O2’s UK operation appears unlikely to join the recent European 3G network sharing trend following statements from a company board director that owning its own network is a unique selling point for the operator. “I think it’s a great opportunity for O2 to shout about the fact that we own our own network,” Ben Dowd, Head of Business Sales and recently appointed O2 UK Board Director, told Silicon.com. “Because when you’re a corporate customer and the network goes down I think it would be incredibly difficult to explain to a corporate where the problem was if that responsibility is being shared, so the buck stops with us if there are coverage issues.” According to the report, Dowd doesn’t agree with the argument that network sharing will help operators reduce costs, and said there is no evidence to suggest any network sharing deals done by rivals will pose a threat because of the possibility of a bigger network coverage footprint.

Dowd’s comments follow a string of network sharing deals in the last year. Spanish operators Orange and Yoigo last month signed a five year agreement aimed at improving service coverage throughout the whole of Spain, speeding up network deployment, and reducing the number of mobile masts necessary for the deployment of two operator networks. At the end of last year T-Mobile and 3UK announced a similar network sharing agreement which they hope will generate cost savings of £2 billion over the next ten years. Other recent high-profile 3G network sharing plans include Vodafone and Orange UK, a venture announced in February 2007. At the time both companies said the deal aimed to achieve a 20-30% reduction in capital and operating costs whilst improving mobile phone coverage in the UK.