Virgin Media recently completed the acquisition of Arquiva’s Wi-Fi business
U.K. firm Virgin Media has reached an agreement to acquire infrastructure provider Arqiva’s Wi-Fi business.
Arqiva Wi-Fi operates more than 31,000 access points across 6,500 locations across the United Kingdom, including banks, restaurants and hotels. Under the terms of the deal, more than 100 Arqiva employees will transfer to Virgin Media Business.
Virgin Media currently provides service to 250 stations in the London Underground, with around 500,000 devices connecting daily.
“Millions of homes and businesses across the country already rely on Virgin Media for ultrafast broadband. By complementing our existing offer with the acquisition of one of the U.K.’s biggest and best public Wi-Fi providers we’ll soon be able to expand the same high-quality connectivity outdoors,” Peter Kelly, Virgin Media Business’ managing director, said.
“We have made significant investment in Wi-Fi in recent years, resulting in a scalable and robust platform for customers, and I firmly believe that Virgin Media will be a great owner of the Wi-Fi business,” Arquiva’s CEO Simon Beresford-Wylie said. “Under this new stewardship, the business will be well placed to grow and gain market share.”
As part of the agreement with Virgin Media, Arqiva has signed an exclusive partnership to provide indoor solutions to Virgin Media’s Wi-Fi customers and Virgin Media Business customers. The two businesses have also signed a long-term agreement to continue to deploy public Wi-Fi services in Arqiva’s numerous street concessions.
“These new agreements will enable both Virgin Media and Arqiva to leverage their respective strengths to deliver innovative and compelling solutions to customers where the need for capacity and coverage is ever increasing,” Arquiva’s managing director for telecoms and machine-to-machine, Nicolas Ott, said.
Arquiva has exclusive licenses to use municipal street furniture in 12 boroughs and offers Wi-Fi services in 34 airports across the U.K. The company also provides smart metering solutions.
Vodafone expands LTE-A network in Romania
In other EMEA news, mobile operator Vodafone Romania has extended its LTE-A service across the country.
The new Supernet 4G+ internet service is available in capital city Bucharest and another 330 localities across the country.
The telco, part of U.K. telecom group Vodafone, used spectrum in the 800MHz and 1800MHz bands to launch the new service.
Vodafone Romania also said it has expanded its 4G national network, which is now available in 3,500 locations.
