March 25 (Reuters) - Swisscom said on Wednesday its Italian business Fastweb + Vodafone would terminate its master service agreement (MSA) with the country's top mast operator INWIT. "The decision to
Fastweb terminates INWIT deal, igniting telecoms tower feud in Italy
Escalation of Dispute Between Fastweb and INWIT
By Elvira Pollina and Emanuele Berro
Background of the Contract Termination
MILAN, March 25 (Reuters) - Swisscom's Italian arm Fastweb on Wednesday terminated its long-term contract with INWIT, escalating a spat with the country's top telecom towers company.
Fastweb, which inherited the contract with INWIT through its acquisition of Vodafone Italy last year, had been pushing to renegotiate the agreement, a move that the tower company had resisted.
Efforts to Lower Lease Costs
As part of efforts to lower its lease costs, Fastweb last week announced a joint venture with Telecom Italia (TIM) - INWIT's other main customer - to build up to 6,000 telecoms towers in Italy.
Potential Actions by Telecom Italia (TIM)
TIM, which was also seeking to renegotiate with INWIT, will likely mirror Fastweb's decision to end its deal with the tower operator, with a move expected at a board meeting over the weekend, sources told Reuters.
Reactions from Fastweb and INWIT
Fastweb's Statement
"The decision to terminate the master service agreement stems from INWIT's tower costs being above market level and its refusal to engage in formal negotiations to align with standard market conditions," Fastweb said.
INWIT's Response and Legal Action
INWIT, whose shares fell as much as 10% on Wednesday and were down 5.7% as of 1245 GMT, said Fastweb's move had no legal basis and said it would file an urgent request to a Milan court to block it.
Overview of INWIT's Business
Revenue and Operations
The long-term contracts under which INWIT's 25,000 masts across Italy hosts the antennas of the two telecoms operators make up the bulk of the tower company's 1-billion-euro ($1.16 billion) revenue.
Company History and Investors
Born as a spin-off of TIM's mobile tower assets, INWIT merged with Vodafone's Italian mast business in 2020. Its leading investors are infrastructure fund Ardian and Vantage Towers.
Exchange Rate Information
($1 = 0.8629 euros)
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Emanuele Berro and Elvira Pollina, Editing by Ludwig Burger and Alvise Armellini)
