A little less than a week ago we told you that BlueVía Fibra was the new subsidiary of Telefónica for the “operation and exploitation of a fiber network to the home (FTTH) for the provision of wholesale FTTH bitstream access services and other connectivity services” . This was born with an initial share capital of 3,000 euros and a single partner such as Telefónica España Subsidiaries. Now, it has sold 45% of its rural fiber network to this subsidiary, which will operate alongside the Vauban Infrastructure Partners/Crédit Agricole Assurances consortium.
The three companies have reached an agreement for Bluevia Fibra, SL which, as we have already explained, is a single platform for the marketing and deployment of a fiber to the home (FTTH) network in Spain, mainly in rural areas and with limited overlap with other networks. Currently, this is the main focus of fiber deployment, which is already quite overlapping with other companies in the cities, but has a debt in other more remote areas.
This is how Bluevia will work
Basically, the consortium formed by Vauban Infrastructure Partners and Crédit Agricole Assurances will buy 45% of the company for a total amount of 1,021 million euros. This implies that the new rural fiber subsidiary is valued at 2,500 million euros. Once all the steps are completed, Telefónica will have a 55% stake in this company divided between Telefónica Spain and Telefónica Infra, with a 30% and 25% stake, respectively. Of course, everything is pending the appropriate regulatory approvals and the closing is expected to take place at the end of 2022.
This neutral fiber wholesale company will operate and deploy fiber optics in various areas of our country. In addition, it will offer wholesale fiber to the home (FTTH) access to all telecommunications service providers. The initial fiber coverage footprint will be 3.5 million building units, but will expand to 5 million building units by the end of 2024.
Movistar will “lose” 13% fiber coverage, which is equivalent to the part sold to Bluevia. However, the operator will be able to continue offering services in these areas without any problem due to the signed conditions that allow access. In addition, Bluevia will benefit from the operational and commercial capabilities of Telefónica Spain, as well as the deployment of the fiber network.
Emilio Gayo, president of Telefónica Spain, explained that: “We are very excited about this project that will allow Telefónica Spain to remain the undisputed leader in fiber and will be a key lever to accelerate deployment in rural areas while we continue to advance in our commitment to phase out the retail copper network to drive better connectivity in a more efficient and sustainable way.”
