LONDON—Hutchison 3G UK, which purchased a license to offer third-generation (3G) services in the United Kingdom last year, signed an agreement with U.K.-based electric and telecom company National Grid to locate Hutchison’s radio antennas on National Grid’s existing towers.
The value of the contract was not disclosed.
Under the agreement, National Grid subsidiary GridCom will be responsible for site surveying, obtaining permission from site owners and installing Hutchison 3G telecom equipment. The contract covers up to 1,000 existing pylons, primarily located alongside transportation routes.
Colin Tucker, managing director of Hutchison 3G, said: “As we roll out our 3G network, we have focussed on site sharing on existing structures. This agreement to locate equipment on GridCom’s pylons, means we are reducing the environmental impact, as well as the number of new sites.”
National Grid owns 22,000 transmission towers throughout England and Wales. GridCom was formed by National Grid to provide infrastructure for the telecom market, a Hutchison 3G statement said. National Grid owns fiberoptic company Energis.
As the only 3G license holder in the United Kingdom without an existing network, Hutchison 3G, owned 65 percent by Hutchison Whampoa, 20 percent by Japan’s NTT DoCoMo and 15 percent by the Netherlands’ KPN Mobile, must focus on reducing buildout costs to more quickly turn profits, according to industry experts.
