MADRID, April 11 (Reuters) - Spanish telecom operatorTelefonica and Dutch group KPN are set toreopen talks over sharing their mobile networks in Germany, theFinancial Times reported on Thursday.
Such a network-sharing deal for their German subsidiaries O2Germany and E-Plus would help cut capital expenditures for thetwo highly indebted groups.
Telefonica Deutschland Chief Executive Rene Schuster toldReuters in February the unit was open to network sharing deals,but that there were no active talks underway at that time.
02 Germany and E-Plus each hold 16 percent of the Germanmobile market, and trail leaders Vodafone and DeutscheTelekom, which each hold 34 percent shares.
The two leaders are investing massively to upgrade theirnetworks with fourth generation mobile technology that boostsspeeds by up to five times, leaving 02 Germany and KPNoutgunned.
The two companies held talks last year on a possible sale ofKPN's E-Plus to Telefonica, which fell apart becauseTelefonica's high debt made the deal impossible during theEurozone debt crisis.
A Telefonica spokesman declined to comment on the FinancialTimes report. KPN also declined to comment.
Telefonica already shares networks with competitors inBritain, Mexico and Brazil, but sources familiar with the mattercautioned that any similar move in Germany would be at a veryearly stage.