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Friday, March 29, 2024

ISOC, edotco form $10-m joint venture

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Malaysia’s edotco Group Sen Bhd. and local firm ISOC Infrastructure Inc. said Tuesday they formed a $10-million joint venture company that will roll out common telecom towers nationwide. 

The new company will be called ISOC edotco Towers Inc. and will have a combined initial equity of $10 million.

Suresh Sidhu, edotco chief executive, said the joint venture company allocated $100 million to build more common towers over the next five years.

The company plans to build 400 to 500 towers nationwide in the initial phase.

“Infrastructure sharing has proven to help mobile network operators focus on their core business and service offerings by alleviating the cost pressure of building and maintaining towers,” Suresh said. 

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“We believe that the right sharable infrastructure will be able to meet the current demands for affordable and reliable connectivity in the country,” he said.

Suresh said that teaming with local leading players is a key strategy to ensure it is meeting the country’s specific needs. 

“We see this collaboration with ISOC as a catalyst to enable the transformation within the Philippines telecommunications sector and lay the right foundation for the country’s digital readiness,” he said.

The two companies recently signed an agreement with Globe Telecom Inc. to build 150 cell sites in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon provinces. 

The two companies also signed an agreement with Smart Communications Inc. to roll out common towers across 71 sites that fit within the latter’s own network rollout plan.  The estimated cost per cell site is $100,000.

Suresh said the absence of infrastructure sharing had resulted in significant duplication, both in terms of capital expenditure and asset development. 

“However, we are very encouraged by the proposed tower sharing guidelines by the DICT showcasing their commitment to facilitate the tower sharing roll out in the country. With edotco’s best practices, regional benchmarks and ISOC’s local expertise, we are confident in this partnership’s ability to transform the local telecommunications infrastructure landscape,” he said.

ISOC Infrastructure chairman Michael Cosiquien said his company and edotco’s combined expertise in building infrastructure, particularly common cell towers, would help improve and upgrade the country’s telecom infrastructure. 

“As we build these common towers line by line and bolt by bolt, millions of Filipinos would be able to connect with their families both domestic and abroad. Through this enhanced digital connectivity, opportunities would be opened, gaps would be bridged and relationships nourished as we help create a much stronger and globally competitive Philippines,” Cosiquien said.

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