Telefonica executive scotches rumours of E-Plus network sharing

Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica is currently not in ‘active discussions’ with Netherlands-based KPN Telecom (or Royal KPN as it is also known) over the possibility of sharing mobile network infrastructure in Germany, Reuters cites a Telefonica executive as telling reporters at an event in Sao Paulo yesterday. Eduardo Navarro said that Telefonica’s network strategy in Germany, where it provides fixed and mobile services under the O2 brand, should preserve the competitive advantage of its 4G LTE network. There has been no shortage of speculation of potential cooperation between KPN’s E-Plus and Telefonica Germany (O2) in recent years, a move which would allow both operators to compete more effectively with mobile market leaders Telekom Deutschland and UK-owned Vodafone Germany, notes TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database. In June 2012 KPN was reportedly considering a spin-off of its German unit in a bid to fend off an unsolicited EUR2.6 billion (USD3.4 billion) offer from America Movil (AM) in which the latter sought to increase its stake in KPN. Later that month, however, KPN announced that talks with an unnamed interested party – rumoured to be Telefonica – had collapsed due to ‘adverse conditions in financial markets’, and shortly after the Mexican group succeeded in its bid, boosting its holding in the Dutch telco to 28%.