Six international telecom tower firms to build common cell sites
Six leading international tower companies will join forces with the Philippine government to construct more common telecom towers. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has so far signed four common tower deals and two more are set to be signed next week. The firms are IHS Towers, the largest mobile telecommunications infrastructure provider in Africa, Europe and the Middle East; Edotco, a Malaysian tower company operating in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Pakistan; Isoc Infrastructure, a Filipino company; Ison Towers, a Singaporean company operating in the Middle East, ASEAN and Africa; China Energy; and American Towers. DICT Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. said the deals will result in US$6 billion in new investments, improved telecom services, free up capital expenditures and create jobs. The Philippines has 19,000 towers, 56,000 short of the required number needed for a quality national service.
