T-Mobile and 3 have signed a backhaul deal with BT Wholesale that will see 7,500 of their base station sites connected to BT's 21CN next-generation broadband network.
The mobile operators, who signed the deal through their joint-venture company, Mobile Broadband Network Ltd (MBNL), are now embarking on a new five-year managed network solutions agreement with BT, they announced on Monday. T-Mobile has had a similar deal with BT since July 2007, which is superseded by the new deal.
MBNL was set up to allow the two operators combine their base-station portfolios, a consolidation that recently saw them announce the closure of around 5,000 base stations where there was duplication. Whereas the consolidation of base stations will extend the two operators' 3G coverage in the UK, the 21CN deal is designed to make sure they have enough capacity to meet rising demands for mobile-broadband usage.
"MBNL selected BT on the basis of its ability to deliver the required capacity to support both [joint venture] partners' projected growth in mobile-broadband traffic, while generating significant cost savings over the life of the contract," Monday's statement from T-Mobile and 3 read.
Traffic demands on mobile broadband networks have increased drastically over the past year, along with the sudden popularity of high-speed 3G dongles in consumer and business markets.
"Given the massive growth in the use of data on our network, the BT agreement brings us the scalability we will require in a critical element of the network consolidation," said 3's chief technology officer, Graham Baxter, in the statement.
Orange and Vodafone have a similar deal with BT, but Orange is now the only major UK mobile operator not to have a backhaul deal with BT, a BT spokesperson confirmed on Monday.
According to Monday's statement, MBNL's goal is to "establish the UK's most extensive 3G network by 2010, providing close to complete population coverage for 3G services and significantly improving in-building coverage".
T-Mobile UK's technology director, Emin Gurdenli, said the deal would "make sure backhaul is not a constraint now or in the future at a time when T-Mobile is experiencing strong growth in mobile broadband and other mobile-data services".
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