Globe tower buyers teaming up to boost 4G, 5G in PH

MANILA, Philippines  —Independent tower companies Phil-Tower Consortium Inc. and Miescor Infrastructure Development Corp. (MIDC), buyers of Globe Telecom Inc.’s tower assets, are forming a joint venture (JV) to expand 4G and 5G mobile connectivity in the country.

“The [joint venture] will provide improved coverage for its mobile network operator clients and continue to drive investment in digital infrastructure in the Philippines,” the companies said in a statement on Thursday.

The proposed JV, however, is still subject to regulatory reviews by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Competition Commission.

The companies are currently operating more than 1,250 towers each across the country. To recall, Phil-Tower and Globe entered into a P20-billion sale and leaseback deal for 1,350 towers. Globe also sold 2,180 tower assets worth P26 billion to MIDC.

READ: Globe Telecom sells 5,709 towers for P71B

Globe rival PLDT Inc., on the other hand, sold over 7,500 towers for P98 billion to several buyers.

The sale and lease-back of tower assets are in line with the government’s tower-sharing initiative, which seeks to beef up connectivity across the country. Tower-sharing enables operators to expand footprint without having to put up more facilities. Independent tower companies come in to lease the infrastructure to multiple users at a time, thus making the system more cost-effective.

A 2022 study by independent tower company Edotco Group and management consultancy firm Roland Berger estimated local telcos could save up to $1.15 billion in capital and operational expenditures until 2025 through tower-sharing.

READ: Study: Telcos, consumers winners in PH’s common tower policy

The study calculated that an individual tower site, depending on the size, location and height, could cost between $75,000 and $100,000 while spending for equipment might amount to $15,000 to $40,000. Operation expenses, meanwhile, are seen ranging from $9,000 to $11,000 annually per tower.

Edotco noted tower-sharing would also resolve poor quality of services experienced by the country’s big population. In the Philippines, one tower serves 7,500 subscribers, it said. The ideal ratio is 1,200 subscribers per tower, it noted.