Vodafone To List Vantage Towers in Frankfurt Next Year
British telecommunications giant Vodafone announced that it will list Vantage Towers, its towers business in Frankfurt in early 2021. The technology company, the current second-biggest mobile operator in the world, announced the news early this Friday.
The company’s chief executive officer, Nick Read, said that the launch of their new towers marks a major step for the company. According Read, it’s part of his strategy to improve the return from the company’s assets.
In his statement, Read said that the Vantage Towers would unlock more value for the company’s shareholders. He added that it’s in line with the target initial public offering in 2021.
Technology news reports say that Vodafone looks to retain the majority of the stakes in Vantage Towers after the IPO.
Aside from that, the British telecom giant also announced the establishment of a European mast company. Reports say that it would be worth more than 18 billion euros from a year ago.
That spin-off became operational earlier this year and has more than 68,000 mobile towers in nine different European countries.
Vantage Towers will have Vodafone as its anchor tenant, which will generate 90% of its total revenue in the launch. The company said that it aims to add more longer-term tenants in the long run.
Moreover, the company said earlier this Friday that it created the biggest tower company in Greece. The project was made possible through an agreement with Crystal Almond, the majority shareholder of Wind Hellas.
Vodafone said that Crystal Almond agreed to acquire around €100 million in shares from the IPO at the given price.
4G Rural Network
The British telecom operator announced the recent expansion of its 4G based mobile coverage as well.
Yes, in discussions about modern technology, 5G is the newest craze, but it’s limited to certain areas and markets. Yet UK’s mobile operator still invests in 4G networks for other areas under its new project, Shared Rural Network (SRN).
The £1 billion project has just gone live in Staffordshire, Peak District in the village of Longnor. The area homes only just over than 330 people.
The plan is to help extend 4G’s reach to about 95% of the United Kingdom by the end of 2025. This is also supported by the government through public investments worth £500 million.
The scheme involves the reciprocal sharing of the existing masts in the selected area.
Longnor is the second rural area that will benefit from Vodafone’s effort under the SRN. The first community is Devauden in the Wye Valley of Wales.
