Cellnex signed a €315 million European Investment Bank (EIB) loan deal, with the cash set to form part of a pot used to improve infrastructure in five major mobile markets including France and Spain.

In a joint statement, the pair said the financing would unlock total investment of €651 million, with the ultimate aim of supporting 5G across the countries covered, which also includes Italy, Poland and Portugal.

Cellnex plans to spend cash on infrastructure in urban and rural regions. This will include new masts and base stations, alongside improvements to existing sites to improve capacity.

As part of the project, it also intends to increase use of renewable power in its estates and add energy efficiency measures into selected base stations to lower consumption and emissions.

Half of the new masts installed within the project will be located in what the EIB describes as “cohesion regions”, which are areas where the per-capita income is less than three quarters of the average in the European Union.

This element, the two noted, will help “close the digital divide and generate socioeconomic benefits”.