Orange UK and Vodafone UK will work together towards a full network sharing agreement. The agreement, if it goes ahead, would lead to the shared management and maintenance of the radio access network (mobile telephone masts) of each company with the long term intention to eventually consolidate and share the radio access network. An arrangement would also be put in place for the build and future roll out of the radio access network. The eventual arrangement will be exclusively for Vodafone UK and Orange UK.

This agreement would allow Orange UK and Vodafone UK to take advantage of the benefits network sharing brings to their businesses and their combined customers who number more than 30 million. As well as improved efficiency in network operations, customers will also benefit from the extension to coverage that this agreement would bring and the speed at which Orange UK and Vodafone UK will be able to increase 3G coverage and services.

Network Sharing relates to the radio access network (RAN) for both voice and data. The RAN includes the mast, antenna, sites, support cabinet and power supply as well as the base stations and the radio network controllers that link to the core network.

The latest developments in technology mean that 3G base stations can now be configured to transmit more than one operator’s signal, which leaves each operator free to determine its own service offering using its own spectrum. This solution enables each operator to manage its traffic independently. For 2G, the heads of terms commits to exploring opportunities as technical solutions become available to achieve sharing.

Under this agreement, both operators would remain competitive and retain full responsibility for the quality of service and products they offer customers while sharing radio sites and radio network equipment. Services such as Single Number and Line 2 will not be affected and Orange will retain its uniqueness.

As a result Orange UK and Vodafone UK would be able to share and consolidate the radio access equipment currently used by both operators over the longer term. By entering such an agreement Orange UK and Vodafone UK would be able to improve efficiency, and expand coverage for their customers. A significant reduction in equipment will also bring environmental benefits.

It's good for our customers, it's good for the environment and it's good for our businesses. It's a common sense approach to network roll out and management in the twenty-first century.

Both parties have been exploring ways of delivering greater efficiencies as well as enhanced coverage to their customers. The agreement is also expected to accelerate the roll out of 3G coverage providing real benefits for customers.

Long-term shared efficiencies are likely to come from jointly managing and maintaining the radio access networks and reducing the number of sites required by both companies in future build outs.

We have done extensive analysis and believe Vodafone is a good complement to Orange - we enter this agreement as equals. Our 2G coverage is comparable. 3G coverage is similar and we have both focussed investment in major urban areas. However, where we have concentrated on some rural areas, Vodafone has focussed on others. This makes the two companies a good fit for sharing the radio network and in turn benefit from efficiencies in managing the networks.

No, the scope of this agreement is just the management and sharing of radio networks for Vodafone and Orange.

We believe that through the consolidation and sharing of the radio access network, we will be able to improve coverage in a faster, more efficient manner than we would do if we continued to roll out radio networks individually. We will also still differentiate on certain areas of coverage, for example in-building schemes for our corporate customers.

This will be dependent on their market conditions and the likely partners. Vodafone and Orange have reached a similar arrangement in Spain which was announced before Christmas 2006. There are other examples in Australia, for example where it made sense to share infrastructure given the local market conditions and the breadth of the roll out plans.

Customers tell us that they like using 3G - but they can't get it in enough places. Over time, this proposal will go some way to resolving that.

Network Sharing relates to the radio access part of the 2G and 3G network (voice and data). The latest developments in technology mean that 3G base stations can now be configured to transmit more than one operator's signal. As technical solutions become available we would expect to do the same with 2G base stations. By entering such an agreement Vodafone UK and Orange UK would be able to improve efficiency and expand coverage for our customers.

We have approximately 12,000 base stations in the UK. We have 99% 2G population coverage and over 80% 3G coverage. This proposal will allow us to increase population coverage while reducing the number of masts compared to the number we would have rolled out if we had continued on our own.

Yes, they would be but we would always keep any disruption to a minimum. It will take time for the sharing to become a reality and we would always look to use the latest techniques for managing equipment and reducing the impact an outage has on our customers.

All current and future rollout is being incorporated in our discussions as well as the management and maintenance of the radio access network.

We are in a new phase of the mobile industry, one where the customer demands more - more services and more coverage. We believe that through the consolidation and sharing of the radio access network, we will be able over time to improve coverage in a faster and more efficient manner than we would do if we were rolling our radio networks on our own. By sharing radio access network each company could focus on delivering more exciting services to their customers.

We expect there will be no change to the customer experience.

We expect the consolidation of the radio networks to take place over a number of years.

This is a large and complex project and it will take time to make all of the necessary changes, such as planning sites, planning the decommissioning of sites, negotiating leases and legal procedures such as planning consent. At the same time both operators must ensure customers do not experience any interruptions to their service.

This is not a short term project. We are doing this because it's the right thing for our customers,.our companies and the environment in the long term. The UK mobile industry is now in a phase of maturity where it makes sense to take this approach to managing a network and future rollout for any operator.

Each operator would still own its core network, and would continue to manage and maintain it.

There would be no change to current processes customers follow.

We expect that there will be no change to our service level agreements.

In time, as radio networks are consolidated, it is envisaged that the total number of masts or sites would be reduced. The future roll out of 3G masts and the consolidation of 2G masts could mean that we are able to reduce the total number by a third compared to the number we would have rolled out if we carried on individually.

Each operator would still be responsible for investing in the radio network. They would also continue to invest in their own core networks and any in-building schemes for corporate customers. For example, the provision of enhanced coverage in a particular area of the country.