www.siliconrepublic.com/comms/item/28295...e-and-three-confirm/
Vodafone and Three have entered a deal that will see them form a new 50/50 joint venture whereby they will pool their physical network and site infrastructure at more than 2,000 locations across Ireland.
As Siliconrepublic.com reported recently, the two companies will continue to run the ‘intelligent’ elements of the network separately, including their core network capabilities and service platforms, as well as manage their own radio equipment and spectrum independently.
The new company is expected to be fully operational from the autumn and will be headquartered in Dublin.
The managing director will be appointed from an independent pool of talent and the new company will have its own management board. About 80 employees will transfer from Vodafone Ireland and Three Ireland to the new joint venture company after a consultation period.
These will include employees that currently work in the radio and transmission teams, the Network Operations Centre, and some support roles.
Rapid rollout of next-generation network
The companies said this strategic partnership is the first of its kind in Ireland whereby the joint venture company will manage the rapid rollout of a consolidated portfolio of shared network sites and infrastructure, as well as the maintenance and ongoing operational service and associated equipment.
The deal between Vodafone and Three echoes a recent deal between Vodafone and Telefónica (owner of O2) to build a nationwide 4G network in the UK that will cut the costs of deployment by 25pc.
Continued on the link above.
For those who don't know what 4G is...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4G
In March 2008, the International Telecommunications Union-Radio communications sector (ITU-R) specified a set of requirements for 4G standards, named the International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced (IMT-Advanced) specification, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 megabits per second (Mbit/s) for high mobility communication (such as from trains and cars) and 1 gigabit per second (Gbit/s) for low mobility communication (such as pedestrians and stationary users).
Yeah you read that right, 100mbit mobile and a gigabit stationary.
Add this to ipv6 and you have a recipe for ubiquitous computing.
that game. 
