Interview elanta – AOTEC 2024 Fair Magazine
CLIENT PORTFOLIOS WITH RECURRING REVENUE ARE THE NEW INFRASTRUCTURE ASSET.
Andrea Liboreiro Rodríguez – Chief Executive Officer
Who is elanta?
elanta is the leading FTTH wholesale neutral operator in terms of connected customers, with more than 625,000 clients in its more than 2.9 million homes million homes in 38 provinces and 711 towns.
elanta is the result of the split in two of the lyntia group, acquired by the investment fund Antin Infrastructures Partners in 2018. At the time, the FTTH division had just 150,000 HP deployed in greenfield. In 2019 we started to become aware of the existence of a strongly atomized segment of local FTTH operators, leaders in their towns, with a differential positioning. These operators had great commercial success by combining proximity, personalized customer service, local content and direct involvement in the communities in which they operated.
At elanta, we then began to outline the, until then, unexplored concept of aggregating these access networks into a single infrastructure operator. The aim was to improve the quality of those networks and their commercial competitiveness, and thus help operators to continue growing with a more diversified service offering.
In January 2023, Antin sold lyntia Networks to a group of investment funds and kept the FTTH access company under the new name of elanta.
How many network acquisitions has elanta made to date?
Between 2019 and 2024 we have closed 137 network acquisition transactions, going from 21,000 connected customers to more than 625,000 connected customers, from 150,000 homes passed to more than 2.9 million homes in coverage, from 650km of fiber to more than 54,000 km of fiber and from €2 million in turnover to more than €80 million in turnover.
Where does elanta stand in relation to its competitors?
In my opinion, the key to the success of a neutral operator is to answer four questions: how many, where, how and who.
The how many refers to scale, i.e. the number of homes passed. A neutral wholesale operator must have a sufficiently large volume of homes in coverage to be able to meet a substantial part of the retailer’s coverage needs.
The where indicates the type of municipalities in which the network is deployed. It is critical for a neutral operator to be present in towns whose socioeconomic profile guarantees good commercial profitability in terms of both penetration and associated ARPU.
The how refers to the type of network, i.e., the need to have state-of-the-art networks, with top quality backhaul, that allow connection of residential and corporate profiles at ultra-fast speeds (XGSPON up to 10Gbps symmetrical) and always remain at the forefront of technological develoments. Cutting-edge technology allows for better and greater marketability to customer operators. In addition, neutrality is important in how. Being open and independent increases the attractiveness for potential customers.
The who, in the neutral wholesale operator, is the importance of having a diversified portfolio of operator customers, which in turn has a relevant volume of end-users and the capacity to continue growing organically.
In an infrastructure operator, the homes passed are an essential tool for providing service, but the key to success are the customers. It is of little use to have a relevant volumen of homes passed if you do not have customers that report recurring revenues.
Why are elenta’s networks different?
In 2024 we have concluded the process of integrating and streamlining our networks. More than 90% of our networks are ultra-fast speed (XGSPON) with 10Gbps symmetrical and very high quality backhaul. elanta is 100% neutral, multi-operator and multi-service, both in residential and business.
In April of this year we were pioneers in successfully testing, in a real environment, the 50 Gbps service, demonstrating once again our leadership and innovation in neutral solutions for high-capacity connectivity.
What investments do you plan to make in FTTH in 2024?
We will continue to actively analyze any opportunity that fits with our strategic leadership positioning. We are already planning to acquire at least another 300,000 homes passed before the end of 2024.
* Interview originally published in the XVII FERIA TECNOLÓGICA AOTEC 2024 Magazine.