African towers business Eaton Towers has signed a 10-year 750-tower management contract with Vodafone Ghana.
Eaton expects to invest up to US$80m on upgrading and improving the existing towers and on improving Vodafone’s coverage in Ghana, where it will…
African towers business Eaton Towers has signed a 10-year 750-tower management contract with Vodafone Ghana.
Eaton expects to invest up to US$80m on upgrading and improving the existing towers and on improving Vodafone’s coverage in Ghana, where it will also develop the existing infrastructure and build new towers.
Alan Harper, CEO of Eaton said:”This agreement is good for everyone involved. Our co-location offering ensures that Vodafone’s infrastructure will continually improve, whilst maintaining the lowest possible operating costs. Furthermore, our tower-sharing agreements will enable Ghana’s mobile operators to reduce costs, reach more subscribers and avoid the environmental impact of duplicating towers.
Most importantly, through our investments, and sharing of towers, Ghana’s mobile subscribers will benefit from better coverage and operators having a lower cost base – and that is good for economic growth and sustainability. We plan to bring the benefits of tower sharing to operators and subscribers across Africa.”
Under the agreement, Eaton may also sell co-location and shared-infrastructure facilities to other mobile operators, generating future revenues from separate long-term contracts.
Eaton will assume responsibility for all operational aspects of the passive infrastructure, including health and safety, security and power provision. Upgrades to the existing sites will include new power generation equipment and advanced management systems aimed at reducing diesel consumption and other costs.
According to a study by the TMT advisory firm Delta Partners, there are 200,000 towers in the Middle East and Africa. The firm expects tower numbers in the region to jump by 50% in the next five years, noting that some US$8bn of cumulative CAPEX could be saved by tower sharing agreements.
