Following the announcement in March this year of the agreement between O2 and Vodafone UK to share network infrastructure in the UK, both companies confirmed today that the first shared site has gone live.
The Vodafone equipment, which was added to an existing O2 site, will significantly add to network coverage on a busy section of the M4 Motorway and will also allow for a neighbouring site to be removed in the near future.
The benefits of the joint programme are already being seen, with the whole process from planning to implementation completed in 11 weeks, compared to nine months for a typical standalone site. This activity clearly demonstrates the advantages of network infrastructure sharing, with both operators exploiting existing infrastructure to improve coverage for their customers.
This is the first of many shared sites that will be delivered over the coming months. Plans for other sites are now well advanced and progressing well.