Orange and Vodacom have announced they will form a towerco joint venture to build, own, and operate solar-powered mobile base stations in underserved rural areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The mobile operators plan to deploy up to 2,000 base stations using 2G and 4G technologies over the next six years. The first base station is expected go live later in 2025. The move takes Orange and Vodacom into competition with the existing towerco market in the DRC.
Helios Towers have been active in the DRC for a decade and recently competing built-to-suit operators, Eastcastle Infrastructure and TowerCo of Africa, have begun competing too.
The move will be especially disruptive for the existing low-cost rural towercos active in the market. AMN, which operators 714 sites, and NuRAN, which operates 38, were working with mobile network operators on a revenue share model. They now face an internal competitor for rural roll out.
The initiative will extend network coverage and enable access to telecommunications and mobile financial services to up to 19 million people in less densely populated and rural communities.
"With a footprint serving over 210 million customers across Africa, we have the opportunity to significantly contribute to the continent’s socio-economic development by building a digital society and fostering inclusivity for all. This aligns with our purpose to connect for a better future, and our partnership with Orange is a crucial step towards providing mobile coverage to people in previously underserved areas in the DRC,” said Shameel Joosub, CEO of Vodacom Group.
The combined investment envisages an initial commitment of 1,000 sites after which Orange and Vodacom may scale the project by a further 1,000 towers.
The mobile operators will share active and passive equipment owned by the joint venture. They will be the anchor tenants for an initial period of 20 years, and will offer the towers to other interested MNOs.
“Our longstanding presence in Africa, including over 10 years in the DRC, has equipped us with a deep understanding of the market and customer needs. Collaborating with Vodacom by sharing both passive and active infrastructure is the most effective approach to fulfilling our commitment to accelerating connectivity access for everyone, including rural areas, while minimizing our environmental footprint,” said Orange Middle East and Africa CEO, Jérôme Hénique.
In addition to mobile coverage, the partnership will enable customers to access voice, data, and mobile money services.
