MILAN (Reuters) - Italy’s biggest phone group Telecom Italia is set to announce on Friday a deal with rival Vodafone to merge their tower infrastructure and jointly deploy fifth generation mobile technology in Italy, a source close to the matter said.

The source said an extraordinary board meeting of Telecom Italia (TIM) had been called for July 26 to approve the deal.

The tower infrastructure merger will give TIM and Vodafone equal share-holdings and governance rights in INWIT, the mast group 60 percent owned by Telecom Italia, without either group having to launch a tender offer on INWIT’s remaining shares.