Etisalat Nigeria has announced the sale of 2,136 of its towers to
IHS Holding Limited (“IHS”) as part of a broader strategy to drive improvements
in the quality of its network performance and to accelerate roll out of 2G
& 3G coverage and new services to its customers. The transaction, the first
by a major GSM operator in Nigeria, is expected to close later this year.
Etisalat currently has the highest quality network in Nigeria and
the partnership with IHS is designed to promote network sharing, ensure higher
quality, sustain reliable mobile services, lower overall costs and also promote
a cleaner environment through reduced diesel usage and increased investments in
alternative energy solutions.
Over the past 18
months, IHS has installed a large number of alternative energy sites in
Nigeria. These investments
in addition to further investments in its state-of-the-art Network Operations
Centre mean that uptimes of over 99% are achieved on its owned
sites. Under the terms of this transaction IHS has committed to investing
a further USD100 million in the towers acquired, on advanced generators,
efficient batteries and alternative energy solutions to reduce diesel
consumption and improve efficiency of grid use.
Matthew Willsher, CEO
of Etisalat Nigeria, said: “Continued demand for mobile connectivity along with
increased consumption of data requires reliable and effective networks that are
also cost efficient for network operators. The decision to sell our passive
infrastructure to an experienced commercial partner, such as IHS, is part of
our strategy to increase network coverage and capacity which is already rated
number 1 for quality of service by the NCC.
Issam Darwish, CEO of
IHS, added: “We are
delighted to have been trusted by Etisalat Nigeria with their passive network
infrastructure. Our market leading operations team, managed through a
state-of-the-art network operations centre and our continual investment in
better, more efficient systems and technologies will ensure that that trust is
well placed. This
partnership will provide significant long-term benefits to Etisalat Nigeria,
allowing them to focus entirely on marketing new customer propositions to a
wider market.”
On the conclusion of
this transaction, IHS will own and manage over 6,540 towers in Nigeria all of
which will be managed by the most advanced Network Operating Centre (NOC) in
the country, providing customers with market and industry leading levels of
passive network uptime. IHS will market services on the towers promoting tower
sharing and colocation to help drive network improvements, better service to
subscribers and economic growth.
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