South Africa’s smallest operator, Cell C, awarded a US$378m contract to roll out part of its planned high-speed network to ZTE.
The contract will see ZTE deploy a HSPA+ network for Cell C, which hopes it will deliver the country’s fastest mobile speeds…
South Africa’s smallest operator, Cell C, awarded a US$378m contract to roll out part of its planned high-speed network to ZTE.
The contract will see ZTE deploy a HSPA+ network for Cell C, which hopes it will deliver the country’s fastest mobile speeds when it is completed in Q2, with major cities to be covered by April.
The investment is part of the R5bn (US$660m) that Cell C, which is part of Saudi Telecom’s Oger subsidiary, plans to spend on improving its network this year.
The total sum will be raised through a combination of existing cash resources, vendor financing and from the sale of its telecom towers, Cell C CFO Fabrizio Mambrini told TelecomFinance.
Launched last year, Mambrini suggested the tower sale, advised by Citibank, could raise between US$350m and US$600m.
While some 18 parties initially expressed interest in the sale, Cell C received eight offers after it asked financial players to partner with industry groups.
The operator expects to shortlist bidders in the following weeks and invite for binding offers shortly after.
One player likely to be closely watching the sale is Telkom, which recently announced plans to launch mobile services. Like Cell C, it is likely that the fixed-line operator will seek to lease the towers from their new owner.
It is believed the sale attracted the interest of several financial players including private equity groups such as Apax Partners and Providence. As previously reported by TelecomFinance, PE firms have shown an increasing interest in the tower business, which is set for a good deal of activity in Africa as operators seek to expand their network while cutting costs by leasing and sharing their towers.
One of the players set to benefit from this, Helios Towers, struck its first deal this week by acquiring Millicom’s towers in Ghana.
Probable bidders among tower companies include Helios as well as the UK-based Eaton Towers, France’s TDF and two US companies, American Towers and Crown Castle.
