We are proud of our long-standing relationships with housing associations and pleased as a trusted provider to bring more connectivity options for tenants.”
David Drahi, Altice’s chief, also said about the tie-up, “We are delighted and honored to join forces with Vodafone to build and operate a FTTH network connecting up to 7 million premises in Germany. We have pioneered fiber joint ventures in France and Portugal, and are thus thrilled to be able to replicate such a feat in Germany with such a partner.”
Matthew Buchanan/Unsplash
