Iliad Group signed an agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) for a €300 million loan facility which it plans to use to finance the rollout of 5G and densify its 4G network in France.
In a statement, both groups said the agreement builds on a decade-long partnership, which saw EIB help finance Iliad’s fixed network rollouts. In total, the new loan means Iliad has taken more than €1.1 billion in financing from EIB since 2009.
Iliad explained its networks were an absolute priority, with it investing a total of 30 per cent of its revenue in rollouts every year, totalling nearly €7.5 billion over the last five years.
There was limited detail on what exactly it will use the latest loan for, but Iliad said it was committed to “giving the whole of France digital coverage, including in the most rural areas”.
Currently, the company has more than 18,800 mobile sites in metropolitan France, and offers 4G coverage to 97.8 per cent of the population.
CEO Thomas Reynaud said the partnership with EIB would help it to “actively pursue the rollout and densification of our mobile networks”.
“We intend to pursue rollouts at a brisk pace, particularly in the view of upcoming launch of our 5G offers and entry into the B2B market.”
Iliad’s announcement comes a day after it released its Q3 earnings, in which it booked it best revenue performance since 2012, boosted by its fixed line offering in France.
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