The deal stipulates cooperation in IoT and smart cities fields
Spanish telecommunications giant Telefónica has signed an agreement with compatriot infrastructure company Ferrovial for the provision of a range of communications services.
Under the terms of the five-year agreement, Telefonica will provide fixed and mobile technology, collaboration tools and new workplace services as well as cyber security and cyber surveillance solutions to the toll roads to airports business.
The deal also stipulates that both companies will also examine how they could collaborate in the big data, Internet of Things (IoT) and smart cities fields.
“This global agreement will enable us to pursue our expansion strategy in a very agile, flexible way, providing new services that will support our ongoing digital transformation process,” Íñigo Meirás, CEO of Ferrovial, said.
“This alliance makes both companies more competitive and innovative within the technology and infrastructure fields,” José María Álvarez-Pallete, Chairman of Telefónica, said.
The deployment of a high-availability optical fiber network is a cornerstone of the cloud infrastructure solution, as it allows centralized management. The Spanish telco said that this new alliance will provide Ferrovial with greater flexibility in the systems area as it expands internationally, and in the process of digitalizing the company.
Vodafone to expand LTE-A network in additional cities in Germany
In other EMEA news, Vodafone Germany confirmed it plans to roll-out mobile data speeds of up to 500Mbps to additional cities in the coming weeks.
The German operator had initially launched its high-speed LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network in parts of Berlin and Dusseldorf in November last year. The service, which uses tri-carrier aggregation (3C) technology in the 800MHz, 1800MHz and 2600MHz frequency bands, will reach 15 cities by mid-2017
In September 2016 Vodafone Germany had introduced LTE mobile data speeds of up to 375Mbps in 22 cities across Germany.
Also, the telco said it plans to increase the maximum speeds offered over its fixed broadband cable network from 400Mbps to 500Mbps.