The independent telecoms tower infrastructure company, Helios Towers Ltd. announced an agreement with Africa’s Vulatel Ltd to build 1000 telecommunication towers in South Africa in the next three years. It entered South Africa last month by striking a local partnership and buying an independent tower operator, giving it a foothold in a country expected to lead sub-Saharan Africa in rolling out faster, fifth-generation networks.
As a leading independent tower company with over 6,500 towers in four key markets (Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo (“DRC”), Ghana and Congo Brazzaville), Helios Towers has long considered South Africa as an attractive opportunity due to its economic growth, population demographics and demand for advanced telecommunications services.
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Chief Executive Officer Kash Pandya said Helios will look to acquire more towers from carriers such as MTN Group Ltd. and Vodacom Group Ltd. South Africa has around 30,000 towers in all, with only about 10 percent of those run by independent companies.
Commenting on this agreement, Kash Pandya, CEO of Helios Towers said “I am thrilled to announce our entry into South Africa, which delivers against our stated strategy of providing MNOs with open-access infrastructure to meet the growing demands of their customers in Africa for fast, stable and available networks. We are delighted to be partnering with Vulatel, a business with impeccable telco-sector expertise and deep local credentials in South Africa.”
Vulatel complements Helios Towers’ extensive international towers expertise and access to capital with their experienced management team and established relationships within the South African market. Together with a nationwide footprint of field teams and wireless telecoms expertise, Vulatel will help Helios Towers deliver not only in the tower space but also in other attractive open-access telecom infrastructure verticals.
