Telecom Italia would be open to other operators joining its network sharing alliance with Vodafone Italy, with CEO Luigi Gubitosi mooting there may be common ground with disruptive new entrant Iliad Italia.

Reuters reported the executive noted that with spectrum auctions in the country having been very expensive, it is important to share costs: “We’ll meet with Iliad as we meet habitually with all operators and we hope to find some common ground.”

Reports this week stated Iliad had contacted Italy’s antitrust watchdog AGCM and communications regulator Agcom regarding Telecom Italia and Vodafone’s network sharing pact, calling for them to monitor the effects on competition.

Telecom Italia and Vodafone entered into an alliance in February, which covers active 5G sharing with the potential to expand this to include 4G, along with expanding existing passive sharing work to cover 5G rollouts.

Separately, Reuters reported a deal to merge Vodafone’s tower infrastructure into Inwit, the infrastructure subsidiary of Telecom Italia, is likely to be signed imminently. This move was mooted at the same time as the 4G/5G deal, and the article suggests it will be structured in such a way that Vodafone and Telecom Italia will hold equal shareholding and governance rights.

In a statement, Inwit CEO Giovanni Ferigo, said negotiation is “continuing according to plan”, and will “give new impetus to the growth of Inwit thanks to the long-term collaboration with two leading operators”.