Eaton Towers in tower management and financing deal with Telkom Kenya

The deal includes the maintenance of existing sites as well as the building of new towers.

The deal is an extension of the partnership signed with the Orange Group in 2012 with Orange Uganda and will also see a third round of equity financing amounting to KSh16.5 billion (US$195 million).

Mickael Ghossein, Telkom Kenya chief executive officer (CEO), said the deal will offer much needed financing for expansion to rural areas, but does not change ownership of the towers.

“We are confident that our agreement with Eaton Towers is a step in the right direction,” Ghossein said.

“Telkom Kenya will retain ownership of all the existing towers and the partnership will place us in a strong position to expand our network and develop innovative new services, in particular in rural areas, helping us achieve our ambition to provide the Kenyan population with excellent nation-wide coverage and relevant offers.”

Eaton Towers said the deal makes it the first infrastructure tower company in the country with the new round of financing to strengthen Telkom’s network coverage.

Alan Harper, chief executive officer (CEO) of Eaton Towers, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Telkom Kenya as the first infrastructure tower company to operate in Kenya.

“This agreement extends our successful relationship with the Orange Group in Africa and brings significant benefits to all parties. Eaton Towers’ expertise in tower management and its commitment to top-quality service will allow Telkom Kenya to expand and improve its network while optimizing costs.”

The deal with the Orange Group is expected to help bring down various operational costs across the continent through sharing of passive infrastructure as well as improving efficiency.
Orange has been sharing infrastructure as a key strategy of reducing its OPEX with similar deals having been struck in Uganda, Cameroon and Ivory Coast.