Sorainen and Mannheimer Swartling have advised telecommunication company Bite on its agreement with Tele2 to create a shared radio access network in Lithuania and Latvia. TGS Baltic and Vinge advised Tele2.According to Sorainen, the partnership is expected to boost the 5G network development process and benefit for the development of modern economies in Latvia and Lithuania. It will also enable companies to increase service quality for their clients by offering a wider, stronger network and optimizing each party’s network infrastructure maintenance and development costs.
“Network sharing has proven to be very successful for Tele2," explained Tele2 President and CEO Anders Nilsson. "In Sweden, we share all of our mobile network infrastructure, which has not only made it possible for us to build world-class networks for our customers at a lower cost but also made us the most energy efficient operator in the country. The agreement with Bite will create great value for our customers, employees, shareholders and Latvian and Lithuanian societies, especially as we embark on the 5G journey.”
Both Bite and Tele2 will continue operating independently while sharing network infrastructure.
The partnership will be implemented by establishing a joint venture that will operate existing 2G, 3G, and 4G network infrastructure, as well as starting to develop the upcoming 5G network. Each party obtains a 50 percent ownership in the joint venture in both Latvia and Lithuania. The plan is to build the radio network gradually during 2021-2023, with planning and preparation taking place before 2021.
“The major goal of the partnership is to optimize existing radio network and build 5G infrastructure in Lithuania and Latvia faster, less costly and with better coverage than on an individual basis,” Bite Group CEO Nikita Sergienko said. “Shared radio network will result in better quality of service, larger coverage, and better capacity than separate networks could provide. Not to mention that the cooperation also will result in a more efficient use of resources, and have a positive environmental impact.”
Last year Sorainen advised Bite Latvija on the acquisition of Stream Networks and its LATNET Serviss subsidiary (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on April 18, 2018).
The Sorainen team in Lithuania consisted of Partners Daivis Svirinas and Laimonas Skibarka, Counsels Stasys Drazdauskas and Asta Augutyte-Rapkeviciene, Senior Associates Monika Malisauskaite, Ana Novosad, Irma Kirklyte, Jonas Kiauleikis, and Inga Macijauskaite, and Associate Dobile Minkute. The team in Latvia included Partner Ieva Andersone, Senior Associates Marika Grunte, Andris Taurins, and Jorens Jaunozols, and Associate Liva Aleksejeva.
The TGS Baltic team consisted of Partner Andra Rubene and Associate Vladlena Rudusane-Simica in Latvia and Partner Lauras Butkevicius and Senior Associates Indre Barauskiene and Sonata Krasauskiene in Lithuania.
The Vinge team consisted of Partners Carl Johan naf Petersens and Marcus Glader.
