Vodafone Ireland and Three Ireland have agreed a deal to set up a strategic partnership to share their physical network and site infrastructure at over 2,000 locations nationwide.
The deal, which will see the creation of a joint venture company, had been mooted earlier this month.
Both companies will keep their own independent spectrum and retail services and the move is designed to save costs and boost coverage.
The partnership is the first of its kind in Ireland and the joint venture company will manage the rapid roll out of a portfolio of shared network sites and infrastructure as well as the maintenance and operational services.
The deal follows several similar agreements across Europe, where operators are looking for ways to upgrade their networks at a time when customers are cutting back on spending. Vodafone announced a deal earlier this year to share a network in Britain with O2 to help cut the cost of building a new service.
The new company is expected to be fully up and running by Autumn and will be headquartered in Dublin. About 80 workers from Vodafone Ireland and Three Ireland will transfer to the new company. These will include employees that currently work in the radio and transmission teams, the network operations centre and some support roles.
''We believe this partnership will place Vodafone in a stronger position to commit to future investment in our network, and the products and services we provide to customers,'' commented Vodafone Ireland's chief executive Jeroen Hoencamp.
''As a result of this agreement we expect to be able to deliver the latest technologies to our customers faster than ever before,'' said Robert Finnegan, chief executive of Three Ireland, which is owned by Hong Kong based Hutchison Whampoa.
''This new joint venture combines the best of both networks and will be the smart choice for the savvy mobile customers,'' he added.
