Bharti Airtel, India’s leading mobile operator, is currently in the process of setting up new telecom towers in Africa, according to a Business Standard report.
In June, Kuwaiti-based telecoms company Zain closed the sale of Zain Africa to India’s Bharti…
Bharti Airtel, India’s leading mobile operator, is currently in the process of setting up new telecom towers in Africa, according to a Business Standard report.
In June, Kuwaiti-based telecoms company Zain closed the sale of Zain Africa to India’s Bharti Airtel, in a transaction worth US$10.7bn. The transaction excluded the company’s assets in Sudan and Morocco.
Since that deal, Bharti made several announcements, saying notably it was planning to invest US$100m to expand its network and services in Gabon in the next three years, as well as another US$600m to expand its mobile network in Nigeria.
Concerning the tower telecoms, an unspecified source told Business Standard that the contracts for passive infrastructure equipment to build the towers were likely to be awarded next month, notably in Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania.
By sharing infrastructure at the tower level, the Indian company is looking to cut costs and turn around its African operations quickly, the Business Standard source said. These towers will likely host between two and four tenants each.
Bharti was not available for comment by press time.