…and what the tower industry should do to create new value by leveraging reduced fuel consumption and providing fibre to the tower

TowerXchange starts a long journey to profile proven innovative equipment and managed service providers to Africa’s telecoms infrastructure community, interviewing senior executives at companies with a demonstrable track record of saving energy and maintenance opex, and optimising rollout and retrofit capex.

A closer look at site design to minimise opex: choosing the right generator, shelter, air conditioning, outdoor equipment and RMS

Dependence on costly diesel generator power and regulations encourage infrastructure sharing in Uganda, according to analysts at BuddeComm

Pedro Rabacal, Network Officer, International at Vodacom succinctly summarises the investment dilemma facing many operators as they consider whether to invest in shareability

...with a high tenancy ratio in Uganda

…When is the time right to share your towers?

The criticality of tenancy ratios

Deals to suit your market and objectives - striking a balance between lease rates and up-front cash

TowerXchange shares a wish list of regulatory requests, and looks at how the UCC creates a supportive environment for infrastructure sharing in Uganda

How Vodafone Ghana secured investment in their legacy infrastructure, reduced opex AND kept their towers through an operational lease deal

Congratulations to IHS Africa on their acquisition of 1,758 towers from MTN in Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon. The cost per tower is US$151.5k in Cote d’Ivoire (US$141m purchase price) and US$173k in Cameroon (US$143m). While one needs to know the lease rate to evaluate the deal properly, industry commentators agree that MTN realized a good price, while IHS Africa have paid a justifiable premium to cement their place among the most credible independent tower companies in Africa. Indeed, this deal makes IHS Africa the largest independent tower company in West Africa with a presence in the four largest economies in the region; Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire. Unlike MTN’s previous joint venture deals with American Tower in Ghana and Uganda, in which they retained a substantial equity stake, MTN has parted with 100% of the equity in Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon. As usual, MTN becomes an anchor tenant. IHS Africa has made build-to-suit commitments. The initial term is 10 years. Citibank served as MTN’s advisers on the deal. The transactions are expected to close during the first quarter of 2013, subject to the usual closing conditions.