Vivek Badrinath, CEO of Vodafone Group spin-off Vantage Towers, outlined an expectation of further movement on deals in Europe’s infrastructure market in the next 12 months, as operators continue to mull the future of their passive assets.

Responding to a question on a potential tie-up with fellow European heavyweights Orange or Deutsche Telekom (DT) posed during the company’s first annual results call since its IPO, Badrinath said several operators were considering what to do with their towers in Europe.

Though clarifying there was “no deal on the table” with either Orange or DT on their respective assets, he acknowledged there were rumours both were open to a potential arrangement.

But he added the companies would need to “complete their journeys” with their tower assets first.

Outside of potential M&A, the executive pointed to revenue opportunities resulting from an ongoing spectrum auction in Portugal and its resultant new entrant, alongside a recently-completed frequency allocation process in the Czech Republic.

Badrinath noted Vantage Towers was a key enabler for next-generation rollouts in Europe dubbing it the continent’s “5G super host”, adding it was well poised to take advantage of digital trends on the continent.

“Europe’s digital transformation is accelerating, and we are central to its growth.”

“Mobile operators are expanding their networks to manage increasing data traffic, and they value the quality of our grid.”

Among the company’s priority growth areas is in the delivery of “future-proof 5G indoor coverage solutions” after signing a deal in its fiscal Q4 (to end-March) with Hungarian systems integrator Delta, focused on DAS products and private networks for industry.