The two companies will synergistically use Fastweb’s spectrum and EOLO’s FWA infrastructures to make connections of up to 1 Giga available to families and businesses in areas where the FTTH service is not available.
Fastweb and EOLO have signed an agreement to create a strategic partnership capable of generating value for citizens and for the country, significantly accelerating the availability of very high capacity services in areas of the national territory where connectivity services are not available fixed performing.
How the partnership between EOLO and Fastweb will work
The combined use of the millimeter wave frequencies in the 26 GHz band acquired by Fastweb during the 2018 5G auction and EOLO’s FWA access infrastructure will allow the creation of the FWA network in the areas covered by EOLO with download speeds of up to largest in the country at 1 Giga.
At the same time EOLO, thanks to a wholesale agreement with Fastwebwill gain access to Fastweb’s fiber-based network infrastructure and will therefore be able to further increase the areas in which it will be able to resell high-performance FTTH-type services to its customers, increasing its presence at a national level.
The agreement has an important strategic value for both companies.
Fastweb secures access to a strategic FWA network infrastructure, concentrated in areas where FTTH networks are not available, which will allow it to extend its ultra-broadband coverage to an additional potential of approximately 3.5 million housing units which will become 5 by 2029.
The use of that infrastructure will allow Fastweb to accelerate the availability of 5G FWA access services with download speeds of up to 1Gb/s in digital divide areas.
The connections thus created will also be made available to third-party operators in wholesale mode.
EOLO, thanks to the use of Fastweb’s 26 GHz band spectrum, will enhance its ability to provide very high capacity FWA services, further consolidating its leadership in fixed network services on radio access; Access to Fastweb’s FTTH fiber infrastructure will also allow it to significantly extend the coverage of its ultra-broadband network offer, adding a potential of approximately 2.5 million residential units.
When will the collaboration between EOLO and Fastweb be active?
The agreement is subject to approval by the competent authorities.
The statements
Walter Renna, Fastweb CEO: “We once again confirm our DNA as an operator with a strong infrastructural and innovation vocation. The partnership with EOLO allows us to use the spectrum even more efficiently to quickly expand the coverage of the ultra broadband network at our disposal. A network that we will then make available to third-party operators, to make our mission as a wholesale operator increasingly robust”.
Guido Garrone, TO EOLO: “The partnership with Fastweb represents further confirmation of the strategic role of the FWA in breaking down the digital divide, as a complementary solution to FTTH where fiber is uneconomical. Thanks to the 26 GHz frequencies, the network infrastructure and the experience gained over 15 years in the entire FWA production chain, we can follow up on our evolutionary roadmap based on 5G millimeter wave technology for the offer of high-speed services. 1 Giga, further strengthening our leadership in the FWA market.”