沃达丰与和记黄埔将共建电信网

Vodafone is in advanced discussions with rival Hutchison Whampoa about merging their Irish telecoms infrastructure in the latest attempt by mobile operators to cut costs and improve coverage in the face of difficult business conditions.

沃达丰(Vodafone)正与对手和记黄埔(Hutchison Whampoa)就合并双方在爱尔兰的电信基础设施展开深入谈判，这是在目前商业困境下，移动运营商为削减成本和提高覆盖率做出的最新尝试。

The negotiations between Vodafone and Li Ka-shing's Hutchison Whampoa, the Hong Kong-based conglomerate that operates the Three mobile brand in Ireland, to create a shared grid have reached agreement although not formally signed.

沃达丰与和记黄埔之间的谈判旨在建立一个共同的电信网络，目前双方已达成协议，不过还未正式签字。李嘉诚(Li Ka-shing)旗下的和记黄埔是一家总部位于香港的集团企业，在爱尔兰经营着移动品牌“3”。

The pair will create an equal joint venture structure that will own the telecoms equipment, but they will maintain independent spectrum holdings and run competing retail services. Savings for each business could exceed £200m over a five-year period, according to one person with knowledge of the talks.

沃达丰与和记黄埔将建立一个利益均等的合资架构来掌控它们在爱尔兰的电信设备，但二者会保留各自独立的频段，并提供相互竞争的零售服务。据一位了解谈判情况的人士透露，双方在五年的时间里可各自节省下逾两亿英镑成本。

The move would be latest in a series of deals between rival operators to share the costs of the physical mast infrastructure needed to broadcast mobile services to their users.

此前亦有一些互为对手的运营商达成了类似协议，它们的目的在于彼此分担基站成本。运营商为用户提供移动服务离不开基站。

Increasingly, mobile operators are engaging in services competition at a retail level rather than compete over which can build the largest infrastructure. It also shows how such operators are looking to cut costs through such quasi-mergers of basic infrastructure to boost earnings as service revenues continue to come under pressure in flagging economies.

移动运营商之间的竞争逐渐转向零售服务层面，它们不再相互攀比谁有能力建设规模最大的基础设施。这件事同时显示出，在疲弱经济体带来的营收持续面临下行压力之际，移动运营商是如何尝试通过此类基本基础设施上的准合并来削减成本和提高利润的。

The deal will follow a similar merger of the 18,500 network sites owned by Telefonica and Vodafone in the UK, which analysts at Bernstein have estimated could save