The agreement, spanning 10 years, will give Vodafone and Telefónica UK access to the group’s 16700 mast sites across the UK.
It will run under a network sharing agreement, and the move is designed to increase both companies rollout of 4G after falling behind rival group EE.
EE launched 4G first in the UK, and has now stolen a march on other operators in the UK in rolling out LTE networks.
Arqiva will provide support on network consolidation and 4G across the UK, and will build on separate agreements that both companies have had with the infrastructure group in the past.
“We are supporting the provision of the core footprint for the future of 4G in the UK,” said Nicolas Ott, managing director of telecoms at Arqiva.
“As 4G continues its rapid uptake allowing consumers to enjoy a richer array of content on mobile devices, it is imperative that the infrastructure is in place to support this growth.”
