Hot will acquire 23% of the shares in the IBC fiber venture

Hot will acquire 23% of the shares in the IBC fiber venture managed by Amir Levy at a value of NIS 800 million. Cellcom will hold 30% of the shares - Hot, Keren Tashi and IEC will together hold 70%. Hot will be not only a partner but also a key customer of the venture. IBC was established in 2013 with the aim of deploying fiber optic infrastructure, which provides speeds of 1,000 megabytes. On the IEC network. The venture failed to rise in its early years and ran into financial problems and last year was acquired by Cellcom and Keren Tashi, with 30% remaining in the IEC's hands.
IBC has a duty to deploy 40% of the country within a decade, but the company expects to reach that goal within two and a half years. IBC is in fact a wholesale infrastructure company and does not provide services directly to the consumer, but through the largest Internet providers, of which it is Cellcom itself.
To date, the company has deployed fiber to about 430,000 households. Another fiber-spreading company is Partner, which is not subject to deployment restrictions, which has reached about 675,000 households. However, the number of subscribers connected and paying is low and stands at only about 150,000.
The third company to deploy fiber is Bezeq, which partially deployed about 60% of Israel. However, the company has not yet made a real connection of the buildings to the infrastructure, in light of the lack of economic viability in the Ministry of Communications' requirement to deploy throughout the country.
Yesterday, the government approved the fiber outline that removes from Bezeq the nationwide deployment obligation subject to restrictions, so the company is expected to renew the deployment soon. HOT is in fact the only company that has not yet entered the fiber field, and if it does, it is committed to at least a 30% deployment.