The Latest: Following its announcement in late 2019, Orange has finally created a separate towerco - TOTEM - controlling its sites in France and Spain. The operator has also stated it will look at the possibility of combining its tower business with those of other European operators to create a large towerco that would represent a credible alternative to Cellnex. Implications: Orange made clear that it will not sell its assets to third parties and will retain control over its mobile infrastructure, although the entrance of strategic or financial partners as well as a flotation have not been ruled out. The decision comes at a time when several European telcos have offloaded their sites to independent towercos, mainly Cellnex, as they increasingly look to pay down their large debts and focus on services rather than infrastructure. That said, we have previously stated that mobile assets will remain of strategic importance for operators with strong enterprise-focused services based on advanced technologies and looking to seize opportunities in edge computing, IoT and smart cities. Orange is among the telcos with a strong focus on tech and business solutions and therefore it is not surprising that the company is determined to remain in control of its infrastructure.
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