Polish telcos to form 5G joint venture with government

Three of Poland’s major operators have agreed to develop 5G networks with two state-owned companies to speed up roll-out, according to a report from Reuters.

Poland’s state development fund PFR and state-owned operator Exatel signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Orange Polska, T-Mobile Polska and Polkomtel to set up a company to build national 5G infrastructure.

The move comes after Exatel called for Poland to form a consortium of private and state companies to develop 5G network infrastructure in the 700MHz band in a bid to lower costs and improve security.

“The goal of the joint venture is to ensure nationwide availability of services 5G in selected bands, technology security and low service prices thanks to synergies of common infrastructure,” PFR CEO Pawel Borys said on Twitter.

Play Communications, Poland’s biggest operator by subscribers, didn’t sign up due to pending corporate approvals, a spokesperson told Reuters.
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