Eaton in deal with Vodafone Ghana

Published Oct 5, 2010

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African tower company Eaton Towers on Tuesday announced a 10-year contract to take over the operations and co-location management of 750 telecom towers for Vodafone Ghana.

Eaton Towers will invest USD80m in upgrading and improving the existing towers and on improving Vodafone's coverage in Ghana. Eaton will also develop the existing infrastructure and build new towers, it said.

The agreement also enables Eaton to sell co-location and shared-infrastructure facilities to other mobile operators, generating future revenues from separate long-term contracts.

By outsourcing the management of its towers, Vodafone Ghana said it would immediately benefit from cost savings and significantly reduced capital expenditure.

Eaton will assume responsibility for all operational aspects of the passive infrastructure, including health and safety, security and power provision.

Alan Harper, chief executive 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," Harper concluded. - I-Net Bridge

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