Ugandan telecommunications operators are outsourcing large portions of their management of infrastructure and assets to UK-based Eaton Towers.
According to reports, Orange Uganda and Warid Telecom are also outsourcing assets and asset management to the UK in a bid to improve efficiency and operating costs in light of dropping prices in the country.
Recently, Orange signed a 15-year partnership agreement with Eaton, which the company said would “exploit the high quality coverage provided by the company’s tower portfolio.”
The deal also includes outsourcing of the maintenance and operation of sites and construction of build-to-suit new sites to cut capital expenditure and costs.
Warid also inked a deal with Eaton to give over management and sell as many as 394 towers in the country, but the deal has yet to be finalized, although company officials said it would happen “in the first part of 2012.”
“This is an important strategic transaction for Warid Telecom Uganda which has undergone significant transformation over the past few years,” said Sriram Yarlagadda, CEO Warid Uganda and Director, Telecom Business Africa, in a statement on March 19.
“It will allow us to realize the value embedded in our passive infrastructure without impacting the quality of service we provide our customers. This transaction will reduce our long term infrastructure costs and help us focus on our core business of providing affordable communication service to our customers.”
Joseph Mayton
