TX AsiaDossier 2016

www.towerchange.
com
Spotlights on the Asia tower industry

TowerXchange Asia Dossier 2016 www.towerchange.com
Contents
Selected Asian tower market size comparisons
3-62 TowerXchange
analysis 152-190 Towerco
perspectives 63-77 TowerXchange Meetup
Asia 2016
3 TowerXchange’s analysis of the independent tower 153 Ascend Telecom 64 Latest agenda
market in Asia 156 Bharti Infratel 66 Roundtables and technology working groups
24 TowerXchange’s who’s who in Asian towers 161 Cam Towerlink 71 Sponsors and exhibitors profiles
45 Asia 2016 equipment demand forecasts 164 edotco
54 History + towerco business models 175 Indus Towers
62 TowerXchange upcoming Meetups 188 OCK
191-257 TowerXchange Meetup

Asia Exhibition Preview
192 Abloy 229 Invendis Technologies
78-151 Country-specific
analyses TowerXchange Meetup calendar
195 Acsys Technologies
200 Ascot Industrial
205 Elektroskandia
233 IPS
237 IPT Powertech
240 Miteno Communication
79 Bangladesh 129 Malaysia
207 Enatel Energy
82 Cambodia 132 Myanmar < TowerXchange Meetup Asia, December 13-14, 2016 Technology
211 EnerSys
85 China 140 Pakistan < TowerXchange Meetup Europe, April 5-6, 2017 243 Siterra
216 FG Wilson
108 India 145 Singapore < TowerXchange Meetup Americas, June 7-8, 2017 219 Flexenclosure 246 Tarantula
119 Indonesia 149 Sri Lanka < TowerXchange Meetup Africa, October 3-4, 2017 222 GS Yuasa 250 TOTAL
126 Laos 225 Infozech 256 Vinson & Elkins
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TowerXchange’s analysis of the the need for MNOs raise capital to fund spectrum
and rollout. The sale of Reliance Infratel to
independent tower market in Asia

Brookfield Asset Management and the continued
rumours of other companies looking to restructure
their balance sheets suggests that MNOs may look to
monetise their tower assets or restructure stakes in
Selected Asian tower market size comparisons, Q2 2016 operator-led towercos.
Vietnam
Last but not least, the Indonesian market continues
Pakistan 70,000
Sri Bangladesh 40,704 to scale and mature; Protelindo’s acquisition of
Lanka Myanmar Philippines 29,693
Afghanistan 16,300
5,897
7,000 10,750 2,500 towers from XL earlier this year brings
Nepal Indonesia Japan India China towerco penetration in this market to 64%, while
85,537 220,000 455,521 1,750,000
6,000 the likes of Balitower and STP are driving the rollout
Laos Cambodia Australia
7,374 9,250 Malaysia of thousands of infill sites.
15,000 South
22,117
Korea Thailand
30,000 52,483 The regulatory environment for towercos and
Asian tower market with <5,000 assets infrastructure sharing varies from mature tower
markets such as India and Indonesia where
the regulatory regime is well established, to
regulatory environments still drafting policy,
New Zealand PNG Singapore Brunei Rest of Bhutan where independent towercos are a relatively new
4,000 1,500 1,000 500 Oceania 100
400 business model. This will be explored in-depth
at the regulatory workshop to be held after the
TowerXchange Meetup Asia and hosted by the IFC.
Source: TowerXchange
2,183,800 of Asia’s 2,842,851 towers are owned or and leaseback transaction rumoured to be imminent Afghanistan: An average of 500 towers are added
operated by towercos, representing 77% of the total in Pakistan, Asia continues its transition to becoming to the Afghan tower network every year, which
inventory of assets. a shared infrastructure market. totalled 5,897 towers in mid 2015. While Roshan,
Etisalat and MTN all retain their towers, all have
The transition to the tower sharing model continues The overall shape of the market is being driven in been linked with prospective tower divestitures
apace in Asia, from companies like edotco and particular by China’s continuing adoption of the / outsourcing in recent years, with AWCC going
OCK Group with their appetite for international towerco model; this will be covered in depth in our so far as to carve out ~1,500 towers into their
expansion, to the towerco consolidation taking new dedicated coverage of the Chinese market. In subsidiary towerco, Frontier Tower Solutions. There
place in Myanmar. With the country’s maiden sale the Indian market, the push towards 4G is driving are over 20mn subscribers and with upwards of
XX | TowerXchange Asia Dossier 2016 | www.towerxchange.com/meetups/meetup-asia www.towerxchange.com/meetups/meetup-asia | TowerXchange Asia Dossier 2016 | 3
90% population coverage in Afghanistan. Most Afghanistan tower counts, 2002-15 Source: MCIT, Afghanistan
rural sites are off grid, and even many urban and
suburban. Afghan calendar year Western calendar year Tower count
1393 2014-15 5897

Australia: Axicom (formerly Crown Castle),
Broadcast Australia and a handful of smaller 1392 2013-14 5383
independent towercos own around 2,500 towers in 1391 2012-13 5005
the 15,000 tower Australian market. The majority 1390 2011-12 4350
of towers are owned by Telstra, with Optus and 1389 2010-11 3977
Vodafone playing catchup, particularly in rural 1388 2009-10 3184
areas. In urban areas Vodafone and Optus share
1387 2008-9 2736
RAN. A further 1,800 towers have been recently
1386 2007-8 2091
erected by nbn, the government owned new
broadband network, while a handful of government 1385 2006-7 1067
agencies and small local wireless operators and ISPs 1384 2005-6 567
represent a further 2,000 between them. Ground 1383 2004-5 311
based towers, primarily used for rural coverage, 1382 2003-4 89
are supplemented by around 20,000 rooftop sites, 1381 2002-3 0
although not all of these are occupied.
Estimated tower count for Bangladesh
Bangladesh: edotco operates a network of 7,993
towers, the majority of which were transferred
from Axiata’s Bangladeshi opco Robi. The edotco 4,100
portfolio is maturing fast with 11 different 7,800
Grameenphone
customers including six MNOs.
Banglalink
Bangalink’s ~6,000 towers are believed to be 3,800 edotco
coming to market as part of VimpelCom’s passive
Airtel
infrastructure monetisation process.
Teletalk, CityCell and non-traditional MNOs
There are approximately 29,693 towers in
Bangladesh, with around 1,000 new towers going up Sources: TowerXchange research, edotco, Hardiman
each year. 7,993 6,000 Telecommunications
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Tower deals in Asia 2008-2016 (excluding carve-outs) Source: TowerXchange
Year Country Seller Buyer Tower count Deal value US$ Cost per tower US$ Deal structure
2016 Myanmar SMI Shining Star 100 $12,707,000 $127,070 Company acquisition
2016 India Reliance Brookfield 43,379 $1,700,000,000 $76,842 Acquiring 51% controlling stake
2016 Vietnam VNI OCK Group 1,938 $50,000,000 $25,800 Company acquisition
2016 Indonesia XL Axiata Protelindo 2,500 $250,000,000 $100,000 SLB
2016 India Viom Networks American Tower 42,200 $1,180,000,000 $76,540 Acquiring 51% controlling stake
2015 Myanmar Digicel MTC edotco 1,250 $221,000,000 $235,733 Acquiring 75% controlling stake
2015* Australia Crown Castle MIRA-led consortium 1,772 $1,600,000,000 $902,934 Company acquisition
2015 India KEC International American Tower 381 $13,000,000 $34,121 Company acquisition
2014 Malaysia KJS YTL Power Int’l 309 $15,000,000 $48,544 Company acquisition
2014 Indonesia XL Axiata STP 3500 $460,000,000 $131,429 SLB
2013 Indonesia Hutchison STP 300 $68,000,000 $226,667 SLB
2012 Indonesia Hutchison Protelindo 503 SLB
2012 Indonesia PT Central Investindo Protelindo 152 Company acquisition
2012 Indonesia Indosat Tower Bersama 2500 $519,000,000 $207,600 SLB
2011 Indonesia Infratel Tower Bersama 595 Company acquisition
2010 India Essar Telecom Infrastructure American Tower 4450 $432,000,000 $97,079 SLB
2010 Indonesia Hutchison Protelindo 1482 $165,900,000 $111,943 SLB
2010 India Aircel GTL Infrastructure 17500 $1,800,000,000 $102,857 SLB
2009 India Viom Networks QTIL 18000 $2,407,000,000 $133,722 Company acquisition
2009 India Transcend Infrastructure American Tower 327 $23,000,000 $70,336 Company acquisition
2009 India XCEL Telecom American Tower 1730 $170,000,000 $98,266 Company acquisition
2008 Indonesia Bakrie STP 543 $34,000,000 $62,615 SLB
2008 Indonesia Hutchison Protelindo 3692 $500,000,000 $135,428 SLB
*Crown Castle Australia (now Axicom) transaction excluded from

Totals / average 149,103 $15,377,607,000 $94,315
totals and averages as it not a natural comp for the other S and SE
Asian transactions
the Axiata Group has been approved by the Tower ownership in India in 2016 Sources: TowerXchange Research, TAIPA, PwC
Prime Minister, and once completed will create
the second largest telco in this market. The 314 Indus Towers
10,000 15,000
merger is likely to see Airtel’s Bangladesh towers 5,000 American Tower
managed by edotco in the near future. Robi has 8,000 120,739 RITL
transferred its shares in edotco Bangladesh back 9,600
Bharti Infratel
to edotco Group, and edotco will seek a full tower
14,421 GTL Infrastructure
management license.
Tower Vision
25,000 Ascend
While the BTRC advocates infrastructure sharing, a
draft law on infrastructure management prohibits BSNL
licensed MNOs from operating tower sharing Reliance Jio
57,987
companies and may restrict options for Axiata- Reliance
owned edotco. 65,000 IDEA Cellular
Vodafone India
In the meantime it was announced that two
Bharti Airtel
tower management licenses would be issued to 43,379
MTNL
independent towercos by the end of the year, and 5,200 27,839 38,642 MTS
the BTRC said that it would found one of them. 8,400
Others
Cambodia: With a crowded operator market of
seven operators serving a population of 15.5mn, is also in the process of setting up operations as a Reliance Communications has signed a non-binding
and a regulator that supports infrastructure towerco, and has secured its first contract to build pact with Brookfield Infrastructure Group to sell
sharing, there is continued potential for the 9,250 towers around the Angkor Wat temple UNESCO a majority in the company’s tower unit, Reliance
site tower market in Cambodia to grow. World Heritage complex. Some operators in this Infratel for US$1.7bn. Brookfield will acquire a 51%
market, such as Mfone, have fallen victim to the share in the company which owns approximately
There has been an influx of Chinese operators and intense competition and price wars leaving some 43,379 towers.
vendors prepared to invest heavily in this market. infrastructure assets abandoned.
Challenges still remain including 20% of sites being There are indications that other transactions in the
off-grid and the risk of landmines in the more China: Now covered in China FAQs Indian market may be imminent: Idea Cellular is
remote areas. planning on monetising its tower assets to release
India: 66% of India’s 454,521 towers are owned and capital for investment in 4G. Idea Cellular owns
edotco operates a portfolio of 1,950 towers in operated by towercos, a figure which will rise to around 9,600 captive towers via a wholly owned
Cambodia. Local tower builder Cam Towerlink 82% when the BSNL towerco is inaugurated. arm Idea Cellular Infrastructure Services (ICISL).
It also has 16% stake in Indus Towers, Aditya Birla MNO consolidation has resumed with the before. BSNL has leased out 6,505 of its towers to
Telecom’s telecom tower joint venture with Airtel recent merger between Aircel and Reliance other telecom operators, suggesting a tenancy ratio
and Vodafone. Idea and the other shareholders Communications. Further rational consolidation around 1.1x. Out of the 6,505 spaces that it has
in Indus Towers are rumored to be considering is welcomed by towercos who would prefer to see rented out, Bharti Airtel accounted for 2,251 slots.
inviting third party equity investors to participate spectrum holdings consolidated into four or five It was followed by Reliance Jio with 1,440 slots and
in the 120,000+ venture. Meanwhile Bharti Airtel companies with the capital to rollout. With India’s Idea and Vodafone with just above 900 towers each.
are reportedly considering releasing further equity 3G overlay around half finished and expected to
in their towerco, Bharti Infratel. reach 95% coverage in the next 18-24 months, Indonesia: Indonesia remains one of the most
the 4G rollout has already started in tier one and mature tower markets in the world, with solid
There are rumours that TowerVision, an tier two cities. In the near term, the 4G rollout tenancy ratios, excellent organic growth, and strong
independent towerco with 8,400 towers owned by is expected to have a marginal impact on the market caps boasted by three major towercos;
a group of international investors, may be up for profitability of Indian towercos, whilst the majority Protelindo (15,167 towers), Tower Bersama (11,553)
sale. Potential buyers could include Bharti Infratel, of BTS are added through ‘loading’ - the addition of and STP (6,938). IBS Tower, KIN, Centratama
Brookfield, Tillman Global Holdings or American a second set of antenna by an existing tenant - but (formerly known as Retower), Persada Sokka Tama
Tower, who have all indicated an appetite to acquire when 4G rollout progresses to adding infill sites for and Balitower also have some scale in Indonesia.
further assets in India. Ascend Telecom could also densification, expect to see a significant increase in
attract bids for their 5,200 towers. tower cash flow. There have been rumours that IBS Tower, which has
some ownership links with its number one tenant
GTL Infrastructure has initiated a process to auction Bharti Infratel reported an increase in tower count Smartfren, could be coming to market. Indonesia’s
the company and its assets by as early as February by 4,813 towers over Q2 2016, including their stake towercos build 3,000-5,000 towers, rooftops and
2017. The auction is to be led by EY, and will entail in Indus Towers. Bharti Infratel’s market cap was infill sites per year, tenancy ratio growth compares
the conversion of debt into equity. then Rs 729.55bn, and EBITDA for FY15-16 stood at favorably to many other global tower markets, with
Valuations in the Indian tower market were Rs 5,403 Crore, an 8% YOY increase. around 0.13 tenants added per tower per year.
recalibrated last year and a new benchmark
established by American Tower’s acquisition of BSNL has received “in-principle” approval to carve XL Axiata has completed the sale of 2,500
Viom Networks, their 42,200 towers and almost out its estimated 65,000 towers into a separate telecommunication towers to Protelindo for 3.56
100,000 tenancies, generating a valuation of towerco which could be valued up to US$3bn. A trillion rupiah (US$250mn) in cash. XL signed a deal
US$3.3bn. American Tower has acquired a 51% government working group has been formed to to leaseback most of the towers for ten years.
controlling ownership interest with Tata Group develop a capital and organisational structure for
and several private equity groups retaining a the new entity, though the process may take some The future of Telkom-owned Mitratel and their
stake. American Tower now owns 57,987 towers time. Analysts are excited by the potential of these ~8,000 towers remains uncertain with the
in the country, and CEO James Taiclet has gone on towers coming to market as many are in prime cancellation of the proposed share-swap acquisition
record recently saying that the company would be locations with considerable tenancy ratio growth of Mitratel by Tower Bersama at the behest of the
interested in acquiring more towers in India. potential, having not been proactively marketed commissioner. Telkom still has a further 18,000
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towers on their balance sheet, of which 13,000 could Estimated tower count for Indonesia Source: TowerXchange
potentially be sold at an unspecified point in the
future.
Towerco-owned
6,938 Mitratel
Protelindo and Tower Bersama are holding firm 15,167 Tower Bersama
2,638 1,000
against downward pressure on lease rates, which 1,012 Protelindo
719
are believed to average around US$1,200 in STP
Indonesia. 4,510 IBS Tower
500 KIN
11,553 3,000
Persadasokka Tama
Meanwhile, the new battleground for competition Centratama Menara
between Indonesia’s towercos seems to be Balitower
microcells and fibre, as illustrated by Protelindo’s Gihon
acquisition of iForte. STP also has substantial fibre 8,000 Others
18,000 Operator-captive
and microcell portfolios after its acquisition of
fibre company Bit, while Balitower have also added
Telkom + Telkomsel
8,500 XL
substantial stock of smaller sites to their portfolio.
4,000 Indosat
Japan: Japan is one of the most sophisticated

mobile markets in the world. Yet towers are still each added up to 30,000 microcells and small cells could potentially be monetised by an acquirer.
seen as a source of competitive differentiation, as infill sites. TowerXchange understand several
which perhaps explains why initial interest in tower companies are trying to establish themselves Malaysia: Towercos own 31% of Malaysia’s towers,
carving out a towerco a few years ago seems to have in the Japanese market, but that their penetration led by edotco’s 3,717 towers carved out of Celcom
tailed off, and why tower count data is so hard to remains negligible. / Axiata. A further 3,200 towers are owned by 14
find – readers should consider our estimate a very different State-backed and other independent
rough guide. Japan is famous for having the fewest Laos: The 7,473 towers in Laos all remain operator- towercos, while turnkey infrastructure provider
number of subscribers per tower in the world – captive, but there are possible opportunities to OCK Group which owns 133 sites in this market.
reportedly around 500 – suggesting a staggering acquire towers from all but the market leading
tower count of around 220,000 for a nation of MNO: Unitel has 4,000 towers, and is a 51-49% joint There are around 22,117 towers now in Malaysia,
127mn people and a landmass of just 378,000 sq km. venture between the State and Viettel. The State also representing almost exactly 2,000 mobile subscribers
LTE was launched as long ago as 2011 by former owns 51% of number two operator LTC, whose co- per tower. edotco aims to increase their Malaysian
State owned monopoly NTT DOCOMO and in 2012 investor Shenington Investments may seek an exit. tower count by around 1,000 in 2016, although
by the nation’s other MNOs, SoftBank and KDDI 100% State owned MNO ETL is heavily indebted many new sites will be ‘special structures’ such as
(au). DOCOMO has already started rolling out LTE-A. and needs cash for 4G rollout, while VimpelCom lamp posts. A new ground based tower in Malaysia
Japan’s three leading MNOs are believed to have has long sought to exit Beeline Laos, whose towers costs around RM300,000 (US$69,000).Around 1,000
Estimated tower count for Laos new towers went up in 2015, with Celcom building
through edotco and Maxis and DiGi building their
own – although DiGi has since signed a collaboration
423
agreement with edotco which includes co-location
1,950 and new BTS sites. The State-backed towercos
1,100
also continued to expand, including through over
LTC 2,000 rural sites supported by Malaysia’s Universal
Unitel Service Provision Fund. It has been estimated that
an additional 8,000 structures may be needed in
ETL Malaysia for 4G, although much of that demand will
Beeline (VimpelCom) be met by microcells, lamp-poles, DAS and IBS.
Myanmar: The rollout has seen Myanmar more than

4,000 quadruple its tower stock since Telenor and Ooredoo
Source: TowerXchange launched two years ago. There are currently 10,750
towers in Myanmar, unequally spread across seven
towercos and two operator stakeholders - MPT has
Estimated tower count for Malaysia around 2,600 towers, while fourth operator Viettel
may utilise consortium partner Star Holdings
Corporation’s ~1,000 towers, which were previously
edotco 3,717
utilised by MECtel. At this point build orders and
DiGi 3,400 volumes have slowed down compared to the initial
Maxis 3,800 launch period.
Telekom Malaysia 1,000

TowerXchange would divide the Myanmar towerco
State backed towercos 3,200 ecosystem into three categories: existing towercos
5,000 of scale – IGT, Apollo and edotco; newer towercos
YTL
competing on price – EFT and OCK; and towercos
OCK 133 seeking an exit – PAMEL and MIG. In October, Hong-
Unaccounted for Kong based Shining Star International acquired MIG
1,876
for US$12.7mn, making it the first transaction of the
1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 year – and second overall in the Myanmar tower
industry. This effectively leaves PAMEL alone in the
Source: TowerXchange third category.
Estimated total number of sites in each Myanmar MNOs network Tenancy ratios are generally healthy, in the 1.35-1.9
range, averaging around 1.5.
(inclusive of co-locations)
Even in major cities, grid power is unreliable, and
in rural areas often non-existent, so Myanmar’s
towers typically have robust backup power systems.
4,200 Lithium batteries are now being tested and solar
6,800 Telenor integration will also be explored. Ooredoo’s dalliance
with retaining power assets is now behind them, so
Ooredoo
all new towers are built on a tower+power business
MPT model.
4,300
Nepal: Axiata Group has closed the acquisition of
a majority stake in Nepalese market leader Ncell
from TeliaSonera, in a deal believed to be worth
US$1.365bn. There have been no tower deals in
Breakdown of ownership of the 10,750 towers TowerXchange estimates Nepal to date, but this move by the Axiata Group may
have been built to date in Myanmar pave the way for Axiata’s towerco edotco to enter the
3000 market in the near future.
2500 New Zealand: There are early signs of a nascent

tower industry emerging in New Zealand, where
Spark and Vodafone New Zealand have substantial
2000
but ageing tower networks, newer entrants 2degrees
have leveraged co-location where possible while
1500 building a few hundred towers. 2degrees may have
2600
2400 an appetite to sell their towers and partner with a
1000 towerco on BTS. Parallel infrastructure is substantial,
1800
while the need for improved rural coverage,
1250 1250
500 1000 particularly on the South Island where tourist and
100 50 agribusiness drive demand, has prompted the
300
government’s Rural Broadband Initiative to invest
0
IGT Apollo edotco PAMEL EFT MIG OCK Viettel- MPT in over 100 towers. A total of around 4,000 ground
MECtel based towers are supplemented by around 7,000
Independent towerco towers MNO captive towers Source: TowerXchange rooftop sites, primarily used in the larger cities.
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Estimated tower count for The Philippines Pakistan: The merger between VimpelCom
(Mobilink), Global Telecom Holdings, Warid
Telecom Pakistan and Bank Alfalah is now
complete, creating a new combined entity with
around 14,500 towers serving 45 million customers.
An unnamed towerco is believed to be in exclusive

7,300 Globe Smart negotiations for the newly combined tower
9,000 portfolios of Mobilink and Warid which, after
decommissioning overlapping sites, will consist of
around 13,000 sites. Parent company VimpelCom
is rumoured to be seeking close to US$1bn for the
tower assets with the value boosted by the fact that
Source: TowerXchange Mobilink has been leasing out their towers at a
commercial rate for the last five years, achieving a
Towerco penetration in Asia now and forecast for Q117 tenancy ratio of around 1.25.
100 Current penetration Etisalat’s Ufone are also believed to have
Forecast, Q1 2017 commenced a process to monetise their Pakistani
towers.
80
76% 82% The towercos currently active in active in Pakistan
65% include edotco, which operates 13,000km of fibre
60 in the country; Towershare, which has around
100% 800 towers at present; and AWAL Telecom, which
recently announced a BTS contract with Mobilink.
40
67% 66% 34% 34%
64% 34% #2 MNO Telenor has recently reached an agreement
27%
23% with China Mobile Pakistan (Zong) to share their
20
31% 31% 30% fibre-optic network assets, and the two operators
26%
26 % 21% 18% were engaged in a landmark RANsharing trial, the
3%
first in Pakistan.
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tower companies in The Philippines. The glass

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ceiling on tenancy ratios created by the market Estimated tower ownership in Thailand
structure - a cosy duopoly between Globe and
Smart, neither of which urgently needs to 800
5,000 1,500
raise capital - means towercos are unlikely to
prioritise the country, despite its scale (over
11,000 Proposed DTAC-CAT towerco
100mn subscribers). A reportedly burdensome
DTAC towers built outside concession
tax regime, compounded by complex permitting
processes, further disincentivises investment in The AIS disputed towers built under CAT concession
12,000
Philippines by international towercos. AIS disputed towers built under TOT concession
AIS towers built outside concession
The prospective entry of SMC as a third MNO, in a 12,183 DIF (formerly TRUEIF)
joint venture with Aussie giants Telstra, recently
True disputed towers built under CAT concession
faltered, although SMC are reportedly in dialogue
10,000
with Telenor in a renewed attempt to enter the
market. The new Philippine government may look Source: AEC Advisory and TowerXchange
more favorably on increasing competition than the

previous incumbent. infrastructures in the world, cultivating an tenancy ratios are closer to two than one all over
insatiable demand for high speed mobile Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is now mostly covered with
Operational costs in The Philippines are broadband among its citizens. Mobile broadband 3G, and 4G is driving need for cell site densification.
phenomenal, largely as a function of the geography penetration in South Korea is above 99% and fibre Dialog and Mobitel hold all of the 4G spectrum, and
of the country: a maintenance visit to a remote has been widely deployed. South Korea is a three any other players that want to offer this will need
tower can require a flight, a boat and a donkey ride operator market featuring SK Telecom, KT and to engage in RANsharing. There are around 7,500
up a mountain! This has resulted in substantial LG Uplus, while the Ministry of Science, ICT and towers in the country.
outsourcing to managed services subcontractors. To Future Planning (MSIP) has announced intention
counteract the opex challenge, both Globe (which to license a fourth MNO. South Korea was the first Bharti Airtel had been rumored to be looking into
has an estimated 7,300 towers) and Smart (9,000) market in the world to migrate the majority of users selling its 2,500 towers, but seems to have cooled on
are currently investing in substantial network to LTE, with LTE-A rollout now well under way. the idea.
modernisation programmes, including the upgrade TowerXchange are starting to pick up the first faint
of backup power solutions. signals that towerco activity may be emerging in Bharti Airtel had been rumored to be looking into
South Korea. selling its 2,500 towers, but seems to have cooled on
South Korea: According to GSMA Intelligence, the idea.
SIM penetration was at 113% among a population Sri Lanka: edotco had a tenancy ratio of 2.13x at
of 50.4mn in Q4 2015. South Korea boasts one the end of Q116 on the 2,144 towers they manage Thailand: Thailand has a tower market unlike
of the most sophisticated telecommunications for Dialog. High levels of bilateral sharing means any other in the world! Ownership of towers is
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in dispute as a function of BOT (Build-Operate- by DTAC outside the concession for 3G usage. True’s
Transfer) concessions that are now expiring. non-concession towers sit on DIF’s balance sheet…
Thailand’s three commercial MNOs were due to It all gets very confusing!
transfer 2G infrastructure back to SOEs CAT and
Meetup
TOT. The 2G equipment has little value, but of course The steady lease-up of DIF’s towers is a good
the towers do. CAT, which ran the concessions for sign, but there is little progress towards any joint
the 850 and 1800MHz bands, failed to reach an ventures. With one auction for 900MHz spectrum
agreement with majority stakeholder DTAC to create
a 49-51% JV towerco, into which 11,000 disputed
cancelled after the successful bidder Jasmin failed
to pay its first installment, a re-auction was held
Asia 2016
towers were to be injected. Negotiations to create a in which AIS was the only bidder. The Thai market
prospective 12,000 tower JV towerco between AIS continues to be complex and unpredictable; this 13 - 14 December,
and TOT, which ran the 900MHz concession, were and the 49% FDI limit may deter some investors. Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
called off late in 2015, but the process has resumed
with the recent creation of a committee to pave the Vietnam: Vietnam’s largest independent towerco
way for the creation of the joint venture. SEATH, with 1,938 sites (mostly guyed mast towers)
is to acquired by Malaysia’s OCK Group for around
CAT and TOT have started to discuss an informal US$50mn. OCK may seek to consolidate other
partnership without a merger, and may consolidate members of a fragmented group of around 30 local
some of their similar core businesses to remain towercos who between them own ~10,000 towers.
competitive in the post-concession era. At the same Alcazar Capital and ASEAN Towers’ Vietnamese
time, AIS and TOT are expected to sign a contract subsidiary Golden Towers’ has around 350
signalling the launch of a joint-trial commercial towers in the country, and may also be engaged
service on the state agency’s 2.1GHz spectrum. in consolidating existing independently owned
TowerXchange estimate there are 52,483 towers in towers in Vietnam. Meanwhile the restructuring of
Thailand, of which 12,183 sit on the balance sheet of Vietnam’s Ministry owned #2 and #3 ranked MNOs
DIF, formerly TRUEGIF, a towerco created by True MobiFone and VNPT seems as far off as ever, limited
Corp and SCB Asset Management and successfully the chances that a decent sized sale and leaseback
listed on the Thai stock exchange. DIF has little opportunity could come to market in the mid-term.
debt, a high leverage ceiling, and an appetite to 4G spectrum in the 2.3 and 2.6 GHz bands, together
consolidate more Thai towers – especially if True with refarmed 900MHz spectrum, is expected to be
A senior-level networking opportunity with 250
reduces their shareholding to increase the perceived auctioned in 2016. To date, towers have not been leaders of the Asian telecom tower industry
independence of the entity. widely shared in Vietnam, hence considerable
parallel infrastructure with an estimated 70,000 Vistit www.towerxchange.com/meetup/meetup-asia
A further 10,000 towers were built by AIS and 800 towers in the country
Asia heatmap
MYANMAR
Legend
TowerXchange research has not revealed any infracos or towercos to date
Towercos or infracos active in the market. No recent transactions have taken
place and none rumoured to take place soon
Towercos or infracos active in the market. No current transactions taking
place but an attempted tower sale has taken place in the last 3 years or there
are unconfirmed rumours of a deal in this market.
Towercos or infracos active in the market. Rumours of deals confirmed in the
market.
Towercos or infracos active in the market. Deals of significant size have taken
place in the last 5 years.
Towercos or infracos active in the market. Deals have taken place in the last
year and more imminent deals rumoured
Note: Russia is covered under Europe; we estimate it to have a 5% towerco penetration and we expect it to be a growth market
TowerXchange’s who’s who
Alcazar Capital: Alcazar Capital Limited (ACL)
is an Investments Advisory Firm based in Dubai
International Financial Center and focussed
in Asian towers on private investments advisory and asset

management; Alcazar’s current portfolio of
TowerXchange presents an A to Z of MNOs, towercos, investors and advisors investments and assets under management exceeds
who are key stakeholders in the tower industry in Southern and Southeast Asia US$1bn. Alcazar’s investments in the tower industry
include Irrawaddy Green Towers in Myanmar and
Golden Towers in Vietnam.
TowerXchange takes a deep dive into the Asian tower
industry, providing the most comprehensive directory to Altman Vilandrie & Co: AV&Co. has extensive tower
date of the key MNOs, towercos, investors and advisory industry experience spanning tens of engagements
firms active in the market. Note that stakeholders in the (including Latin America, Africa, Asia, North
Russian and Central Asian tower markets are covered in America, Europe) over ten years, including tower
operator strategies as well as tower transaction
TowerXchange’s European who’s who.
due diligences. Their recent work has addressed
a number of relevant topics such as the impact of
Keywords: Asia, South East Asia, North & East Asia, Southern Asia, India, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia,
small cells, the future opportunity for DAS and the
Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Who’s Who, Alcazar Capital, Altman
changing role of rooftops.
Vilandrie & Co, American Tower Corporation, Analysys Mason, Apollo Towers, Ascend Telecom, Axiata
Group, Axicom, Barclays, Balitower, Berkshire Partners, Bharti Airtel, Bharti Infratel, Broadcast Australia,
BSNL, Carlyle Group, Cam Towerlink, CAT Telecom, Centratama, Citi, Common Tower, Delta Partners , American Tower Corporation: The world’s largest
Deutsche Bank, DIF, Eco-Friendly Towers (EFT), edotco, EY, FMO, Frontier Tower Solutions, Golden Towers, independent commercial towerco, American Tower
GTL Infrastructure, Hardiman Telecommunications, Hutchison, IBS Tower, IFC, IGT, Indus Towers, ING, need no introduction within this publication.
Irrawaddy Green Towers, JP Morgan, Kazanah, KIN, KJS, KPR Consult, Macquarie Group, MIG, Mitratel, With its headquarters in the U.S., American Tower
MPT Myanmar, New Silk Route, OCK Group, Ooredoo, PAMEL, Persada Sokka Tama, Protelindo, Providence Corporation operates a Global Portfolio of over
Equity Asia Advisors , PT Wellington Capital Advisory, Reliance Communications, Reliance Infratel, SACOFA, 147,000 sites composed of towers in advanced,
Saurava Towers: SEATH, SREI Infrastructure Finance, STP, Tata DOCOMO, Telkomsel, Telenor, TOT, Tower evolving and developing wireless markets, in the
Bersama, Towershare, Tower Vision, TrueMove, Ufone, Vimpelcom, Vodafone, Warid, XL Axiata, Yiked Bina U.S., South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia with its
growing presence in India.
Read this article to learn: American Tower Corporation has combined organic
< Who’s who of the 33 top towercos active in Southern and Southeast Asia with selective inorganic growth in Asia, where to
< The history of MNOs’ tower transactions across the region date they have focused on India. The company’s
< An introduction to some of the most credible current and prospective investors into Asia towers M&A activity in India began with the acquisition of
< Profiles of the TMT advisory firms with experience of Asian tower transactions 1,730 towers from XCEL Telecom for US$170mnin
2009, continued with the acquisition of 4,450 towers
SYNERGi
SMART INTEGRATED ENERGY
from Essar Telecom for US$432mn in 2010, and provides a ‘full service’ tower and power offering. business for US$1.6bn to a consortium including
culminated in the acquisition of Viom Networks and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, UniSuper
their 42,200 towers, announced in October 2015, Ascend Telecom: Incorporated in 2002, Ascend and UBS Global Asset Management.
for US$1.17bn, taking a 51% stake in the company. Telecom is an independent Indian towerco providing
The deal provided American Tower Corporation world class passive telecom infrastructure on a Barclays: Barclays’ global investment banking
an all-India footprint and a portfolio of over 57,000 shared, multi tenancy basis for the mobile services division offers a leading Technology, Media and
towers, and driving the company to scale in India, and wireless sector. Ascend Telecom provides site Telecoms (TMT) franchise. The TMT team has
and enabling them to look for new investment location, design, execution and maintenance of significant experience representing leading tower
opportunities in other markets across Asia. infrastructure for telecom network operators, and is operators as well as telecom service providers
the first Indian company to offer sites with complete around the globe on buy and sell side assignments.
American Tower employs a three-pronged passive infrastructure to MNOs, on Build-Own- In this capacity, Barclays has supported its clients in
approach to evaluating potential international Lease model (BOL) basis. When Ascend Telecom last the valuation and/or marketing of tower portfolios
acquisitions: identifying relatively stable political disclosed their tower count in 2015, it stood at 4,843. as well as the negotiation of various agreements
and macroeconomic environments, seeking markets associated with these transactions.
with robust wireless sectors, and finally pinpointing Axiata Group: Axiata is a leading
compelling transactions opportunities including telecommunications group in Asia and has Balitower: Founded in 2006, PT Bali Towerindo
a high quality counter-party, good location, sound controlling interests in six mobile operators under Sentra Tbk is a telecommunication tower company
assets, and an attractive valuation. the brand names of Celcom in Malaysia, XL in active in the Indonesian province of Bali. Balitower
Indonesia, Dialog in Sri Lanka, Robi in Bangladesh, was listed on the stock market in 2013, and in
Analysys Mason: Marco Cordoni and his team at Smart in Cambodia and Ncell in Nepal. Axiata also 2015 began to expand its footprint outside of Bali.
Analysys Mason are among the ‘go-to-guys’ for tower has strategic interests in Indian’s Idea and M1 in Balitower claims to be the largest provider of
market analysis and due diligence on a global basis. Singapore. microcell poles in Indonesia.
Apollo Towers Myanmar: Apollo Towers built Axiata also carved out the first pan-regional Beijing Miteno Communication Technology: One
around 1,100 towers for Telenor in phases one and towerco, edotco, which operates in six countries to of China’s leading independent towercos with over
two and have since secured a contract to build a provide optimised, shared telecoms infrastructure, 1,000 sites. Miteno also has international ambitious
further 700 towers for Telenor in phase three. Apollo amassing a portfolio of 16,450 towers and 12,000 km and is an active bidder on tower transactions in
Towers is chaired by serial towerco entrepreneur of fibre. Southeast Asia. The company is also a leading tower
Sanjiv Ahuja, who was the original Chairman of designer and manufacturer.
Eaton Towers in Africa and who is a former CEO Axicom: Axicom is Australia’s leading provider
of Orange. Ahuja’s Tillman Global Holdings and of independently owned wireless infrastructure. Berkshire Partners: Berkshire backed Crown
Texas Pacific Group are the majority shareholders of The company owns, operates and manages a Castle during their successful foray into European
Apollo Towers Myanmar, while OPIC (the Overseas portfolio of approximately 1,800 towers in Australia, towers in the late nineties, and currently has active
Private Investment Corporation) recently undertook substantially covering the Australian population. investments in Protelindo (largest towerco in
the single largest U.S. direct investment in Myanmar Crown Castle’s Australian subsidiary was renamed Indonesia with a small footprint in the Netherlands),
when they invested US$250mn in Apollo. Apollo Axicom following the U.S. towerco’s sale of the Torres Unidas (Andean region of CALA) and Tower
Development Corporation in the U.S. and Puerto MNOs”, the creation of end-to end tower solutions Cam Towerlink: Established in 2013 in Cambodia
Rico. including fibre, small cells and active equipment, by a group of three Malaysian shareholders, Cam
and supporting the continued development of Towerlink provides turnkey telecommunications
Bharti Airtel: Bharti Airtel is an Indian mobile telecoms across India, including the creation of infrastructure solutions for operators, including
network operator, and ranks as one of the top four smart cities. designing, constructing and operating telecoms
MNOs globally with operations across 20 countries towers and small cell sites. One of Cam Towerlink’s
in Africa and Asia. In India, Bharti Airtel carved out Broadcast Australia: Broadcast Australia owns first projects is to deploy telecoms coverage for
its own towerco, Bharti Infratel, and is a partner and operates one of the most extensive terrestrial the first time around the Angkor Wat temple
in the Indus Towers joint venture towerco. While broadcast transmission networks in the world, complex. Upon completion of this project in mid-
Bharti Airtel initially followed a similar strategy and provides co-location for a variety of tenants, 2016 the company plans to expand its footprint into
in Africa, creating “Africa Towers” subsidiaries including telecoms service providers, on its 380+ neighbouring municipalities.
in several countries, before subsequently selling sites across the country.
towers in the majority of countries to a variety of CAT Telecom: CAT Telecom is a Thai MNO, and
African towercos. International subsidiary BAI provides connectivity one of three state-backed companies operating a
solutions in various metropolises in North and nationwide network. Cat Telecom and DTAC have
There have been rumours that Bharti Airtel South America. been in ongoing discussions to create a joint venture
may look to reduce its footprint in two markets, towerco, and transfer 9,000 disputed concession
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka where a merger with BSNL: BSNL is the State-owned towers into it.
Dialog Axiata has been proposed. telecommunications provider in India. It is the
largest provider of fixed telephony and broadband Centratama: PT Centratama Telecommunication
Bharti Infratel: One of the pioneers of shared services with more than 60% market share and Indonesia TBK is a listed towerco providing passive
telecoms infrastructure, Bharti Infratel was created sixth largest mobile network operator in India. telecoms infrastructure for service providers,
in 2007 as an independent tower company to BSNL has begun the process of carving out its own along with its subsidiary PT Centratama Menara
provide compelling capex saving opportunities to towerco, and has received “in-principle” approval Indonesia, formerly known at PT Retower Asia.
telecom service providers, while optimally utilising from the Department of Telecommunications The company made an operating loss of IDR12.4bn
Bharti Airtel’s large tower base in India. which will establish an inter-ministerial group to (just under US$1mn) in 2015. As of March 31 2016,
work out the capital and organisational structure Centratama operated 659 telecom towers.
Infratel has 38,458 towers, across eighteen states, of the new company, once a market valuation of
and eleven telecom circles, and is still growing. BSNL’s 65,000+ tower assets is carried out. China Tower Company: Formed two years ago, CTC
Bharti Infratel also has a 42% stake in Indus Towers is already the largest towerco in the world, with
which was created as a joint venture between Carlyle Group: The Carlyle Group is a global 1.55mn towers on their books. CTC is 94% owned by
Bharti Infratel, Vodafone and Aditya Birla Telecom alternative asset manager with US$178bn of assets China’s three MNOs.
to hive off the towers business in fifteen telecom under management across 125 funds and 164 fund
circles. of funds vehicles. The Carlyle Group’s investments Citi: One of the world’s leading tower transaction
in the tower industry include PT Solusi Tunas advisory groups can be found within the TMT team
Bharti Infratel’s goal is the “disarmament of Pratama TBK (STP) in Indonesia. at Citi.
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Common Tower: Common Tower Technologies Sdn. infrastructure fund/towerco which now owns over edotco has been growing steadily since its founding
Bhd is an independent tower owner and operator 12,138 towers, and which they subsequently listed. in 2012, both organically through tower rollouts
in Malaysia, and is also one of the nation’s largest DIF includes concession and non-concession towers across its footprint, and inorganically through
providers of professional site development services as well as considerable fibre assets in the fund and acquisitions, and continues to evaluate new
to companies in the telecommunications industry. as such is a simpler vehicle for investors to evaluate opportunities for growth in Asia based on their
CTTSB owns, operates and manages 260 tower sites than a newly formed joint venture. merits.
in Sabah following its appointment as the ‘State
Backed Company’ to undertake the TIME2 Project in Eco-Friendly Towers (EFT): Eco-Friendly Towers Etisalat: World’s 14th largest MNO has three opcos
Sabah since 2005. (EFT), a subsidiary of diversified Myanmar in Asia. Pakistani subsidiary Ufone is reportedly
conglomerate Young Investment Group, is a new closing in on a tower sale; Etisalat may also have
Delmec: The tower experts in consultation and entrant towerco. EFT secured an order for roughly an appetite to monetise, carve out or outsource
engineering, providing global solutions to operators, 700 phase three towers from Telenor, although it their towers in Afghanistan. Etisalat’s Sri Lankan
towercos and regulators on standards, guidance and remains unclear how many they have subsequently subsidiary retains their towers.
due diligence for portfolio management. Engaging built. EFT were initially the only towerco able to
audit, assessment and analysis for structural deploy and manage towers in several Northern EY: TMT strategy and corporate finance advisory
enhancement, capacity and maintenance as Myanmar States, where security can be challenging, team with extensive experience of advising on
individual activities or by way of managed services. but TowerXchange sources have confirmed that tower transactions.
EFT’s phase three contract is nationwide.
Delta Partners: Delta Partners’ expertise in tower FMO: Dutch development bank 51% government
transactions includes M&As, capital raising, due edotco: edotco is the first pan-regional tower owned, 49% by commercial banks and financial
diligence and strategy support to towercos, telecom services provider in Asia, and is committed to institutions. FMO arranged a subordinated loan of
operators and investors on network sharing, tower deploying cost-efficient telecommunications US$13mn to Irrawaddy Green Towers in Myanmar
monetisation, transaction execution, structuring and infrastructure across the region by enabling via its Infrastructure Development Fund.
operational streamlining. competitive access for the industry and connectivity
for communities. edotco is a wholly-owned Frontier Tower Solutions: Founded as an
Deutsche Bank: Deutsche Bank provides M&A subsidiary of Malaysia’s Axiata Group. independent tower company by the corporate
advisory services as well as financing services in “parent” of Afghan Wireless Communications
the tower space, including both equity and debt With a regional portfolio that includes 17,054 Company (AWCC) in 2012, Frontier Tower Solutions
products. Deutsche Bank has been involved in the towers in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, operates 1,500 towers in Afghanistan, and also has
tower sector on a global basis, successfully executing Cambodia, Pakistan and most recently Myanmar, operations in Iraq.
transactions in North America, South America, edotco strives to deliver outstanding operational
Europe, Africa and Asia. efficiency in telecommunications infrastructure Golden Towers: Golden Towers is an independent
services and solutions. edotco’s tower portfolios in tower company incorporated in Vietnam focused
DIF: DIF, formerly known as TRUEGIF or TRUEIF, all six countries are managed in real-time at their on acquiring existing telecommunications tower
is a towerco solution created by Thai MNO True. headquarters in Kuala Lumpur by the state-of-the- assets in the Vietnamese market. As of December
True has injected 6,000 of their own towers into the art echo monitoring service. 2015 Golden Towers owned and operated
approximately 340 towers. The company is now Asia. It has most recently been involved in tower Indus Towers: Incorporated in 2007, Indus Towers
raising financing to cover its capital expenditure transactions in Australia where some of its assets is a joint venture towerco founded by Bharti
program for 2016-17 for the acquisition and were sold to Crown Castle Australia (now Axicom), Infratel, Vodafone India, Aditya Birla Telecom
construction of up to 5,800 telecom towers and in Indonesia where it negotiated a sale and (Idea) with a portfolio of 119,881 sites across India
in Vietnam. Golden Towers plans to build its leaseback deal of 3,692 towers with Protelindo. on March 31 2016. Its mission is to provide passive
telecommunications tower portfolio mostly infrastructure services to telecom service providers
through acquisition of existing towers and limited IBS Tower: Founded in 2006 and listed in August in India on a non-discriminatory basis, delivering
construction of new towers is envisaged, not 2012, PT Inti Bangun Sejahtera Tbk (IBS) is one of best-of-class operational efficiency and opex
exceeding 10% of the total portfolio. Indonesia’s “big four” publicly traded independent reduction.
tower companies. Starting as an in-building
GTL Infrastructure: GTL Infrastructure is a system solution provider, IBS has since focussed Indus Towers has won awards for its approach
publicly-listed tower company in India with its resources on passive infrastructure, earning it to supply-chain management and operational
a portfolio of over 29,000 towers across the a significant presence in the market. In 2015, IBS excellence, it’s drive to reduce the carbon footprint
country, serving all major telecoms service Tower had 3,465 tenants on 2,638 towers, generating of its tower portfolio, and is also playing a part in
providers. Founded in 2004 and listed in 2006, EBITDA of IDR341.8bn (~US$26mnm). helping the government reach its goals for nation-
GTL Infrastructure began expanding its portfolio wide coverage, small cell deployment, and the
in 2008 and acquired 17,500 towers from Aircel. International Finance Corporation (IFC): The IFC creation of smart cities in India.
However, the cancellation of 122 operator licenses is a member of the World Bank Group, the world’s
by the government, slow uptake of 3G and price leading DFI. The IFC has invested around half a ING: Leading Dutch bank with considerable
wars between service providers have left GTL billion dollars in debt and equity into eight towercos experience of providing debt finance to the tower
Infrastructure with a heavy debt burden. across emerging markets, with an objective to industry.
double that total investment by 2018.
Guodong: The largest independent towerco JP Morgan: Leading TMT advisory team with
TowerXchange has yet discovered in China, with Irrawaddy Green Towers (IGT): Irrawaddy Green extensive experience in towers, including some of
around 6,000 towers concentrated mainly in coastal Towers (IGT), built 1,500 of 2,000 towers in phases the landmark transactions.
regions. one and two for Telenor in Myanmar, and have
reportedly secured an order for a further 1,000 Kazanah: Khazanah Nasional Berhad is the
Hardiman Telecommunications: A unique phase three towers, this time from Ooredoo. IGT strategic investment fund of the Government of
consultancy equally capable advising on was initially established as a partnership between Malaysia.
engineering and operational issues as they are Alcazar Capital Limited and Viom Quippo, whose
on commercial strategy and corporate finance. former Group President Arun Kapur continues to Khazanah holds and manages selected commercial
Extensive experience advising on both the buy-side serve as Executive Chairman. Today IGT’s sponsors assets of the Government and undertakes strategic
and sell-side in tower transactions. still include Alcazar Capital, plus EPC Investors, investments on behalf of the nation. It is involved
M1 Group and Barons Telelink (a local Myanmar in sectors such as power, telecommunications,
Hutchison: Hutchison 3G is an MNO with a company). IGT provides a ‘full service’ tower+power finance, healthcare, aviation, infrastructure,
presence in multiple countries across Europe and offering. leisure and tourism, and property, and its portfolio
includes the Axiata Group and its subsidiary edotco. India). Macquarie Capital also has an excellent TMT New Silk Route: New Silk Route (“NSR” or New Silk
advisory practice with experience of advising on Route Partners LLC) is a US$1.4bn private equity
Komet Infra Nusantara (KIN): PT Komet Infra tower transactions. firm that invests in private companies in India,
Nusantara is essentially a rollup towerco trading Asia, and the Middle East. Its investments in the
solely in Indonesia, having consolidated the assets MIG: Myanmar Infrastructure Group (MIG) is a joint telecommunications infrastructure industry include
of Tara, Komet, Corona, Telematika, and Ida Lombok venture between majority shareholder Singapore Ascend Telecom in India.
since 2014. As of Q4 2015, KIN possessed a portfolio Myanmar Investco (SMI) and Golden Infrastructure
of 1000+ towers, a product of both organic and Group (GIG. MIG had proved themselves building OCK Group: Founded in 2000 in Malaysia, OCK
inorganic growth. KIN is owned by Indonesian rooftops and poles in for both Telenor and Ooredoo Group’s telecommunication network service
infrastructure giant PT Nusantara Infrastructure in Yangon, as well as executing a substantial DAS provides end-to-end full-turnkey service that
and management, with IDR460bn debt provided project within Yangon’s airport, off the back of includes the designing, building and maintenance of
by Providence Equity. In Q1 2015, KIN generated which they have secured a contract to build 503 telecommunications infrastructure. Since 2013 OCK
revenues of IDR38.7bn, 86% of which came from towers in phase three of Ooredoo’s rollout. MIG has Group has expanded its footprint to new markets
Indonesia’s ‘Big Four’ MNOs: Telkomsel, XL, Indosat access to the capital markets via SMI’s Singapore including Singapore, Cambodia, and most recently
and Hutchison. stock exchange listing. MIG provides a full service Myanmar with a contract to deploy 920 towers for
tower+power proposition. MIG are widely believed Telenor.
KJS: KJS is a State-backed towerco created in to be a consolidation target.
partnership with the Malaysian state of Selangor. Ooredoo: Ooredoo, formerly known as Qtel, is
KJS processes all applications related to telecoms Mitratel: Founded in 1995, PT. Dayamitra the incumbent mobile network operator in Qatar,
in Selangor, and builds and leases telecoms Telecommunications (Mitratel) has been providing and also has extensive international operations in
infrastructure to service providers. KJS has built telecommunication towers to fulfil the need of Indonesia (Indosat), and Myanmar, where it was
towers, monopoles and lamp poles on private cellular telecommunication operators in Indonesia. one of the original two international operators
and state agency land in Selangor and owned and Mitratel is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PT. to receive a license to build telecommunications
operated over 300 structures as of Q3 2014. Telekomunikasi Indonesia, Tbk (Telkom). The infrastructure. Ooredoo had 6.9mn subscribers in
company was to be transferred to Tower Bersama Myanmar at the end of Q1 2016, good for 16.5%
KPR Consult: Renowned ‘tower doctors’ – go-to Group under an innovative share-swap structure, market share, and a tower count of around 3,500.
guys for structural and technical due diligence, but the deal was overruled by the Indonesian
improvement capex planning, decommissioning government in Q3 2015. PAMEL: Pan Asia Majestic Eagle Limited (PAMEL,
and just about anything to do with tower design and sometimes referred to as Pan Asia Towers or PAT)
maintenance. MPT Myanmar: Myanmar Post and built 1,250 towers for Ooredoo in Myanmar in
Telecommunications (MPT) is the State-backed phases one and two. Along with Michael Gearon,
Macquarie Group: Serial towerco investors, with incumbent operator in Myanmar, and is now also PAMEL has management DNA in common with
capital at work in Europe within Arqiva and Russian backed by the KDDI-Sumitomo joint venture KGSM. Indonesia’s Protelindo, but remains a distinct entity.
Towers, and farther afield with Axicom (formerly MPT remains the market leader, although their In 2014 PAMEL secured US$85mn in financing
Crown Castle Australia), Mexico Tower Partners market share declined from 66.6% to 46% between from a consortium of five banks: DBS, ING,
and Viom Networks (being integrated into ATC Q4 2014 and Q1 2016. OCBC, Standard Chartered and Sumitomo Mitsui.
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PAMEL has not built any towers in phase three Capital Advisory (WCA) is a privately-held, fully- Tillman Global Holdings (TGH) stalled in early 2016
of the Myanmar rollout, and has been subject to independent professional services firm, with offices due to valuation issues.
consolidation speculation. in Jakarta and Singapore. They assist clients to
develop and leverage significant investments in Most recently, in June 2016 RCOM and Aircel entered
Persada Sokka Tama: Established in 2006, PT. the TMT space within Indonesia and throughout into talks to create a new 50:50 joint venture. This
Persada Sokka Tama started off with build to suit Southeast Asia, with particular emphasis on is set to have a major impact on Reliance Infratel’s
activities before becoming a tower provider in opportunities in the rapidly-evolving tower industry. tenancies, and many overlapping towers will need to
2008 and offering co-locations for telecoms service be decommissioned.
providers in Indonesia. The company has over Q Towers: Independent towerco with ~120 towers
1,000 towers mostly concentrated in Java and Nusa and an impressive tenancy ratio of 2.8 in China. SACOFA: SACOFA is a State-backed towerco
Tenggara. providing BTS services and is based in the Malaysian
Reliance Communications: Reliance state of Sarawak. Sacofa has over 700 towers across
Protelindo: Brainchild of Michael Gearon and his Communications is the fourth largest Sarawak, and recently signed an agreement with
loyal management team, Protelindo is the largest telecommunications provider in India, and part of Malaysian MNO U Mobile to expand their network
towerco in Indonesia where they own over 14,700 the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. RComm coverage in this state. In addition to its tower
towers after the recent acquisition of 2,500 towers created its own towerco, Reliance Infratel, which portfolio, SACOFA also operates a 950km submarine
from XL Axiata in Q1 2016. Over the last two years, it has been trying to sell since late 2015; the latest cable between Sarawak and West Malaysia, and a
Protelindo has significantly improved its scale and period of exclusive negotiations fell through due 4,000km fibre optic trunk network between Kuching
credit profile. Its leverage has strengthened through to a dispute over the valuation of assets. Reliance and Lawas in Sarawak.
EBITDA growth, supported by a significant increase Communications is now in talks to merge with
in the number of tenancies on its towers. Aircel, India’s fifth largest mobile network operator. Saurava Towers: Saurava Towers is an Indian
towerco founded in 2008, providing managed
Protelindo has also begun to expand its microcell Reliance Infratel: Reliance Infratel Limited is a services and passive infrastructure for telecoms
assets and fibre footprint to support the continued subsidiary of Reliance Communications (RCOM) service providers. Services include site acquisition,
organic and inorganic growth of its portfolio. The incorporated in 2001; RCOM’s tower assets were tower deployments, and site operation and
company acquired iForte in June 2015 along with transferred to Reliance Infratel, with the deal being maintenance. At the end of Q2 2016, Saurava had 55
its 450 microcell towers, seven hotel BTS and 700km completed in mid-2007, creating India’s latest tower towers.
of fibre with over 180 PoPs in the city centre and carve-out. Reliance Infratel operates over 43,000
business districts in Jakarta and Surabaya. sites as an independent towerco, investing in its SEATH: The largest towerco in Vietnam is currently
assets and providing passive infrastructure for its Southeast Asia Telecommunications Holdings
Providence Equity: Communications and media tenants. (SEATH), itself the product of rolling up three
investment specialists with capital at work in Indus smaller towercos with a reported book value of
Towers (India), Grupo TorreSur (Brazil) and KIN RCOM began the process of selling Reliance Infratel US$58.7mn in Q2 2016. SEATH is a holding company
(Indonesia). in late 2015 to decrease its debt and free capital to owned by VNI (VinaCapital’s Vietnam Infrastructure
support its bids for spectrum and its rollout of 4G Limited). According to the company’s report from
PT Wellington Capital Advisory: PT Wellington services. The non-binding deal with TPG Capital and Q1 2015, they had 1,924 towers in Vietnam with a
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tenancy ratio of 1.2, an EBITDA margin of 54.1% and Indonesia, and holds the largest share of the market. 1mn prime locations worldwide.
net margin of 15.2%. Telkomsel owns the towerco Mitratel, and explored
the transfer of this company and its assets to Tower TGH recently made headlines by securing an
SREI Infrastructure Finance: Srei Infrastructure Bersama Group in a unique share-swap deal which exclusive period of negotiation to acquire Reliance’s
Finance Limited is a leading infrastructure was ultimately refused by the government in mid towerco RTIL, although the two parties could not
financing conglomerate in India, and one of the 2015. agree on valuation.
first companies to lay the groundwork for telecoms
infrastructure sharing. Prior to the recent sale Telenor: Telenor is the incumbent TOT: TOT is a State-backed Thai MNO which has
to American Tower, SREI was the managing telecommunications provider in Norway, and owns entered into discussions with other Thai operator
shareholder in Viom Networks, and merged with networks in twelve countries and has operations in AIS to create a joint venture towerco, but to date no
associate company Quippo in 2010. Founded by 29 countries including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, major announcements have been made.
the Kanoria family, Quippo provides construction Thailand and Myanmar. Historically, Telenor has
equipment rental, energy rental, oil and gas tended to partner with towercos rather than sell and Tower Bersama: Based in Indonesia, the Tower
equipment rental and telecom tower infrastructure leaseback towers. Bersama Group comprises several rolled up
rentals. Quippo is currently exploring tower and towercos including PT Tower Bersama, PT United
telecom infrastructure opportunities outside India. In Thailand, Telenor’s subsidiary DTAC is in the Towerindo, PT Telenet Internusa, PT Batavia
process of negotiating a joint venture towerco with Towerindo, PT Bali Telekom, PT Prima Media Selaras
STP: Listed on the Indonesian stock exchange in State-backed Thai operator CAT Telecom. and PT Triaka Bersama, all operated seamlessly
2011, Solusi Tunas Pratama’s (STP) consolidated its under one management team. The group’s
position as the third largest independent towerco in In Myanmar Telenor was one of the first foreign infrastructure extends to Java, Bali, Sumatera
Indonesia with its acquisition of 3,500 towers from operators to obtain a license to build and operate and Batam and is currently being expanded into
XL in December 2014. This followed the acquisition telecommunications infrastructure in this greenfield Kalimantan and Sulawesi.
of existing portfolios from other local operators such market, and launched 4G services in the nation’s
as Axis, Bakrie and Hutchison. STP started building capital Nay Pyi Taw in July 2016. At the end of Q2 Tower Bersama has steadily grown its tower
its own towers in December 2012 to achieve organic 2016 Telenor Myanmar had 5,831 towers serving portfolio with acquisitions of smaller towercos,
growth in addition to acquiring existing portfolios 16.9mn subscribers, with a market share rapidly towers purchased from operators. As of December
and now owns and operate approximately 8,000 closing on incumbent market leader MPT 31 2015, Tower Bersama had 19,796 tenants and
sites. 12,389 telecommunication sites, of which 11,389
Tillman Global Holdings (TGH): Multinational were telecommunication towers, 936 shelter-only
Tata DOCOMO: Tata DOCOMO is an Indian cellular tower and infrastructure investment and operations sites, and 64 DAS networks.
service provider and product of a strategic joint firm led by Sanjiv Ahuja, former Chairman and co-
venture between Tata Teleservices and NTT Docomo founder of Eaton Towers and ex-CEO of Orange. TGH A share-swap to gain control of Telkom subsidiary
in November 2008. has a substantial stake in Apollo Towers Myanmar, Mitratel was planned, but was overruled by the
which Ahuja chairs, and a joint venture partnership government in Q3 2015. Tower Bersama currently
Telkomsel: PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia is with JC Decaux, giving them the opportunity locate plans to roll out 1,500-2,000 new towers by the end
the incumbent telecommunications provider in points of service, particularly small cells, on over of 2016.
Towershare: Towershare is a leading independent Viettel: Vietnamese military-controlled Viettel in over 50 additional countries. Vodafone India is
owner and operator of wireless communications is one of the world’s most expansive MNOs, one of the partners in Indus Towers, the world’s
infrastructure focusing primarily in the Middle having recently secured a prominent role in second largest joint venture towerco. Vodafone
East, North Africa and Southern Asina, or MENASA the consortium behind Myanmar’s soon-to-be- also has an opco in Australia, which sold part of
markets. Towershare generates revenue from three launched 4th MNO. Viettel seems to be warming their tower portfolio several years ago.
primary businesses: Build to Suit, Sale Leaseback to the idea of partnering with towercos but to date
and Value Added Services. Towershare expanded retains all their towers in their other Asian opcos; Warid: Warid Pakistan is owned by Warid
its footprint into Pakistan in 2015, where they Cambodia and their home market of Vietnam. Telecom International, an Abu Dhabi based
currently have around 800 towers, and is an active mobile telecommunication investment firm.
bidder on several opportunities across the region. VimpelCom: VimpelCom Ltd. is a global provider Warid Pakistan reportedly entered into a sale and
of telecommunication services incorporated in leaseback agreement with Towershare for ~4,500
Tower Vision: Tower Vision is an Indian Bermuda and headquartered in Amsterdam. It towers in Q2 2015, although the deal was never
towerco specialising in the provision of passive is the sixth largest mobile network operator in closed. Most recently Warid has merged with
infrastructure to the wireless telecommunications the world by subscribers and has operations in Mobilink, a subsidiary of Vimpelcom.
industry with expertise in tower roll outs, operation countries including Russia and the CIS, Ukraine,
and maintenance. Tower Vision owns and operates Greece, Italy, Algeria, Pakistan and Bangladesh. XL Axiata: XL is a mobile operator in Indonesia,
more than 8,000 sites and offers greenfield towers, There have been continued rumours that and a fully owned subsidiary of the Axiata Group.
rooftops, and in-building distributed antenna VimpelCom is looking to sell its tower assets, XL has sought to reduce its tower footprint
systems to MNOs across India. Tower Vision has including in Pakistan and Bangladesh. With the over the past few years, selling 3,500 towers to
been rumoured to be a consolidation target for merger between Vimpelcom’s Mobilink and Warid STP in 2014, and more recently 2,500 towers to
several years. now complete, the next step may be a tower Protelindo in 2016. XL retains a few thousand
transaction. strategic sites.
TrueMove: TrueMove is a State-backed Thai MNO
which has created a separate entity for its tower Vinson & Elkins: Vinson & Elkins is one of Yiked Bina: Yiked Bina Sdn Bhd is a State-backed
assets in DIF, an infrastructure fund. To date True the oldest and largest international law firms, towerco in the Malaysian state of Kedah. To date
hasn’t engaged in negotiations with other operators with approximately 700 lawyers located in Yiked Bina owns and operates over 200 towers in
to create a joint venture towerco. 15 offices around the world. Their global Kedah, and clients include telecommunications
telecommunications team has extensive service providers such as Telekom Malaysia,
Ufone: Ufone is the mobile arm of the incumbent experience advising on international telecoms and Celcom Axiata, Maxis, DiGi Telecommunication,
telecoms provider in Pakistan, PTCL, and is telecoms infrastructure transactions in numerous U-Mobile, Sapura and Wi-MAX operators such as
the fourth largest operator in the country by countries. Packet One and YTL Communications.
subscribers. Ufone entered in an agreement with
Towershare to have 39 sites built in the Federally Vodafone: Vodafone Group plc is an international Ahmad Kamal Zakaria, CEO of Yiked Bina,
Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in Pakistan. Ufone telecommunications company, with headquarters currently serves as President of Malaysia’s State-
are believed to be in the later sales of a tower sale in London, UK. Vodafone owns and operates backed towerco Association, Persatuan Penyedia
process. networks in 26 countries and has partner networks Infrastruktur Telekomunikasi Malaysia (PPIT)
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Matrix of Asian MNO tower strategies Source: TowerXchange research
Afghanistan Australia Bangladesh Cambodia China India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Myanmar Pakistan Philippines South Korea Sri Lanka Taiwan Thailand Vietnam
Airtel
AIS
Axiata Group
Bakrie
Bharti Airtel
BSNL
CAT Telecom
China Mobile
China Telecom
China Unicom
Chunghwa
Etisalat
FarEasTone
Globe
Hutchison
Idea Cellular
KDDI
KT Corporation
LG Uplus
Maxis
Mobifone
Mobilink
Mobitel
MPT
Legend: Present but haven't sold Potential tower deal Partnering with towerco Carved out towerco Sold to towerco
Matrix of Asian MNO tower strategies (cont) Source: TowerXchange research
Afghanistan Australia Bangladesh Cambodia China India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Myanmar Pakistan Philippines South Korea Sri Lanka Taiwan Thailand Vietnam
MTN
NTT Docomo
Ooredoo
Reliance Comms
Singtel
SK Telecom
Smart (PLDT)
Softbank
Taiwan Mobile
TATA Docomo
Telenor
Teletalk
Telkomsel
Telstra
TOT
True Corporation
Ufone
Vietnamobile
Viettel
Vimpelcom
Vinaphone
Vodafone
Legend: Present but haven't sold Potential tower deal Partnering with towerco Carved out towerco Sold to towerco
Source: TowerXchange research
Asian towerco league table Rank Towerco Count Countries
Rank Towerco Count Countries 21 Sinonetstone 1,800 China
1 China Tower Company 1,700,000 China 22 Axicom 1,772 Australia
2 American Tower 145,404 USA, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, 23 Frontier Tower Solutions 1,500 Afghanistan
Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica,
Germany, India, Ghana, South
24 Pan Asia Majestic Eagle 1,250 Myanmar
Africa, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania 25 Apollo Towers 1,100 Myanmar
3 Indus Towers 120,739 India 26 Persada Sokka Tama 1,000 Indonesia
4 Reliance Infratel 43,379 India 27 Komet Infra Nusantara (KIN) 1,000 Indonesia
5 Bharti Infratel* 38,642 India 28 Towershare 800 Pakistan
6 GTL Infrastructure 29,432 India 29 Sacofa 765 Malaysia
7 edotco 17,054 Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, 30 Centratama Menara Indonesia 620 Indonesia
Cambodia, Pakistan, Myanmar
(formerly Retower)
8 Protelindo 15,167 Indonesia, Netherlands 31 Touch Matrix 460 Malaysia
9 Guodong 15,000 China 32 D’harmoni 346 Malaysia
10 DIF 12,138 Thailand 33 KJS 309 Malaysia
11 Tower Bersama 11,553 Indonesia 34 Common Tower 260 Malaysia
12 Tower Vision 8,400 India 35 Infraquest 201 Malaysia
13 Mitratel 8,000 Indonesia 36 Senno Telecom 200 China
14 STP 6,938 Indonesia 37 Yidebina 200 Malaysia
15 Ascend Telecom 5,200 India 38 Perak Integrated Networks 150 Malaysia
16 Balitower 4,510 Indonesia 39 Asia Space 137 Malaysia
17 Miteno 4,500 China 40 Q Towers 120 China
18 IBS Tower 2,638 Indonesia 41 Desabina 118 Malaysia
19 ASEAN Towers (IGT + Golden Towers) 2,072 Myanmar, Vietnam 42 Saurava Towers 55 India
20 SEATH (VinaCapital / VNI) 1,930 Vietnam 43 Sanyuan Tec 50 China
Demand forecasts for
With the third annual TowerXchange Meetup Asia
coming up on December 13 and 14, featuring all-
new technology evaluation working groups, giving
passive infrastructure equipment participants a chance to download the requirements
and experiences of towerco and MNO procurement
and services in Asia - 2016 update leaders, we thought it would be a good time to
update TowerXchange’s renowned matrix of vendor
TowerXchange checks in on demand across six different categories of equipment demand in Asia.
and services in the fifteen most active Asian tower markets

As well as updating the state of the markets in
our original 12 markets (Australia, Bangladesh,
Asia remains the fastest growing region in
Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia,
the world both for investment in telecom
Myanmar, Pakistan, Thailand, Sri Lanka and
tower networks, and for the expansion of Vietnam) , TowerXchange has added snapshots of
the independent towerco business model. equipment and service demand in Afghanistan,
This article is TowerXchange’s second annual Laos and Singapore.
market by market review, focusing specifically
on opportunities for equipment and service We’re keeping the categories we’re reviewing the
providers, as well as updating the current tower same as last year, so you can make a like for like
New Delhi India and MNO markets in each of 15 countries. comparison, so we’re examining:
< Energy: our focus in this category is on backup

Keywords: Access Control, Afghanistan, Asia, Asset Lifecycle Platform, Australia, Bangladesh, Batteries,
Best of TowerXchange, Build-to-Suit, Cambodia, Capex, China, Construction, DAS, Decommissioning, Energy,
power solutions, energy storage and alternate
Energy Storage, Fixed Price, Hybrid Power, IBS, India, Indonesia, Laos, Lawyers & Advisors, MNOs, Malaysia, energy solutions for unreliable grid and off grid.
Managed Services, Market Forecasts, Market Overview, Masts & Towers, Meetup Preview, Monitoring &
Management, Myanmar, O&M, On-Grid, Pakistan, Pass-Through, Passive Equipment, Procurement, RMS, Sale < RMS, ILM and access control: is there need for
& Leaseback, Singapore, Site Management System, Small Cells, Sri Lanka, Steelwork, Strategic Consultancy, remote monitoring and access control systems on
Thailand, TowerXchange Research, Towercos, Unreliable Grid, Vietnam, Who’s Who, Off-Grid most towers? Are they connecting to a NOC and
to a Site Management or Infrastructure Lifecycle
Management platform such as those provided by
Read this article to learn:
Accruent, Tarantula or Nexsysone?
< In which Asian countries are a substantial volume of new towers being installed?
< What equipment is being installed on those towers in terms of energy, RMS and access control solutions?
< What has been the progress of small cell, microcell and DAS deployments? < As a function of the volume of new build, is there
< Who are the leading MNOs and towercos, and what are the prospects for transactions between them? much requirement for towers and accessories? Or
demand for the services of turnkey infrastructure
providers in building new towers, decommissioning
parallel infrastructure or upgrading existing sites? Brief commentary on Asia’s less active tower markets:
< How much demand is there to date for small cells,
< East Timor: Too small to provide the necessary economies of scale to towercos, therefore
microcells, DAS and IBS?
TowerXchange has yet to study the market in detail.
< And finally, is there much prospect for sale and

< Japan: We are starting to pick up the first faint signals of interest in the towerco business model
leaseback or towerco consolidation to keep the
from Japan, which has less subscribers per tower than anywhere else in the world. However, until
consultants, lawyers and other advisors busy?
the market opens up, TowerXchange has no impetus to study the market in detail.
TowerXchange examines the 15 most active Asian

< Mongolia: No immediate opportunities for tower industry growth, therefore TowerXchange has yet
tower markets, predicts demand for passive
to study the market in detail.
infrastructure equipment and services, and lists
the largest towercos and MNOs active in each
< Nepal: Axiata’s acquisition of Ncell from TeliaSonera may herald the entry of edotco into Nepal, but
country. The following matrix is compiled based
until they do, TowerXchange has no impetus to study the market in detail.
on hundreds of research calls and meetings with
Asia’s leading towercos and MNOs in which we’ve
< North Korea: Impenetrable to a Western research firm like TowerXchange, and probably
diagnosed their procurement and capex priorities
impenetrable to foreign investors!
< Philippines: Substantial network investments are in progress in the Philippines. Moves from SMC
Corporation to create a third operator appear to have faltered, so towers remain operator-captive
and seldom shared, hence the lack of dedicated study of this market by TowerXchange.
< PNG: Digicel seem disinclined to share attractive urban locations, restricting sharing to rural sites in
PNG. With no towercos present, there is no impetus for TowerXchangeto study the market in detail.
< South Korea: No immediate opportunities for tower industry growth, therefore TowerXchange has
yet to study the market in detail.
Meet the key stakeholders at this year’s If you have passive infrastructure equipment or services, or small cell solutions, to sell to Asia,
TowerXchange Meetup Asia, taking place then don’t miss the new ‘technology evaluation working groups’ led by the region’s leading
on December 13 and 14 at the Marina Bay towercos and MNOs and hosted at the 3rd Annual TowerXchange Meetup Asia on December 13-14
Sands, Singapore! at the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore! www.towerxchange.com/meetup/meetup-asia
Vendor Energy RMS, ILM and Tower Turnkey Small cells, Advisors Towercos MNOs
opportunity access control manufacture infrastructure microcells,
matrix DAS and IBS
Afghanistan High High High High Low Medium FTS AWCC

Etisalat
Afghanistan’s four principal MNOs and single towerco continue to build around 500 towers per annum,
MTN
with a total of 5,897 towers live in 2015. While the MCIT has not yet released their 2015-16 tower count, local
Roshan
stakeholders report solid ongoing growth of the network. The vast majority of Afghanistan’s rural towers are
off-grid, with 50-75% of urban and sub-urban sites on unreliable grid connections, with DGs relied upon for
backup. RMS and site security are widely used. Very little small cell or DAS deployments, even in stadia. While
AWCC has already carved out their ~1,500 towers into subsidiary Frontier Tower Solutions, Etisalat, MTN and
Roshan have all been contemplating their own tower carve-out/monetisation strategies.
Australia Low Medium Medium Medium Medium Medium Axicom Telstra

Broadcast Optus
There are two larger towercos in the Australian market; the first is Axicom with a total of 1,772 towers (formerly Australia Vodafone
Crown Castle Australia), while Broadcast Australia is the other towerco of scale – they have some MNO tenants
on their ~600 towers. A few smaller tower transactions are anticipated to rollup small towercos, but it seems
unlikely that market leaders Telstra would sell their tower assets. There are around 9,000 towers in Australia,
but many more may be required by the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN), a shared LTE
network, which means it’s a good time for tower manufacturers and builders. RMS adoption will evolve over
time. With grid power widely available and backup power sources not often used, Australia is not a priority for
towerpower vendors. Power is typically a pass through so MNOs retain responsibility for power.
Bangladesh High High High High Unknown High edotco Grameenphone

Planned Bangalink
The planned merger between Robi and Airtel has been approved by the PM, and Robi is transferring some
state-backed Robi+Airtel
of its shares in edotco Bangladesh back to edotco Group. The government will issue two tower management
towerco Teletalk
licenses by the end of the year, and edotco is one of the applicants, although there are still regulatory issues
Citycell
around foreign and operator ownership. There are ongoing rumours that VimpelCom may be selling the
~6,000 Bangalink towers. Potential deals make Bangladesh a priority for tower transaction advisors and
strategic consultants. 800-1,000 new towers are going up per year, making Bangladesh attractive for tower
manufacturers and turnkey infrastructure (TI) firms. The rainy season demands exceptional cell site autonomy
which makes Bangladesh a key market for energy, particularly energy storage. Edotco has connected over 2,000
of its Bangladeshi sites with its echo monitoring service.
matrix DAS and IBS
Cambodia Medium Medium Low Low Medium Low edotco MobiTel

Cam Viettel
edotco operates 1,500 towers in Cambodia, where CamGSM and MobiTel have both been rumored to
Towerlink Axiata
be considering tower sales in the past but not recently. RMS is not yet widely deployed in Cambodia,
SEATEL
but edotco plans to invest in a remote tower operations centre in 2016. Cam Towerlink is a new CADCOMMS
towerco in this market, and its first project is to build towers in and around Angkor Wat. 20% of sites
are off grid in Cambodia. The grid sites are provided both by SOE Electricité du Cambodge and by a
range of private microgrids and distributed generation projects. Battery backups are on all sites, with
DG on off-grid, MSC, BSC and hub sites. Power is a pass through, so MNOs not towercos remain the
buyers of energy equipment. IBS are starting to be deployed in airports, malls, hotels and condos.
With the top three MNOs boasting 90%+ coverage and new entrants increasingly co-locating rather
than building, there is limited demand for tower manufacturers and TI firms.
China Medium Medium High High High High CTC China Mobile
Guodong China Unicom
Around 150,000 new towers were added to China’s telecoms infrastructure in 2015, the majority
Sino Netstone China Telecom
of which were built and are owned by China Tower Company (CTC) and its provincial subsidiaries. Miteno China
Around 1.55mn of China’s 1.6mn towers now sit on CTC’s balance sheet, with the balance made up Q Towers Broadcasting
200+ other Network
from a fragmented ecosystem of over 200 local, private towercos, the largest of which, Guodong,
independents
Miteno and Sino Netstone, span several provinces. Consolidation among independent towercos and
preparation of CTC for an IPO anticipated in late 2017 should keep advisory firms busy. While grid
power is ubiquitous and abundant, TowerXchange have started to see some green powered sites in
China, but probably nowhere near the 30,000 the GSMA Green Power for Mobile once suggested were
in the country. RMS is widely deployed in China, with ZNV Technology being the market leader. Small
cells, DAS and IBS are increasingly used to supplement the macro network.
matrix DAS and IBS
India High High High High High High Indus Towers Bharti Airtel
Bharti Infratel Vodafone
Indian towercos have almost completed Akhil Gupta’s “mission to disarm the MNOs of their passive
Reliance Reliance+Aircel
infrastructure” with around two thirds of the country’s 450-500,000 towers on towerco balance sheets. Whenever
BSNL finally carves out their own 65,000 site towerco, towerco penetration will exceed 80%. Consolidation Infratel IDEA
among towercos continues, led by American Tower’s integration of Viom Networks, with ongoing talks about the American BSNL
sale of Reliance Infratel and potentially Tower Vision. India’s towercos are on a mission to reduce their carbon Tower Tata
footprint, for example Indus Towers converted their landmark 50,000th green site in 2016. Investment in energy GTL Reliance Jio
efficiency has been largely confined to lead acid and lithium-ion batteries, plus free cooling and the conversion
Infrastructure Several small
of indoor to outdoor sites; deployment of renewables and partnerships with ESCOs remain at an early stage, but
Tower Vision players with
the sheer scale of India still makes the country #1 in the world for both segments. RMS is widely used in India, as
are ILM systems. The rollout of 4G is proceeding apace, driving new tower build and new tenancies; Reliance Jio
Ascend <4%
built around 25,000 new sites in the last year alone, and added tens of thousands more sites through co-location. Saurava Towers
Meanwhile, the first two tenders for Smart Cities projects have been issued, with dozens more in the pipeline, the
fulfillment of which will driven demand for thousands of small cell, IBS and microcell solutions.
Indonesia Medium Medium High High High High Protelindo Telkomsel

Tower Bersama Indosat
Towercos own 61% of Indonesia’s ~77,739 towers, making it one of the most mature tower markets in the world.
STP XL (Axiata)
XL Axiata (~4,000) recently sold 2,500 of its towers to Protelindo, but the real question concerns the future of
Mitratel Smartfren
Telkom’s towers who have about 13,000 sellable assets in their 18,000 tower portfolio, but no apparent incentive
IBS Tower Hutchison
to sell. That said, Telkom did create its own towerco, Mitratel, which owns a reported 5,500 towers. Mitratel
was to be transferred to Tower Bersama under an innovative share swap agreement which in the end did not
KIN Bolt
receive government approval. Indosat has deepened its cooperation with XL Axiata, and there is a possibility Centratama
the two may look into creating a joint venture towerco. With the last operator towers to be bought and towerco Persada Sokka
consolidation continuing, Indonesia is a fertile market for advisors. The reliability of the grid in the dense Tama
urban areas means the opportunity for energy equipment vendors is finite, but there are remote sites requiring Balitower
good autonomy. Note that power is a pass through in Indonesia, so MNOs are the buyers of energy equipment. Others
We’ve spoken to RMS and access control vendors with substantial Indonesian contracts. Protelindo, STP and
Balitower are leading substantial rollouts of microcells and other street furniture. Organic growth slowed
somewhat in 2015; Fitch estimated that the main three towercos will build 2,000 towers in 2016, down from the
peak of 3,000 in 2014, but with Balitower and IBS raising capital to build, and Mitratel adding assets regularly,
TowerXchange estimate a further 4-5,000 towers will be built in 2016.
matrix DAS and IBS
Laos Low Unknown Low Low Low Low None LTC

Unitel
The State has 51% stakes in both mobile market leaders LTC and Unitel, which are both listed, with ETL
heavily-indebted #3 MNO ETL, itself controlled by the Ministry of Defence, also potentially headed for an Beeline
IPO. With VimpelCom contemplating an exit from Beeline and Laos and sub US$5 ARPU, there is finite Sky Telecom
capital available for network investment, with most capital going into the 4G overlay rather than new
site build. Laos has a surplus of power generation which they export, so grid availability is good in the
country, and new sites can be connected to the grid quickly and efficiently. There are still unannounced
outages, so backbone sites have DG and battery backup: 4-6 hours battery backup is standard.
Malaysia Medium Medium High High High Mediumedotco Celcom

YTL (Axiata)
Towercos own around a third of Malaysia’s 21,000 towers. edotco has a portfolio of over 3,600 towers, Sacofa
3,500 of which were carved out from from Celcom, and plans to build 200 to 300 towers in Malaysia in DiGi
Touch Matrix
2016. edotco also has a collaboration agreement with DiGi to expand its network coverage. A further D’harmoni Maxis
3,200 towers are owned and operated by a diverse group of State-backed independent towercos. There is KJS
Common Tower
plenty of demand for new structures for 4G , but much of the work is undertaken by the aforementioned
Infra Quest
state backed towercos who have a dominant position in terms of permitting in half the States, so TI Yikedbina
firms and tower manufacturers need to develop relationships with Malaysia’s towercos. While only 5% Perak
of Malaysia’s cell sites are off grid, data demand has driven the load on some sites beyond capacity, so Asia Space
battery banks are widely used. Demand for infill sites makes Malaysia ripe for street furniture, with Desabina
Others
DAS and IBS starting to be deployed by edotco and MNOs. edotco has already selected its RMS and
site management system, consolidated in their echo service, which is provided to over 3,000 of their
Malaysian sites.
matrix DAS and IBS
Myanmar High High High High Medium High IGT MPT

Apollo Telenor
Almost 10,000 of the 17,300 towers forecast by the GSMA to be required in Myanmar have now been
edotco Ooredoo
built. While the build may start to slow, a healthy quadruple digit count of new towers will still be built in
PAMEL Viettel
2016 and again in 2017, maintaining the flow of steel imports from India and China. Myanmar’s towerco
EFT
ecosystem is settling into two tiers; three towercos charging a lease rate that enables them to attract
MIG
investment and scale rapidly, led by IGT with 2,400 towers, Apollo with 1,800, and edotco which acquired
OCK
MTC and their 1,250 towers from Digicel. The next tier includes Eco Friendly Towers (EFT) and OCK, who
each offer discounted lease rates and have around 300 and 50 towers respectively, although OCK has a
contract for 920. MIG, with around 100 towers, and PAMEL with 1,250 are both for sale, symptomatic of
continuing consolidation in the Myanmar tower market which should keep the consultants and lawyers
happy! Ooredoo’s initial foray into retaining power asset ownership is behind them, so the towercos
will provide power at all future sites for both Telenor and Ooredoo. As the tenancy ratios and cash flows
improve, so towercos are slowly becoming less dependent on vendor finance, but preferred suppliers have
been selected for power equipment, RMS, civil works and O&M. MPT continue to outsource new tower
build to Huawei, but they’re continuing to co-locate on independent towers, while new fourth MNO Viettel
has entered preliminary discussions with the towercos about leveraging their assets to accelerate their
imminent rollout.
Pakistan High High Medium High Medium High Towershare Mobilink

edotco Telenor
While the majority of Pakistan’s ~40,000 towers remain operator-captive, that is about to change with AWAL CMPak / Zong
the sale of the newly combined Mobilink and Warid portfolios to either Towershare, which already has Telecom Ufone
800 towers in Pakistan, or edotco, which operates 13,000km of fibre in the country. With Ufone’s towers
also for sale and with local towerco AWAL Telecom having secured a build-to-suit contract with Mobilink,
expect towercos to play a prominent role in the future of Pakistan’s telecom infrastructure. That future is
likely to see local contractors kept busy more with decommissioning than with new build as the country’s
parallel infrastructure is gradually consolidated. Whichever towerco or towercos acquires Mobilink and
Ufone’s towers, expect them to invest in hybridisation to mitigate the effects of Pakistan’s unreliable grid.
Security and theft concerns mean RMS is a priority in Pakistan. It’s early days for in-building coverage,
with a handful of over 100 sites suited to IBS already having covered.
matrix DAS and IBS
Thailand Medium Medium Medium Medium Medium High DIF AIS

DTAC
Most of Thailand’s 52,483 towers remain operator-captive, but the tower market is hampered by long-
(Telenor)
running ownership disputes which relate to lapsing build-operate-transfer (BOT) regimes. True created True
and successfully IPO’ed TRUEGIF , later renamed DIF, in late 2013, a fund in which 12,138 towers CAT
and over a million kilometres of fibre have been transferred. Discussions to resolve BOT disputes by TOT
creating a joint venture towerco between DTAC and CAT have been unsuccessful; the same is true of the
similar venture planned by AIS and TOT which was cancelled in late 2015. AIS and TOT have entered
into a trial to provide 3G on TOT’s 2.1 GHz spectrum. 10,000 AIS and 800 DTAC towers built outside the
BOT concession are set to remain operator-captive. Thailand has a degree of parallel infrastructure,
suggesting a few decommissioning opportunities, but delayed spectrum auctions for a 4G rollout
are limiting demand for co-locations and new builds. Once the concession and spectrum issues are
resolved, anticipate Thailand’s tower stock increasing 50% in the next ten years with 3G and 4G demand
increasing. While grid power is widely available, electricity continues to become more expensive,
fueling appetite for renewables and energy efficiency. If the mooted joint venture towercos are ever
created, energy assets are likely to be owned by the towercos, but utility costs will be a pass through.
Singapore Low Unknown Low Medium High Medium None SingTel

StaHub
There are no towercos and there is hardly any infrastructure sharing in the mature Singaporean mobile M1
market, but the imminent entry of a fourth MNO may change that and create opportunities for some,
although not all, vendor segments. Grid power is reliable in Singapore so energy equipment is limited to
simple battery backups. Most of the new sites in Singapore will be IBS, DAS and small cells for infill and
indoor coverage. If the fourth MNO is not permitted to share the incumbents’ ~1,000 GBTs and ~5,750
rooftop sites, then expect some new build, but more likely the new entrant will stimulate infrastructure
sharing, and perhaps an opportunity for an independent infraco.
matrix DAS and IBS
Sri Lanka Medium Medium Low Medium Medium Low edotco Airtel
Dialog (Axiata)
edotco owns and operates 2,000 towers, representing a little over 26% of the country’s 7,500 - 8,000 Etisalat
towers. edotco monitors selected Sri Lankan sites with its echo RMS service. Sri Lanka is reaching the Hutchison
saturation point for the number of towers required to provide coverage. 4G spectrum is available only Mobitel
to Dialog and Mobitel; the remaining operators will need to engage in RANsharing to provide these
services. An estimated 1,500 - 2,000 towers or special structures will be required for infill. Grid is at
acceptable levels and improving.
Vietnam Low Medium Medium High Medium Medium OCK Group Viettel
Golden Towers MobiFone
OCK recently announced the acquisition of the largest of Vietnam’s independent towercos, SEATH
Dozens of small VinaPhone
with their 1,938 sites (mostly guyed-mayed mast towers), for US$50mn. Current owners VNI will retain
local towercos Vietnamobile
SEATH’s small IBS business. OCK will join Alcazar Capital-backed Golden Towers and a host of smaller
GTel Mobile
local towercos who between them own around 10,000 towers in this 80,000+ tower market. While
towerco consolidation may continue, the prospects of buy and leaseback deals with Vietnam’s crowded
MNO market looks as far away as ever, with GTEL struggling, Hutchison embroiled in an ownership
battle with Hanoi Telecom for Vietnamobile, and MobiFone’s mooted IPO stalled. Organic growth is
limited by the degree of parallel infrastructure, but 4G rollout should ensure some new sites are added,
but construction firms may get as much decommissioning as new build work. Grid power is reliable and
widespread, so Vietnam is a low priority for distributed generation. MNOs remain the targets for battery
manufacturers with power passed through.
The history of the tower
Whether you want to invest in a towerco, partner
with a towerco, or sell to a towerco, it’s useful to
know what breed of towerco you are dealing with.
industry, and a comparison of Three fundamental towerco business models
towerco business models evolved in parallel – build, buy and carve-out – and
spawned a number of variants designed to meet
specific local market needs.
Contrasting the business models of 42 of the world’s leading towercos
The US independent towerco model evolved as
A developed market towerco which owns and operates just
tower builders, media and real estate entrepreneurs
‘steel and grass’ is a fundamentally different entity from
anticipated the investibility of long term recurring
an emerging market towerco that might manage towers,
cash flows from leasing telecom structures, and
real estate and power. Towercos also grow in different
started buying, building and retaining towers.
ways; some focus on organic growth, others on inorganic
When the US model was exported to SSA the
growth; buying and leasing back towers from MNOs, or
model was refined to relieve African MNOs of their
rolling up existing towercos. Then you have different assets
principal operational headache: power. Meanwhile,
on towerco balance sheets; some focus purely on macro
in Asia a third parallel carve out model evolved
telecom towers, others also make a significant proportion
where MNOs retained a significant stake in the
of their revenue from broadcast clients, while some are
towercos. The towerco business model has mutated
diversifying beyond macro towers into microcells, small
By Kieron Osmotherly, CEO, TowerXchange
once again to integrate Europe’s broadcast assets,
cells, DAS and fibre. How did these business models evolve?
and to incorporate the decommissioning of the
continent’s parallel infrastructure. Then just last
Keywords: Africa, American Tower, Americas, Bharti Infratel, Business Model, Carve Out, Cellnex, China,
year, China implemented it’s own brand of co-
China Tower Company, Crown Castle, Deal Structure, Decommissioning, Eaton Towers, Europe, Helios
construction and infrastructure sharing, with the
Towers Africa, IHS, India, Indus Towers, Lease Rates, Market Overview, Multi-Region, Operator-Led JV,
creation of State-owned, 1.55mn site giant China
Research, SBA Communications, Sale & Leaseback, Small Cells, Tower Count, TowerXchange Research,
Tower Company.
Towercos, USA, Who’s Who
How it all started in the US

< A comparison of towerco business models against 11 variants The tower industry as we know it started in the
< A brief history of towerco evolution in the US, CALA, Africa, India, Europe and China mid nineties in the United States when, almost
< Trends in public, private and MNO ownership simultaneously, Steve Bernstein Associates (now
< Towercos with a total market cap in excess of US$50bn progressing toward IPO SBA Communications), Castle Towers (now Crown
Castle) and American Radio (now American Tower)
54 | TowerXchange Asia Dossier 2016 | www.towerxchange.com/meetups/meetup-asia www.towerxchange.com/meetups/meetup-asia | TowerXchange Asia Dossier 2016 | 49
all came up with the idea of unlocking the value of quickly followed. Crown Castle listed in 1998 and, because each tower is a business in its own right,
towers by selling space to multiple tenants. Steve until the technology bubble burst, the birth of a new we could hive off towers as necessary to raise
Bernstein Associates transitioned from tower infrastructure asset class proceeded without undue enough money to pay off enough of our debt and
builder to tower owner – you can learn more about complications. avoid bankruptcy... We sold off 800 towers west of
their story in TowerXchange’s interview with SBA the Mississippi and used the proceedings to pay off
President and CEO Jeff Stoops. Only the US tower market has been through a our bank debt, which was the most troubled portion
technology stock devaluation like the carnage of of our capital structure. Then we began a long and
American Radio, as the name suggests, originated in 2002-3. Frankly, the markets misdiagnosed towercos steady climb to reposition ourselves. We traded
a deal to acquire a radio station that had multiple as a technology play rather than an infrastructure debt for equity, saw the market slowly improving,
tenants on their tower: Steve Dodge and Jimmy play, but many over-leveraged tower companies refinanced our business and grew our cash flow day
Eisenstein recognised the tower represented an would not survive the downturn. Even Crown after day. And we learned a valuable lesson! One of
investible, scalable source of long term recurring Castle, American Tower and SBA lost well over 90% the reasons why this business is so attractive is that
lease revenue. By 1998 American Tower was IPO’ed of their value. it’s very leverageable but too much debt is simply
and spun out of American Radio, scaling to over not sustainable, no matter which industry you are
15,000 towers by 2001. How did they survive? We’ll leave SBA CEO Jeffrey in… Oh, and three years later to the day we bought
Stoops to tell the rest of the story: “We knew that back all of those 800 towers!”
Meanwhile, Ted Miller was playing golf at Castle
Pines when the notion of moving from commercial Rollup, rollup...
real estate into telecom real estate first crystalised
There’s another U.S. story which starts up a little later; Marc Ganzi at Global Tower Partners and his
with the words “Castle Towers” written on the back
backers at Blackstone, led by Ben Jenkins, concentrated on what we now know as the rollup business
of a napkin! Ted, later joined by David Ivey and
model.
Chuck Green among others, raised capital from
the likes of Centennial Ventures and Berkshire
Rollup towercos concentrate on consolidating the fragmented ecosystem of privately owned towers,
Partners, and started buying towers in the US and
from “Mom and Pop” landlord driven businesses to smaller build-to-suit centric towercos. While most
UK, including a portfolio of several hundred towers
towercos of scale rollup opportunistically, the rollup specialists will spend countless long hours on
from Crown Communications, from which would
hundreds of small transactions per year, and will often have the unenviable task of “cleaning up” these
come the ‘Crown Castle’ moniker of today.
assets to build a portfolio with a consistent high standard.
Crown Castle announced the first large tower
Does rolling up work? GTP was certainly a success story; they rolled up 15,700 mostly North American
transaction in December 1998 when they acquired
towers and sold them to American Tower for US$4.8bn in 2013. This inspired not just one but two
over 1,400 towers from Bell Atlantic, the operator
sequels: Ganzi and Jenkins’ latest rollup venture Digital Bridge now has over 5,000 towers across the
smartly retaining a stake in the joint venture, in
Americas, while members of GTP’s hard grafting M&A team, led by Dagan Kasavana and Natalya
a deal valued at US$650mn. Other U.S. operators
Kashirina, have rolled up over 2,000 towers, also in the Americas, within Phoenix Tower International,
figured “if it’s good enough for Verizon, it’s good
which has attracted Blackstone to once again back the venture
enough for us,” and four further tower transactions
Few towers transacted in the US between 2002 and But when pioneers brought it to SSA, the towerco around US$5bn rolling up almost 50,000 towers,
2007, but fast forward to today, and the US is home business model had to be fundamentally refined: representing 42% of the stock in SSA.
to the world’s most valuable, most leased up towers. the towerco would become a powerco. As much as
Over 80% of towers are owned by towercos, the 50% of MNOs’ opex in SSA is derived from energy Like CALA, tower transaction deal flow is slowing
majority consolidated into the portfolios of Crown and energy logistics – if Africa’s MNOs were to turn in SSA as most of the investible towers have been
Castle, American Tower and SBA Communications, over their prized network assets to towercos, those acquired.
with a handful of mid-tier consolidators led towercos would have to take on the complex (and
by Vertical Bridge, and a long tail of over 100 leaky!) diesel supply chain. Meanwhile in India…
independent developers.
Led by former Crown Castle CFO Chuck Green at The Indian tower model evolved along two axes:
The American independent tower model is credited the helm of Helios Towers Africa; former Orange a commercial, pureplay independent tower model
with accelerating wireless connectivity and and Celtel CEOs Sanjiv Ahuja and Terry Rhodes exemplified by American Tower and Tower Vision,
adoption; where once the US lagged other markets, it with Eaton Towers; and a footprint extension of and an MNO-led model, exemplified by Indus
is now a leader. American Tower under the leadership of Hal Hess, Towers and a host of MNO-captive carve-outs.
Stephen Harris and Pieter Nel; the colonisation of The strength of the latter community, and of the
Refining and exporting the business model to Africa would also give rise to IHS, the most recent influence of MNOs, means many MLAs in India
Central and Latin America and Sub Saharan in a long tradition of tower build and service are structured to incentivise co-location by sharing
Africa companies to make the successful transition to savings. The Indian market also has remarkably
asset ownership and, in the case of IHS, market consistent lease prices (~Rs 32,000, around US$500).
The US towercos crossed the border into Latin leadership. Under the guidance of Issam Darwish
America, where in some countries they are able to and his team, IHS’s portfolio now consists of more Tower sharing in India had been limited to limited
use a very similar business model, using their US than 22,900 towers, including the majority of towers barter arrangements until 2005-6, when Quippo
MSAs as a template in some countries; “because we in Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Zambia and SREI (which became Viom Networks) led India’s
were the first to enter in the region, we were able Nigeria – Africa’s largest mobile market. first commercial tower leaseup between Spice
to shape contracts the same way we did in the U.S., Telecom and Hutchison, while in parallel Ashmore
which obviously was a benefit”, said SBA CEO Jeffrey Evangelising the independent tower ownership Group got together with some Israeli partners to
Stoops in an interview later in this TowerXchange business model to MNOs and investors was a form Tower Vision.
Journal. painstaking process but, like in the US, when the
first tower transactions were announced in 2010 Also in 2006, Indus Towers was conceived: a joint
There were some first movers, but the deal flow (Helios Tower Africa in Ghana, DRC and Tanzania; venture between Airtel, Hutchison (now Vodafone)
crescendoed between 2010 and 2014, culminating in HTN, IHS and SWAP in Nigeria; American Tower C and IDEA Cellular which became the world’s largest
today’s situation where around half of the towers in in South Africa and Ghana; Eaton also in Ghana), towerco at launch, with over 70,000 towers.
CALA are owned by independent towercos, including the floodgates opened and over the subsequent
the majority of towers in Brazil and Mexico. six years Africa’s towercos have deployed Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices
carved out their own towercos, Reliance Infratel input from independent towercos, to the point active as well as passive equipment, with assets
and WTTL respectively, while Bharti Airtel hived that many countries’ tower networks featured remaining on MNO balance sheets.
off a proportion of their towers commensurate with significant parallel infrastructure. In the meantime,
their larger scale in the market than their partners Europe’s broadcast tower assets were increasingly Europe remains an early stage tower market, with
in Indus Towers, creating Bharti Infratel. Tata being privatised and shared with the telecom 64% of assets remaining operator captive, rising
would latter sell WTTL to Viom Networks, but the sector. Thus the European brand of towerco has to 87% if you count the JVs and operator-captive
trend toward MNO-led towercos shifted the balance very different characteristics than its international towercos. But tower transaction deal flow is
of power in India, ensuring the towerco business parents: synergies with broadcast asset increasing, captive towercos may come to market
model evolved to optimally serve the MNO. management and the decommissioning of parallel as IPOs or for sale to a strategic, so TowerXchange
infrastructure feature large on many European forecast that independent tower ownership in
2008-12 was a gold rush era in Indian telecoms; towerco roadmaps. Europe will rise to 49% by the end of 2020 –
operators sprung up by the dozen, and towercos comparable to CALA and SSA today.
added towers and tenants in their thousands. The Europe is a uniquely localised tower market, with
restructuring of the MNO market, and cancellation over 60 single country towercos and just a couple China embraces co-construction and
of 122 operator licenses, in 2012 brought an abrupt of multi-country towercos of scale: Cellnex and infrastructure sharing
end to this era of growth, and some towercos lost Telefónica’s newly carved out Telxius. Cellnex is a
thousands of tenancies overnight. significant catalyst of change in Europe: for years China Tower Company (CTC) forecast scaling to
international towercos were reluctant to make “the a total of over 1.7mn towers on their balance
While new tower builds and technology rollouts offer MNOs couldn’t refuse” for their towers, and sheet by the end of FY16, in a Chinese market
would continue to be largely funneled through the the valuation gap stalled the market. Embolded and supplemented by a fragmented ecosystem of 200+
towercos, tower transaction deal flow ground to enriched by a successful IPO, Cellnex is riding a local independent towercos which will own around
a halt in India until this year, when the landmark healthy share price to close that valuation gap and 45,000 towers between them by the same dateline.
acquisitions of Viom Networks by American Tower consolidate towers across Europe. Having started
and of Reliance Infratel by Brookfield signal a new in their domestic market of Spain and rapidly A collaborative approach to co-construction and
wave of tower transactions. expanded into Italy, Cellnex is marching North with infrastructure sharing was mandated by the MIIT
preliminary acquisitions in The Netherlands and and SASAC, culminating in the creation of CTC, into
The Indian tower market today is a rational, France being just the start of their journey. which the infrastructure assets of all three Chinese
sustainable, efficient business model, supporting MNOs were injected, with the operators retaining a
the emergence of Digital India and accelerating the The aforementioned Telxius is an exemplar of 94% stake in the venture.
rollout of 3G and 4G. another characteristic of the European market:
the prevalence of MNO-captive towercos and joint Like India, the Chinese tower market seems to be
The new European brand of towerco ventures. Some of these carve outs are bona fide calibrated to share significant efficiencies with
independent towercos, others function as operators MNOs, illustrated by the lease pricing structure
Europe’s telecom networks matured with minimal of pooled network resources, sometimes managing recently released by CTC which shares increasing
discounts with anchor and co-locating tenants as
Seven prospective tower company IPOs in the next two years more equipment is added to a site, further enhanced
through shared energy savings. With an average
Unsurprisingly, all 13 of the world’s publicly listed towercos are among the world’s top 50 tower lease rate thought to be around CNY$2,500pcm
companies by tower count, but some very substantial entities remain unlisted, pointing to the (US$375), leasing a tower in China is 30% cheaper
than anywhere else in the world.
potential for some substantial IPOs in the future.
The strength of State influence makes the Chinese

1. The world’s largest towerco China Tower Company are widely believed to be planning an IPO in tower market unique, as a function of the Party’s
late 2017, either as an A-share or on the Hong Kong Stock exchange. agenda to improve the efficiency of deploying CNY
tens of billions of capex into China’s tower network
2. Deutsche Telekom could seek a listing of Deutsche Funkturm, which owns just under 40% of the for 4G and 5G rollout, and their enthusiasm to
improve the efficiency of real estate usage. These
towers and rooftops in Germany.
agendas are playing out successfully through CTC
which claims to have already saved CNY50bn in
3. Turkcell recently postponed but still plans to IPO Global Tower, which owns and operates just investment and 13,000 acres of land as a result of co-
under 10,000 towers. construction and infrastructure sharing.
4. Axiata may list their towerco edotco on the Bursa Malaysia within the next couple of years. Enough history lesson – let’s compare business
models!
edotco has 16,450 towers across six Asian countires.
TowerXchange have created 11 business model

5. Telefónica carved out over 16,000 towers into Telxius; while their initial efforts to IPO were variants into which we have categorised 42 towercos
unsuccessful, the MNO still plans to monetise the assets. with 800 or more towers. We have excluded a
handful of towercos whose business model we don’t
6. The restructuring of Arqiva’s balance sheet could see a partial listing on the London stock know well enough to categorise in this exercise.
exchange for Britain’s 10,550 tower hybrid broadcast-telecom towerco.

The other two towerco business model variants
7. The sheer scale of the company means African giant IHS looks increasingly likely to IPO rather TowerXchange also classifies some towercos as
than be sold to a strategic investor. operating a ‘build to flip’ business model. Focused
on build to suit opportunities, high quality build to
No wonder institutional investor interest in the asset class is at an all-time high; towercos with a flip towercos build safe, high capacity structures
underpinned by a full set of permits and a good
prospective market cap in excess US$50bn could be coming to market in the coming two years!
MLA / MSA. There can be a temptation for tower
entrepreneurs operating this business model to cut
corners on permitting and to deeply discount lease
prices – these practices generally have an adverse The critical role of independent developers
impact on valuation at exit. There are no build to
While our matrix focuses on larger tower companies with 800+ sites, readers should note that in many
flip towercos in our matrix of towercos with 800 or
markets independent developers are grabbing the lion’s share of the new build. For example American
more towers as by their nature, build-to-flip tower
Tower built nine towers in South Africa between Q115 and Q116, while independent developers
entrepreneurs have usually sold and restarted
Atlas Towers and Eaton Towers South Africa each built around 100. Over the same period in Brazil,
their business before reaching this scale.
independent developers built 1,430 towers, while the three largest towercos in Brazil, American Tower,
SBA and GTS, added just a few hundred towers.
TowerXchange also recognises small ‘Mom and
Pop’ towercos; typically family-owned, these
The gap between the new build of large towercos isn’t always as pronounced, but they are seldom the #1
companies seldom have more than 50 towers,
builder in a market; even in a priority market like Mexico, American Tower added 440 towers between
and the owners are often keen to retain them as
Q215 and Q216, whilst privately owned Mexico Tower Partners (MTP) added 571
‘pensionable assets.’
TowerXchange’s towerco business model definitions

Pureplay steel and grass: manages only the real estate and tower Seller: towerco believed to be for sale or heading toward IPO.
structure, power is a “pass through” – which means it is a cost which
remains the responsibility of the tenant. Rollup: drives inorganic growth through a series of small acquisitions, often
consolidating the assets of ‘build to flip’ or ‘Mom and Pop’ towercos.
Full service powerco: lease rate includes power and O&M, so the
towerco is responsible for distributed generation, energy storage and Broadcast hybrid: makes significant proportion of lease revenue from
managed services. broadcast tenants; broadcast towers’ height and dispersed locations make
them ideal for MNOs’ rural coverage and microwave backhaul, so many
Decommissioning: towerco which at least in part specialises in broadcast towercos are diversifying into telecom.
acquiring and consolidating parallel infrastructure in over-built
markets. Beyond macro: some towercos include a significant amount of DAS,
microcells, small cells, fibre, data centres and/or sub-sea cable in their
Organic growth: builds new towers in response to MNO search rings, portfolios.
often supplemented by the speculative acquisition of land usage rights at
sites which may be of future interest to mobile network planners. Finally, we have added the last known tower count for each company, their
geographical footprint, and fields indicating ownership: private, public or
Buyer: derives, or aspires to derive, a significant level of inorganic MNO-led. These fields are not mutually exclusive, e.g. a towerco can be listed
growth through large scale sale and leasebacks or participation in joint on the stock market but significant equity can be retained by an MNO or
ventures with MNOs. private company
s
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China Tower Company 1,550,000 China
American Tower Americas, USA, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru,
Europe, South Africa Mexico, Costa Rica, Germany,
145,404
American Tower India, Ghana, India, Ghana, South Africa,
Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania
Indus Towers 120,739 India

Reliance Infratel 43,379 India
Crown Castle 40,085 USA
Bharti Infratel 38,642 India
GTL Infrastructure 29,432 India
Deutsche Funkturm 27,000 Germany
USA, Canada, Brazil, Panama,
SBA Communications 26,522 Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala,
El Salvador, Ecuador, Colombia
Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast,
IHS Towers 22,918
Rwanda, Zambia
Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh,
edotco 16,450
Cambodia, Pakistan, Myanmar
Telxius 16,233 Spain, Germany, Brazil, Peru, Chile
Cellnex 16,100 Spain, Italy, Netherlands, France
Protelindo 14,737 Indonesia, Netherlands
Telesites 14,043 Mexico, Costa Rica
CTIL 12,000 UK
MBNL 12,000 UK
Tower Bersama 11,389 Indonesia
INWIT 11,200 Italy
Arqiva 10,550 UK
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STP 7,770 Indonesia
TDF 7,398 France
Helios Towers Africa 6,556 Tanzania, DRC, Congo B, Ghana
Grupo TorreSur 6,500 Brazil
Guodong 6,000 China
Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, South
Eaton Towers 5,070
Africa, Niger, Burkina Faso
CETIN 4,800 Czech Republic
Vertical Bridge 3,700 USA
EI Towers 3,200 Italy
ASEAN Towers: Irrawaddy
Green Towers
2,750 Myanmar, Vietnam
ASEAN Towers: Golden
Towers
FPS Towers 2,482 France
2,215 Brazil, Dominican Republic, Costa
Phoenix Tower International
Rica, Panama, USA, Colombia
OCK Group: Myanmar
OCK Group: Vietnam and 2,121 Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar
Malaysia
Wireless Infrastucture Group 2,000 UK, Ireland, Netherlands
Apollo Towers Myanmar 1,800 Myanmar
Russian Towers 1,800 Russia
Vertical 1,600 Russia
Mexico Tower Partners 1,531 Mexico
Pan Asia Majestic Eagle 1,250 Myanmar
Komet Infra Nusantara (KIN) 1,000 Indonesia
Towershare 800 Pakistan
Tower Xchange
TowerXchange brings the tower industry to you! TowerXchange Meetup calendar

TowerXchange Meetup Europe 2017,
Connect with us today and discuss available opportunities for our Meetups across Africa, Asia, April 4-5, Business Design Centre, London
Europe, Americas and China! Exhibiting or sponsoring at TowerXchange Meetups is the best TowerXchange Meetup Americas 2017,
June 7-8, Boca Raton Resort & Club, Florida
investment you can make to showcase your products and expertise in front of the global telecom
TowerXchange Meetup Africa 2017,
tower industry.
October 3-4, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
TowerXchange Meetup Asia 2017,
Email Annabelle Mayhew, CCO, at amayhew@towerxchange.com today December 12-13, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
to find out more. Visit our website at www.towerxchange.com
13 - 14 December, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
Meetup Asia 2016

A senior-level networking opportunity with 250 leaders of the Asian telecom tower industry
Speakers confirmed to date include: edotco, Bharti Infratel, Protelindo, Indus Towers, Towershare, STP, Indosat, Teletalk, Common
Towers, Macquarie Group, Hardiman Telecoms, IFC. Visit http://www.towerxchange.com/meetup/meetup-asia
Diamond GOLD Silver Sponsors: Bronze Sponsors:

Sponsor: SPONSOR:
TowerXchange Meetup Asia - Draft agenda
Marina Bay Sands, Singapore | 13-14 December 2016
Monday 12 December < Ir Roger Wong, AVP, Head of Energy Management,
edotco
15:00-18:00 Pre-conference vendor briefing hosted < Senior representative, Vodafone Procurement
by edotco Company
< Oliver Coughlan, COO, edotco < More panellists announced shortly
< Ir Nalini Subramaniam, Director of Engineering,
edotco 12:30 Networking lunch
Day One | Tuesday 13 December 13:30 Keynote address
Tuesday 13 December 13:55 Roundtable session 2

Technology Working Group: Site monitoring,
8:00 Registration and coffee management and optimisation
9:00 TowerXchange introduction to the Asian tower edotco
< Manzoorul Islam, Director Operations, edotco
market – what has changed since our last Meetup?
Bangladesh
Kieron Osmotherly, CEO, TowerXchange
< Kompella Srinivas, National Head, Infrastructure
Quality – Technology, Indus Towers
9:15 Keynote presentation - Suresh Sidhu, CEO,
< More panellists announced shortly
edotco
14:55 Coffee and networking
9:40 TowerXchange baseline data on Indonesia and
Malaysia 15:10 Achieving operational excellence at cell sites
9:55 CXO Panel - India, Indonesia, Malaysia 15:30 TowerXchange baseline data on India
< Akhil Gupta, Chairman Bharti Infratel
< Steve Weiss, CFO, Protelindo 15.45 CXO Panel – The future of the Indian tower
< Suresh Sidhu, CEO, edotco market
< Dr. Kamal Zakaria, President, PPIT < Manish Kasliwal, VP & Chief Business Development
< Bimal Dayal, CEO, Indus Towers Officer, American Tower
< Tomy Sudiwiyono, Division Head, Tower Planning < Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi, CEO, Ascend Telecom
& Engineering, Indosat < Rupinder Ahluwalia, President, Business
Development Head, GTL Infrastructure
10:55 Coffee and networking < Umang Das, Vice Chairman, TAIPA
11:10 Best practices for site management 16:45 End of day one and networking drinks
11:30 Roundtable session 1 19:30 TowerXchange networking dinner (optional)

Technology Working Group: Energy - Hybrid Power
< Oliver Coughlan, COO, edotco 17:30 Close of TowerXchange Meetup Asia 2016
TowerXchange Meetup Asia - Draft agenda
Marina Bay Sands, Singapore | 13-14 December 2016
Day Two | Wednesday 14 December < Muhamad Raza Qureshi, Director Operations, edotco
< Ricky Steyn, Director of Engineering, edotco
8:30 Welcome coffee and breakfast Myanmar
< Tejinder Kalra, COO, Indus Towers
9:00 Keynote Address - Bimal Dayal, CEO, Indus < More panellists announced shortly
Towers
Technology Working Group: Energy storage
9:25 TowerXchange baseline data on Myanmar
More panellists announced shortly
9:40 CXO Panel - Myanmar: the next phase of
development 13:10 Networking lunch
< Moderator: Mohamad T. Chowdhury, TMT
Consulting Leader, Australia, SE Asia & NZ, PwC 14:00 Roundtable session 4
Indonesia Technology Working Group: Small Cells and DAS
< Oliver Coughlan, COO, edotco < Ir Nalini Subramaniam, Director of Engineering,
< Philippe Luxcey, CEO, Apollo Towers edotco
< Tony Pretorius, COO, Myanmar Infrastructure < Nobel Tanihaha, President Director, STP
Group < Senior representative, Vodafone Procurement
< Senior representative, MPT Company
10:30 The evolution of energy management in the
Asian tower industry
15:25 CXO Panel - Fibre, small cells, network evolution -
11:00 TowerXchange baseline data on developing What’s next for the tower industry?
Asian tower markets < Nobel Tanihaha, President Director, STP
< Peter Egbertsen, Director, Corporate Finance,
11:30 CXO Panel - Developing tower markets in Asia: Protelindo
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam < Ir Nalini Subramaniam, Director of Engineering,
< Rehan Hassan, CEO, Towershare edotco
< Darryll Sinnappa, Managing Director Bangladesh, < Tomy Sudiwiyono, Division Head, Tower Planning &
edotco Engineering, Indosat
< Sam Ooi, Managing Director, Founder, OCK Group
< Mohamad Rizvi, Manager of Network Planning &
16:15 TowerXchange baseline data on China
System Engineering, Teletalk
12:10 Roundtable session 3 16:30 CXO Panel – Understanding the Chinese tower
Technology Working Group: Civil works and O&M market
edotco 17:30 Close of TowerXchange Meetup Asia 2016
TowerXchange Roundtables
Country focus Functional focus < Accelerating build-to-suit, construction and
colocation
< India < CTO forum: Developing a new technology < How to build towers with maximum future sale
< Myanmar strategy to support changing towerco business value
< Indonesia models < How to minimise the total cost of evaluating and
< Malaysia < CFO forum: New strategies for raising equity and strengthening towers
debt finance < How towercos and their subcontractors can
< China
< CFO forum: Identifying new M&A opportunities ensure adherence with SLAs
< Thailand
< CSMO forum < Beyond passive infrastructure: end to end models
< Vietnam < COO forum < Workforce and vendor performance
< Pakistan < General Counsel forum management
< Bangladesh < Redefining the way we manage SLAs and KPIs
< Cambodia Operational focus < Impact of spectrum regulation and technology
< India - The impact of 4G policy on towerco tenancies
< Australia < Opportunities for renewables and ESCOs in Asia < Project management best practices: from site
< Myanmar - Energy < Microcells, small cells and DAS acquisition to licensing
Roundtable leaders confirmed to date:

< Carson Wolfer, M&A Advisor, edotco < Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi, CEO, Ascend Telecom
< Dr. Mahadi Harris-Murshidi, CEO, Common < Rema Nair, Regulatory Advisor, edotco < Pankaj Agrawal, Specialist Advisor, Asian TMT,
Tower < Gayan Koralage, Director, Strategy & Commercial, Capitel Partners
< Eric Crabtree, Chief Investment Officer, IFC edotco < Brandon Amber, Managing Director, Palladium
< Carlos Katsuya, Head of Asia, TMT, IFC < Phillip Wong, Managing Director Cambodia, Partners
< Lim Chuan Wei, Partner, Analysys Mason edotco
< Yusoff Zamri, CEO, Cam Towerlink
< Enda Hardiman, Managing Partner, < Arif Hussein, Managing Director Pakistan, edotco
< Sachit Ahuja, Vice President, TGH
Hardiman Telecom < Mohan Villavarayan, Managing Director Sri
< Ted Zhong, CEO, Q Towers
< Gulfraz Qayyum, Managing Director Asia TMT, Lanka, edotco
< Vincent Wang, GM & Co-Founder, Sanyuan Tech
Citigroup < Tucker Grinnan, Executive Director, Asian
< Patrick Tangney, Partner, Alcazar Towers TMT, J.P. Morgan Shanghai
< Krishna Suryanarayanan, Managing Director, < Pankaj Agrawal, Specialist Advisor, Asian < Lu Jie, Chairman & CEO, Guodong
Structured Finance, ING TMT, Capitel Partners < Hu Gang, GM of Finance & Administration,
< Thivanka Rangala, CFO, edotco < Tucker Grinnan, Executive Director, Asian TMT, Guodong
< Wan Zainal, CSMO, edotco J.P. Morgan < Speaker TBA, Miteno
Technology working groups
Working groups
Day One
A new initiative for 2016, working groups differ from traditional roundtable sessions
at a TowerXchange Meetup. Designed to enable peer-led evaluation of technologies and
11:30 Technology Working Group: Energy - Hybrid Power
services by tower owners themselves, seats at the central table are strictly reserved for < Oliver Coughlan, COO, edotco
executives from MNOs and towercos or invited event sponsors and exhibitors. < Ir Roger Wong, AVP, Head of Energy Management, edotco
< Senior representative, Vodafone Procurement Company
Our priority for these sessions is to elicit the requirements and experiences of MNOs and < More panellists announced shortly
towercos - to learn from their challenges and successes. If you are an MNO or towerco in
attendance we invite you to take part in these highly constructive debates as we map out 13:55 Technology Working Group: Site monitoring, management and
product limitations, requirements and trials and act as a focussed industry task force. optimisation
Similarly, if you are in the process of evaluating different suppliers prior to making a < Ir Nalini Subramaniam, Director of Engineering, edotco
procurement decision, the working groups will equip you with vital information and key < Manzoorul Islam, Director Operations, edotco Bangladesh
questions to ask when assessing different vendors. < Kompella Srinivas, National Head, Infrastructure Quality – Technology,
Indus Towers
After information gathering from the MNOs and towercos, we invite selected vendors to < More panellists announced shortly
enter the discussion, succinctly sharing their perspectives and tailored solutions/ product
developments to address some of the issues raised. Day Two
All vendors have been notified prior to the event as to their eligibility to join this session. If 12:10 Technology Working Group: Site design and improvement
you have not been notified, you will be unable to actively participate in the discussion but < Ir Nalini Subramaniam, Director of Engineering, edotco
we invite you to take a seat around the edge of the room to listen to the session. < Muhamad Raza Qureshi, Director Operations, edotco
< Ricky Steyn, Director of Engineering, edotco Myanmar
Due to the popularity of these sessions, we request that only one person per company join < Tejinder Kalra, COO, Indus Towers
each working group. < More panellists announced shortly
12:10 Technology Working Group: Energy storage

< Oliver Coughlan, COO, edotco
< Ir Roger Wong, AVP, Head of Energy Management, edotco
14:00 Technology Working Group: Small Cells and DAS

< Ir Nalini Subramaniam, Director of Engineering, edotco
< Nobel Tanihaha, President Director, STP
IFC regulatory workshop and TowerXchange networking dinner
Thursday 15 December | TowerXchange Meetup Asia
telecom tower regulatory conference co-sponsored by IFC Networking dinner
The networking dinner will be held at the Bull Run Restaurant (20 Maude Street),
This conference initiative has been designed to facilitate dissemination
a short walk from the Sandton Convention Centre. Those who have pre-registered
of knowledge as well as better understanding of the tower industry and
will have received a wristband during with their name badge. Please bring this
infrastructure sharing regulatory policies in several Asian countries, and to
wristband with you to obtain entrance to the dinner which will commence at
support industry and government objectives related to the tower industry and
regulations. The expertise of governments and industry participants would 7.30pm.
be essential during this first conference opportunity to network, to discuss Please note that no walk-ins will be allowed. At the time of going to press the
common challenges, and to have a successful event. Some of the officials dinner was almost at full capacity (100 people). To ask about availability, please
and tower industry attendees that will be present will be from the following enquire at the registration desk. Please note, there will be a charge of £50 plus VAT
countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Indonesia, for the dinner.
Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Mongolia.
Time Activity How can I join?

Early booking is strongly recommended
9:00 – 9:30 Opening: Introductions and presentations
TowerXchange, The IFC, delegations
All previous Meetups have SOLD OUT and with the scope of eligible
9:30 – 10:30 Open discussion and Q&A attendees expanding for 2016, and pre-registrations being taken prior to the
10:30 – 10:45 Coffee break official event launch this year’s Meetup is set to sell out earlier than ever.
11:00 – 12:30 Simultaneous panels and Q&A

1. South Asia Panel Register today to guarantee your involvement
2. East Asia Panel
12:00 – 12:30 Summary and Q&A www.towerxchange.com/meetup/meetup-asia/apply-to-attend

12:30 – 1:30 Lunch
1:30 – 2:30 Breakout groups:

1. Regulatory framework for towers amayhew@towerxchange.com
2. Streamlining, site acquisition and permits
3. Taxation
4. Evolution of tower model and regulatory implications
2:30 – 2:45 Coffee break

+44 (0) 7423 512588
2:45 – 5:00 Breakout: Roundtable meetings
TowerXchange Meetup Asia - Delegate list as of 8 November 2016
Abloy, Business Development Manager Dreamline, Director GS Yuasa, Regional Manager - ASEAN
Abloy, General Manager, Abloy Asia edotco, CEO GS Yuasa, Regional Manager - South Asia
Abloy, Managing Director, Abloy South East Asia & edotco, CFO GTL Infrastructure, President - Business
China edotco, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer Development
Acsys Technologies, Senior representative edotco, COO Guodong, Chairman & CEO
Acsys Technologies, Senior representative edotco, Country Managing Director Guodong, Assistant to CEO - GM of Finance &
Acsys Technologies, VP Sales Asia, Business edotco, Country Managing Director Administration
Development Global Accounts edotco, Country Managing Director Hardiman Telecommunications, Managing
Acsys Technologies, VP Sales India, Business edotco, Director - Strategy and Commercial Consultant
Development Global Accounts edotco, Head of Infrastructure Planning and Design Hardiman Telecommunications, Managing Partner
Aerolens Group, CEO (Regional) Heliocentris, Senior representative
AIO Systems, EVP Sales & Marketing edotco, M&A Advisor to the CEO Hetrogenous, Senior representative
AIO Systems, Senior representative edotco, Regulatory Advisor to CEO Hetrogenous, Senior representative
Alcazar Capital, Director, IGT and Chairman, Golden edotco Pakistan, Managing Director Hetrogenous, Senior representative
Towers EI Towers SPA, CFO Hetrogenous, Director, Telecoms, Media and
American Tower, VP and CBDO; Member of the EI Towers SPA, COO Technology Investment Banking
Board and Director Eltek Power, Regional President - APAC HSBC, Managing Director
Analysys Mason, Senior representative Eltek Power, Sales Director Huawei, Senior representative
Apollo Towers Myanmar, CEO Enatel Energy, Senior representative Huawei, Senior representative
Aquion Energy, Director of Sales, Asia Enatel Energy, Senior representative Indosat Ooredoo, Division Head Tower Planning &
Ascend Telecom Infrastructure, Director and CEO Energize the Chain, COO Engineering
ASPN Enterprise, Managing Director Energize the Chain, Director Indus Towers, CEO
Bharti Airtel, Deputy Group CEO and Managing EnerSys, Senior representative Indus Towers, COO
Director Ericsson, Director & Senior Advisor Indus Towers, Circle CEO
Camusat International, Vice President Middle East FG Wilson, Business Development Manager Indus Towers, National Head, Infrastructure Quality
& Asia FG Wilson, Power Generation Global Director - Technology
Capitel Partners, Director FG Wilson, Regional Sales Manager Infozech, CEO
Citigroup, MD and Head of Telecoms MEA FG Wilson, Sales Manager Infozech, Business Development Manager
Common Tower, CEO Flexenclosure, Senior representative Infozech, Head of Products
Credit Agricole CIB, Head of Telecom, Media & Flexenclosure, Senior representative ING Bank, Managing Director - Structured Finance
Technology Finance, Asia Flexenclosure, Senior representative Invendis Technologies, Senior representative
Dreamline, CEO Flexenclosure, Vice President, Sales & Marketing Invendis Technologies, Senior representative
TowerXchange Meetup Asia - Delegate list as of 8 November 2016
Invendis Technologies, Senior representative NANHUA Electronics, Vice-Director of Sales Siterra - An Accruent Product, Director, APAC
ip.access, CTO & Head of PLM NANHUA Electronics, Sales Representative Channel Sales
ip.access, SVP Global Sales NorthStar, Vice President MEAPAC – Reserve Power Siterra - An Accruent Product, Industry Product
IPS, Business Development Manager Division Manager, Product Management Telecom
IPS, Research Analyst at PostScriptum and IPS NorthStar, Technical and Marketing Director – Asia Siterra - An Accruent Product, Senior representative
IPS, VP Business Development Pacific Sojitz Corporation, Deputy Manager
IPT Powertech Group, COO NorthStar, Senior representative Sojitz Corporation, Manager
IPT Powertech Group, Senior representative Palladium Partners, Managing Director SONEPAR & MAFI, Senior representative
JP Morgan, Senior representative Perkins Engines, Senior representative SONEPAR & MAFI, Senior representative
KPR consultants, Group President Protelindo, CFO STP, President Director
KPR India, Partner Protelindo, Corporate Finance T.C.C. Industry and Engineering, Managing Director
Leoch Battery, Senior representative PT. Fluidic Indonesia, Director Tarantula, Senior representative
Linfra Limited Myanmar, CEO PwC Indonesia, TMT Consulting Leader, Australia, SE Tarantula, Senior representative
Mahindra & Mahindra - Powerol Business, Head of Asia and NZ Tarantula, Senior representative
Business Development-SAARC, Asian & Middle East Q Towers International, CEO Tarantula, Senior representative
Mahindra & Mahindra - Powerol Business, Qowisio, Asia Sales Manager Telenor Pakistan, Director Infrastructure
Senior GM - Telecom Sales, Engines and Tele-Infra Redflow, General Manager - Sales APAC Deployment
Management Redflow, Sales Director Telenor Pakistan, Manager Network Roll Out &
Metallwarenfabrik, Director Group Sales & New Reliance Industries Limited, Senior Vice President - Sharing
Business Development Project Engineering Teletalk, Manager of Network Planning and System
Metallwarenfabrik, Sales Director International Reliance Industries Limited, Senior Vice President - Engineering
Miteno Communication Technology, Senior Wireless Infra Projects Tillman Global Holdings, Vice President - Business
representative Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, Assistant Vice Development
Miteno Communication Technology, Senior President - Procurement TOTAL, Senior representative
representative Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, Senior Vice TOTAL, Senior representative
Miteno Communication Technology, Senior President - Project Procurement Tower Vision India, Director
representative SACOFA, CEO Towershare, CEO
Miteno Communication Technology, Senior SACOFA, Managing Director Vinson & Elkins, Senior representative
representative SACOFA, Head of Marketing Vinson & Elkins, Senior representative
Mubadala Infrastructure Partners, General Counsel Salasar Techno Engg., President Xynteo, Senior Analyst
Myanmar Infrastructure Group (MIG), COO Sanyuan Tec, CEO Yiked Bina, CEO
Floorplan
DIAMOND SPONSOR:
Breakout/Sponsor rooms
Main entrance & access to main Meetup room

106 105 104 103 102 101
221 201
222 215 213 211 202

edotco Group Sdn Bhd
216 214 212
Established in 2012, edotco is the first regional and integrated telecommunications

321 301 infrastructure services company in Asia, providing end-to-end solutions in the tower
services sector from tower leasing, co-locations, build-to-suit, energy, transmission and
322 302
operations and maintenance (O&M).
With a regional portfolio that includes over 16,000 towers across edotco’s core markets of
421 401 Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan and Myanmar, edotco strives to deliver
outstanding performance in telecommunications infrastructure services and solutions.
422 402 edotco’s value-added services are supported by state-of-the-art real time monitoring service,
echo, which has improved field operations while maximizing operational efficiencies in
terms of battery, energy and fuel consumption for telecoms infrastructure.
521 501 Through its operations in developing Asian economies, edotco has established a strong
track record in nation building. edotco has progressively invested in industry best practices,
522 502
providing a broad portfolio of infrastructure solutions and offering value-added services to
enhance efficiencies and connectivity for communities. edotco is committed to conducting
its business in a responsible and sustainable manner for the benefit of its customers,
605 604 603 602 601
employees, communities and developing nations.
For more information on edotco, kindly visit www.edotcogroup.com
Our sponsors
GOLD SPONSOR:
equipment. The Exeron features stringent modular European-rooted with the benefits of China-based
design, easy-to- maintain hot plug technology, advanced production and a highly-specialised and diverse team
battery management as well as the increased availability from around the world, Acsys pushes the boundaries
thanks to excellent system redundancy. of how technology can be embraced within complex
industrial environments for better security and staff
In Germany, 2014, EXERON won the Intersolar ees management. With a customer-centric, customised
Award (ees: electrical energy storage). approach Acsys follows the belief to think ‘outside the
IPS box’ to deliver easy-to-deploy, highly durable and cost
www.exeron.com effective solutions for the most challenging scenarios.
International Power Supply is 27 years experienced
high-tech company specialized in the R&D and www.ips-group.net www.acsys.com
manufacturing of power electronics and energy
SILVER SPONSOR:
conversion technologies. SILVER SPONSOR:
IPS offers high-tech products and integrated solutions

for the area of Renewable Energy and Off- Grid
Electricity (mini-grids, off-grid power systems, OPEX Invendis Technologies
and fuel safe optimization), Telecommunications, Acsys Technologies Ltd
Utilities, Defense. Company offices are located in the Founded in 2007, Invendis Technologies India Private
US, Australia, South Africa, Indonesia, Nigeria, UAE. Acsys is the global leader in cell site access control Ltd. is an M2M/IOT company based out of Bangalore.
IPS’s products are operated currently in 54 countries solutions. Our patented, military-grade technology is Invendis designs and delivers IOT technology-enabled
on 7 continents and used by clients such as NATO, utilised by leading tower companies, telecom operators, business solutions for Telcos & Towercos to provide
large telecom groups, mini grid operators, utilities, the and vendors throughout the globe to better manage their seamless services to their clients.
armed forces of various countries, international system O&M and eliminate unauthorised access.
integrators and many others. Our core products and services include front end
Acsys designs simple, yet powerful solutions, with equipment, sensors, transducers, business applications,
IPS has developed an optimal system for both grid a focus on power-independent locking systems and systems integration, product engineering, installation,
connected and off-grid use in the form of our EXERON workforce management software and applications. maintenance and 24X7 Global Monitoring & IT
range. The EXERON technology can offer power These technologies are combined to reduce theft, better infrastructure services. Invendis also specialises in
independence for areas with limited or no grid power manage vendors, create fairer and stronger SLAs, and deploying complete range of Remote Monitoring &
and can provide cost savings for grid connected simplify operational workflows. Our solutions equate to Energy Optimization services for the data sensitive
objects through on-demand use for any kind of power increased uptime. infrastructures.
Our sponsors
Invendis pioneered customizable IOT enabled Front End developed global process standards with local flexibility also offers additional capabilities such as location
Monitoring & Controlling equipment, which empowered to pair with best-in-class software functionality. management, asset and lease management, operations
Towercos with access to real-time Monitoring & Energy and maintenance, invoice management, mobile field-force
optimization solutions in shortest possible time. Accruent’s telecommunications division serves some solutions, and comprehensive dashboard reporting.
In a span of 8 years, Invendis has set a global footprint of the world’s largest mobile network operators and
with over 1 hundred thousand remote assets across Asia, service providers in addition to tower companies, www.tarantula.net
Middle-East, Africa & Europe. helping link employees from different organizations in
Bronze Sponsor:
the industry to collaborate to projects. Accruent is the
www.invendis.com largest independent provider of commercial property
management software, serving the telecom, retail,
SILVER SPONSOR: education, healthcare, and corporate markets with over
5,400 customers in 120 countries.
www.accruent.com Vinson & Elkins RLLP

SILVER SPONSOR:
Vinson & Elkins is one of the oldest and largest
international law firms, with approximately 700 lawyers
Siterra, An Accruent Product located in 16 offices around the world.
Our global telecommunications team has extensive
Siterra, an Accruent Product, addresses the software Tarantula experience advising on international telecoms and
needs of tower companies to sell co-locations, upgrade telecoms infrastructure transactions. We have significant
capacity, build-to-suit, maintain accurate asset registers, Tarantula is a world leader in telecom site management industry experience, advising on telecoms transactions
manage maintenance, and collaborate with vendors software and a trusted partner of leading telecom in numerous countries, including across Africa and the
operationally as well as consolidate and integrate tower- infrastructure operators in 13 countries. Through its Middle East. Our telecommunications advice includes
related software technically. Sixteen of the towercos and specialized site management toolset, Tarantula is a acquisitions and disposals, debt and equity financing,
infracos that TowerXchange tracks are current Siterra fundamental pillar of support behind the management of infrastructure development, operational arrangements,
customers, spanning 18 countries and five continents. The more than 350,000 mobile towers and assets worth US$25 regulatory matters and dispute resolution.
first version of the Siterra site management platform was billion around the world.
We also have significant experience in the negotiation and
released in 2001. 100,000 users later, Siterra has become drafting of sale and purchase, debt and equity financing,
the industry standard, must-have operating software for Red Cube Enterprise is Tarantula’s flagship product
master lease, build-to-suit, site management and service
tower companies today. Accruent works with its leading for smart and efficient telecom site management,
level arrangements; and have played a prominent role in
towerco customers to jointly develop new features with modular design and configurable workflows.
complex fibre transactions.
that are deployed regularly through the SaaS platform The platform is the worldwide industry standard for
to constantly improve customer value. Accruent has co-location and tower lifecycle management. The tool www.velaw.com
Our sponsors and exhibitors
Bronze Sponsor: and ESCO. Our self-manufactured enclosures allow us to management solutions for past 17 years to 80 customers
create customized energy efficient/hybrid and renewable across 25 countries.
energy solutions, and to implement new concepts in site
Infozech’s innovative offering iTower (Infozech Tower
renovation.
Product Suite) provides an end to end solution for managing
Miteno Communication Technology Co. Ltd.
With offices in 11 countries, our solutions are delivered to and reducing operational costs through tracking real
Miteno (300038 SZ), is a leading non-state-owned time tower operations, meaningful analytics and helping
more than 80 operators, tower companies and vendors in
independent owner, operator and developer of wireless take smarter decisions. iTower won the prestigious Aegis
more than 50 countries.
Graham Bell Award 2015 for being most Innovative solution
communication towers, and a tower designer and
for telecom tower infrastructure. iTower enables tower
manufacturer. In addition to leasing tower spaces, Miteno www.iptpowertech.com
companies to drive 99% uptime with minimum operational
provides customized DAS, smart cities solutions and Exhibitor: cost.
smart power poles which consolidates illumination, base
station, Wi-Fi, monitoring, advertising, environmental Flexenclosure www.infozech.com
surveillance and charging pile services. Headquartered
Flexenclosure is a designer and manufacturer of intelligent Exhibitor:
in Beijing, China, founded in 2004, Miteno has business
power management systems and prefabricated data centre
operation across China. In 2015, Miteno made strategic buildings for the ICT industry. The company provides systems
move to expand its tower leasing business into global that are fully integrated, modular, factory tested for reliability,
market. adaptable to local conditions and quick to install. Heliocentris
eSite is a hybrid power system for off-grid and bad-grid cell
www.miteno.com Heliocentris is a German technology company that provides
sites that cuts diesel costs by up to 90%. eSite is an integrated
Managed Power Solutions and Services for commercial
Bronze Sponsor: single cabinet system for maximum reliability and speed
stationary applications for global Telecommunication
of installation. eManager, an all-in-one toolbox for remote
Operators and Tower Companies. Services reach from energy
management, site power optimisation and KPI reporting, is an
optimization and solution engineering to implementation of
integral part of eSite.
customized turnkey power solutions and smart operations.
IPT PowerTech www.flexenclosure.com The flagship product the “Energy Manager” enables smart
connectivity between different components in hybrid energy
IPT PowerTech Group delivers specialized solutions Exhibitor: supply clusters, such as batteries, solar panels, conventional
to the power, industrial and telecom sectors in Africa, diesel generators or fuel cells, thereby substantially
Middle East and Asia. Combining power expertise with Infozech decreasing the ecological footprint at much lower operating
cost. The company is headquartered in Berlin with branch
telecom infrastructure specialization, we are market
Infozech is a leading provider of technology-led and data offices in Munich, Dubai, Vancouver and representations in
leaders in providing energy solutions, telecom services, analytical solutions to Telecom – Infrastructure providers, Johannesburg and Yangon.
and managed maintenance services, and we are the most Operators and Communication service providers. Infozech
qualified to provide both models of Guaranteed Savings has been delivering cost optimization and revenue www.heliocentris.com
Our exhibitors
Exhibitor: Both the trust users place in us and our pioneering position full range of integrated services and systems. With sales and
are based on long-term endeavours – continuously developing service locations throughout the world. Headquartered in the
new and innovative locking solutions and door-opening United States, with regional headquarters in Europe and Asia,
GS Yuasa technologies that facilitate smooth entry and exit. EnerSys employs over nine thousand people and operates
32 manufacturing and assembly facilities world-wide. This
The position of ABLOY as one of the four global brands of ASSA
GS Yuasa is a Japanese company formed in 2004 by the merger vast infrastructure and over 100 years of battery experience
ABLOY Group supports our internationalization process and
of two large 100 year old battery manufacturers, Japan Storage positions EnerSys at the forefront of both manufacturing
empowers us to strengthen our business in existing markets
Battery and Yuasa. At US$3.5B in sales, GS Yuasa is one of the capabilities and new product development.
and to expand into new areas.
worlds largest battery manufacturers. GS Yuasa manufactures
www.enersys.com
a full line of technologies including lithium, lead acid, nickel www.abloy.com
metal hydride, and nickel cadmium for the automotive, Exhibitor: Exhibitor:
industrial, and specialty battery markets. Especially for
Telecom market, we have developed a 48V lithium ion battery
NorthStar
module that has outstanding cyclic life and charge acceptance NANHUA Electronics Co., Ltd.
that can reduce the runtime of generators and the total cost NorthStar is an industry leader in designing and
NANHUA is an independent enterprise with modern
of ownership of telecom base stations. With 37 affiliates in 17 manufacturing high performance lead-acid batteries and
management which is located in Shanghai. We design,
countries, GS Yuasa has a worldwide presence operating under high efficiency site solutions. The company has state-of-the-
manufacture and sell world leading signal, lighting and
the GS Yuasa, GS, and Yuasa brands. art facilities in the USA, and their products are used in more
control products which be applied in industrial areas since
1990, and focusing on aviation obstruction light system than 120 countries worldwide. NorthStar premium thin plate
www.gs-yuasa.com/jp/index.asp
for telecom towers from 2007, has full experience in the AGM batteries deliver long life at elevated temperatures, with
Exhibitor: complete line of cost-effective obstruction lighting and faster recharge and superior PSOC cyclic performance. NSB
control solutions. NANHUA products have been proven to be Blue+ Batteries can reduce diesel generator run time by 85%
professionally designed and highly reliable. in offgrid telecom applications. SiteStar Cabinets can maintain
Abloy batteries at optimal operating temperatures, using less power
NANHUA will continue to maintain reliable, safety and simple
than a household lightbulb. If you need the best, you need
ABLOY is one of the leading manufacturers of locks, locking R&D concepts, combine with the latest technology, commit
NorthStar.
systems and architectural hardware and the world’s leading to developing new products to help customer solve problems
developer of products in the field of electromechanical locking and enhance customer value. www.northstarbattery.com
technology. We develop safe, aesthetic and easy-to-use
www.nanhua.com Exhibitor:
locking solutions which satisfy the needs of end-users and our
construction industry partners for security, safety and ease-of- Exhibitor:
access.
Redflow
ABLOY protects people, property, and business operations on
EnerSys
land, at sea, and in the air – in all circumstances. Solutions Redflow Limited is an energy storage specialist that has
created for users’ individual need extend from locking of EnerSys® is the global leader in stored energy solutions for developed the world’s smallest flow batteries. Redflow’s
homes to sites of operations requiring professionally provided industrial applications. We complement our extensive line of unique flow batteries are designed for stationary energy
high security. motive power, reserve power and specialty products with a storage applications ranging from its ZCell home battery to its
Our exhibitors
ZBM battery range for commercial, telecommunications and Exhibitor: Exhibitor:
grid-scale deployment. Redflow is a publicly-listed company
(ASX: RFX) that operates R&D facilities in Australia, as well Cisco
as offices in the US and Europe. Produced in North America Enatel Energy
by Flex, one of the world’s largest supply chain solution With the rise of Internet of Things, people and things are
companies, Redflow’s high energy density batteries are sold, Enatel Energy delivers an expansive portfolio of configurable being connected at scales that were once not possible. Large
installed and maintained by a global network of system systems designed to meet every telecommunication network scale management of unmanned remote sites is now a reality
integrators. Redflow batteries connect directly to the telco power requirement. Solutions offer flexibility and scalability, with the possibilities provided by Connected Assets, giving
bus, experience no damage from regular power outages, are by way of hot pluggable combinations of modular Rectifiers, operators the visibility and controls to all aspects of remote
100% depth of discharge and their full capacity is usable over Inverters, Converters, Solar/Wind Chargers and encompass site management such as environmental, operational health
lifetime. advanced energy management. Enatel’s SYNERGi hybrid and surveillance and security. It can connect to everything
solutions include unique patented generator control onsite from generators and batteries over fuel tanks to the
www.redflow.com capabilities allowing dynamic optimisation to accommodate HVAC or doors, helping to detect critical events like theft
off-grid site variables so ensure the highest levels of network or malfunction of equipment. Business intelligence can be
Exhibitor: automated with rule based policies for each site to harvest
uptime, ease of deployment and OPEX savings. Renewable
energy inputs can be integrated simply and blended operational and productivity efficiency.
intelligently. Enatel Energy offers renowned support,
www.cisco.com
SONEPAR & MAFI reliability, and system efficiencies. Solutions are New Zealand
made to guarantee design, manufacture and process integrity. Exhibitor:
ELEKTROSKANDIA CHINA is a division of Sonepar Group
based in France. We started operation in Shanghai in 1999, www.enatelenergy.com
GENPOWER ASIA
now is the leading professional in the market of Telecom
Exhibitor:
Network Installation Materials and Sustainable Energy Genpower was founded in Turkey in 2000. The business took off
Business, and serving our customers globally through our soon after and became a huge success in it’s Region including
vertical network of sister companies throughout the Sonepar Middle East, Russia, Turkic Republics. 2010 The company
TOTAL decided to make its move to Asia & Pacific and established
Group of companies.
Genpower Asia in Singapore.
Total is the world’s fourth-ranked oil and gas company and
MAFI is an engineering company that creates, develops,
a global leader in solar energy through our affiliate The easy access and financial stability in Singapore gave
designs, sells and delivers steel structure products to telecom Genpower the opportunities to expand in the region.
SunPower. With operations in more than 130 countries, we
equipment supports for towers and city sites MAFI is certified 2012, Genpower made the decision to move it’s production
have 100,000 employees who are committed to better energy.
according to SS EN ISO 9001, SS EN ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 to India to address better the needs of the region with Cost
and IE EN 1090-1:2009+A1:2011. effective products and quick deliveries.
Supplying affordable energy to a growing population,
addressing climate change and meeting new customer Having supplied Gensets to many Telecom operators in the
SONEPAR in association with MAFI at TowerXchange, together
expectations are the three main challenges Total must meet as world, we know the needs of Tower companies best and come
we can make it possible and better.
an energy major. up with Unique Power solutions.
www.elektroskandia.com.cn. www.total.com www.genpower.com.sg
Our exhibitors
Exhibitor: energy management, and grid-scale applications. Aquion’s of leading banks, and telecommunications carriers. We
high-performance, safe, sustainable and cost-effective are particularly active in end-to-end support of mergers,
batteries deliver reliability and value for customers. The acquisitions and divestitures.
AIO Systems company’s battery systems provide flexible, modular energy
All of our staff have held profit-accountable positions with
storage that enables broad adoption of renewable energy
global telecommunications carriers, manufacturers and
AIO Systems is a next generation solution provider of technologies such as wind and solar, reduced reliance on fossil
systems integration houses prior to joining us. This allows
management systems for remote unmanned sites. AIO’s fuels, and optimization of existing grid-tied generation assets.
full support of clients across the continuum from technology
management platform and enhanced Premium EyeSite For more information, visit our website.
through to market effectiveness, spanning engineering,
controller are incorporated with site hardware and telemetry commercial strategy, financial structuring and proven
systems enabling companies to control, secure, predict, track http://aquionenergy.com
operating methodologies.
and remediate their remote site operations in a timely and
Exhibitor:
pro-efficient manner. www.telecoms.net
We specialize in advanced 24/7 Security solutions and Hybrid/ FG Wilson

Energy Resource Management. Furthermore, we address
multi-tenant infrastructure complexities, reduce OPEX, For 50 years, FG Wilson has been a leading manufacturer
increase profitability, assure access to BI services, and deliver
effective Asset/Inventory control.
of diesel and gas generator sets from 6.8 to 2,500 kVA and
beyond. Since 1990 alone, we have installed 600,000 generator
sets, supported by over 300 distributors, offering world-class
Meetup
AIO’s numerous business models propose alternative
operational structures that guarantee ROI. When combined
with our added value Services, such as Site Installation
levels of service from product selection to installation and
lifetime support. With products specifically designed to meet
the needs of the telecoms sector and backed by out expert
Asia 2016
Simulations, System Integrations, Technicians mobile local dealer support, FG Wilson is the brand providers all
application, companies can rest assured AIO will address all over the world have been turning to for trusted and reliable 13 - 14 December,
their RMS needs from A-Z. remote power supply, even in the most remote and harsh
environments.
Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
www.aiosystems.com
Exhibitor: https://www.fgwilson.com/
Aquion Energy Hardiman Telecommunications
Aquion Energy is the manufacturer of proprietary Aqueous Hardiman Telecommunications Ltd. was established in
Hybrid Ion (AHI™) batteries and battery systems for long- 1994. We are a boutique consultancy specialised in strategy
leaders of the Asian telecom tower industry
duration stationary energy storage applications. Aquion’s development, due diligence assessment and valuation
Aspen line of batteries are optimized for daily deep cycling for support. Our clients include major TowerCos, private equity
www.towerxchange.com/meetups/meetup-asia
residential solar, green architecture, off-grid and microgrid, funds, corporate finance / advisory and investment functions
Country-specific
analysis
Over the past twelve months, TowerXchange continued
to deepen its understanding of the Asian telecom tower
market and we are glad to offer our readers highly relevant,
updated content on several local markets.
Find out all the details behind the creation and evolution of
the Indian tower industry and delve deep into the reality of
doing business in China, while catching up with the latest
news from thriving Myanmar and Pakistan. Interested
in other markets? Don’t miss priceless insights into
Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and
Sri Lanka…
Don’t miss:
79 Bangladesh
82 Cambodia
85 China
108 India
119 Indonesia
126 Laos
129 Malaysia
132 Myanmar
140 Pakistan
145 Singapore
149 Sri Lanka
www.towerxchange.com
Bangladeshi regulator licenses two The merger between between Robi and Airtel
has been approved, and the government plans
towercos, permits MNO consolidation

to award two tower management licenses to
independent companies by the end of the year. This
represents strong progress towards the adoption
What does the restructuring of the Bangladeshi market mean for edotco, and for
of the independent tower ownership model, as
the prospective sale of the Bangalink towers? Bangladesh seeks to address its main challenges:
a combination of dense population centres and
The telecoms market in remote rural populations, unstable grid during the
Bangladesh has seen a burst monsoon season, and overlapping MNO-captive
of activity recently after towers that are ripe for consolidation.
months of announcements
MNO consolidation
and rumours from the
market’s regulator and main First announced in January 2016, the long-awaited
stakeholders. The Bangladeshi merger between Airtel and Robi has been approved
regulator, the BTRC, seems to by the Bangladeshi Prime Minister. In the merged
be committed to improving entity, Axiata, the parent company of Robi, will hold
a 68.7% stake, Bharti Airtel 25% and NTT DoCoMo
the efficiency of telecoms
of Japan 6.%. Currently, Axiata has a 91.59% share
through the adoption of and NTT DoCoMo 8.41% in Robi.
infrastructure sharing.
The government of Bangladesh has agreed to a
Keywords: 3G, 4G, Asia, Asia Insights, Axiata Group, Bangladesh, Banglalink, Bharti Airtel, BTRC, plan to charge Robi BDT5.07bn (US$63.5mn) to
Co-locations, edotco, Grameenphone, Infrastructure Sharing, Leasing & Permitting, NTT DoCoMo, use Airtel’s 1.8GHz spectrum, as well as a BDT1bn
Regulation, Robi, Sale & Leaseback, Spectrum merger fee. The spectrum fee (BDT338mn per
megahertz) is aimed at making up the difference
between the price Robi paid for spectrum in 2011
Read this article to learn: and the lower price Airtel paid in 2005.
< The terms of the merger between Airtel and Robi
< The transfer of shares between Robi and edotco Bangladesh NTT DoCoMo entered the market in June 2008
< The awarding of tower management licenses by the BTRC by taking 30% from then Aktel of AK Khan and
< What to expect next in the Bangladeshi tower market Company at a price of US$350mn. In May 2013, NTT
DoCoMo reduced its stake to 8.41% from 30%. Airtel
entered the market in 2010 by buying a 70% share Breakdown of shares in the new entity
of Warid’s Bangladeshi opco, after which Airtel also
bought the remaining 30% share from Warid in
2013 at a price of US$85mn. 6.3%
The newly combined entity will have 37.3mn

subscribers and a 28.5% market share, making
it larger than current number two operator 25% Axiata Group
Banglalink with its 24% share. Airtel has less than
a 7% market share in Bangladesh and is the fourth Airtel
largest among eight operators. The remaining four DoCoMo
operators have a combined share of less than 5%t.
68.7%
The leading operator, Grameenphone, has a 43%
share, according to GSMA Intelligence.
The Bangladeshi tower market

To date Axiata’s edotco Bangladesh is the only
towerco operating at scale in this market after to transfer 31.01% of edotco Bangladesh’s shares changes are made to the draft guidelines prior
taking over the management of 5,300 tower assets back to edotco Group as the Malaysian tower to the transaction. At the same time, the BTRC
from Robi, also part of the Axiata Group. edotco management company looks to get a full licence to reportedly said that the watchdog would form a
Bangladesh was created in response to the draft run its operations in the country. Before the share new tower company to manage the tower sharing
tower company guidelines in Bangladesh which transfer, Robi held 51% of edotco Bangladesh’s initiative. According to the BTRC, 36,000 mobile
state that an entity having a relation with a mobile shares. Now with the share transfer, edotco Group towers have been installed so far in the country,
phone or WiMAX operator is ineligible to apply for will hold 80.01% equity in edotco Bangladesh and whereas only 24,000 are needed.
a full licence. The draft guideline also said foreign Robi the remaining 19.99%.
tower management companies must have a local With the edotco Bangladesh application for one
partner and would not be allowed to operate on The government of Bangladesh has announced of the two tower management licences up in the
their own. plans to award two tower management licenses to air it remains to be seen who the other candidate
independent companies through an open tender or candidates may be. There may be some other
At present, edotco Bangladesh manages over 7,500 by the end of the year. According to the current international companies that are interested in
towers of the six mobile companies operating in draft tower company guidelines, with Robi holding entering this market; at one point Bharti Infratel
Bangladesh, trading on the basis of certificate of a 19.99 percent share in edotco Bangladesh, it will seemed interested, but that interest may have
no-objection from the BTRC. Robi is now planning be ineligible to apply for the tower licence, unless cooled with the consolidation of Bharti Airtel’s
Estimated tower count for Bangladesh
Bangladeshi regulator warms to
international towerco investment
4,100 It is not unusual for tower companies to trade under

a certificate of non-objection for a period whilst
7,800 regulatory regimes are drafted to accommodate
the still new phenomenon of independent tower
Grameenphone
ownership.
3,800 Banglalink
The challenge for the BTRC has been that the
Axiata / edotco
towerco interested in creating efficiencies in
Airtel their market, and ultimately investing in critical
Teletalk, CityCell and non-traditional MNOs national infrastructure, was a foreign direct
investor owned by Axiata, the parent company
Sources: TowerXchange research, edotco, Hardiman
of one of Bangladesh’s MNOs, Robi. The fact that
5,300 Telecommunications
Robi was also proposing in-market consolidation
6,000
further muddied the waters for the regulator, but
this latest set of developments provides a degree of
clarification.
It feels like we’re still missing one piece of the

Bangladeshi opco. We have also seen Towershare are rumours that VimpelCom may look to divest puzzle in the Bangladeshi tower market - if edotco
and Tower Bersama exploring investment the tower assets in Bangladesh belonging to its Bangladesh is to be permitted to own and operate
opportunities in other Southern Asia markets. subsidiary Banglalink. At ~6,000 towers this is the Robi’s towers, perhaps overseeing the consolidation
Another possibility is that the tower management third largest portfolio in Bangladesh and a tempting of the Airtel network, who is the second mooted
companies will originate from the domestic target for a company aiming to reach scale. There towerco license for? One would imagine VimpelCom
market; one of the local MNOs may be considering is definitely room for growth in the Bangladeshi sought assurances that, if a party other than edotco
creating its own tower company, or two or more market; as of Q4 2015 the GSMA estimated that where to acquire the Bangalink towers, that party
operators may be planning to create a joint mobile broadband penetration was at 13%. At least could be accommodated within the new licensing
venture towerco. three of Bangladesh’s MNOs are keen to focus their framework?
investment on 3G and 4G rather than on passive
One thing is for sure: the trading environment in
These developments mark a new stage for the infrastructure, creating an ideal environment in which edotco operates and in which the Vimplecom
telecoms market and tower market in Bangladesh, which towercos can acquire and build towers, / Bangalink process will take place, just got a bit
and there could be more MNO consolidation enabling MNOs to concentrate on QoS and selling more welcoming
and tower transactions in the near future. There minutes and megabytes
Market update on Cambodia
Highlights from the Cambodia Round Table
Cambodia has seen a lot of consolidation over

A summary of the discussion from the Cambodia roundtable, and the tale of the past few years; the market went from nine
1,000 orphaned towers operators down to five due to intense competition
and price wars. The latest trend is the emergence of
Chinese operators in the Cambodian market; in fact
The 2015 TowerXchange Meetup Asia featured a host of
Cambodia has the most Chinese operators outside
insightful panels and roundtables providing in-depth
of China itself.
insights into tower markets across the region. We took
the opportunity to sit in on the Cambodia roundtable,
Cambodia has a population of 14.5mn, much
led by Phillip Wong, Managing Director of edotco to find
smaller than many neighboring markets, and the
out more detail on a Cambodian market that we have
ARPU is quite low at around US$3 which has meant
recently started to cover. We found out that Cambodia
that it hasn’t attracted too much interest from
has its challenges including some difficult conditions on
foreign investors.
the ground and limited profitability, but has a regulator
that is willing to encourage foreign investment to In terms of on the ground conditions the energy
promote telecoms development. TowerXchange has also situation in Cambodia is challenging; about 25%
been tracking a portfolio of towers formerly owned by of the country is off-grid. Of course this means
Mfone which went bankrupt in 2013 to learn about the that there are opportunities for energy solution
fate of “orphaned towers”. providers offering hybrid and renewable off-grid
solutions. Even connected to the grid, power is
Keywords: 3G, 4G, ARPU, Asia, Asia Insights, Cambodia, Camtower Link, Cootel, edotco, Energy unstable and is can be unavailable for a couple
Storage, First Mover Advantage, Grid, Hybrid Power, IFC, Investment, Khmer Unicom, Leasing & of hours per day even in the capital Phnom
Penh – with is a drop off in power once or twice
Permitting, Malaysia, Market Overview, Mfone, Network Rollout, Off-Grid, Regulation, Roaming,
a day necessitating batteries for backup. Some
Singapore, Site Level Profitability, Solar, Unreliable Grid, Urban, Vietnam, Xinwei Beijing
companies are looking into solar solutions. To deal
with the grid issues, some companies are looking
into solar energy systems. Hybrid solutions need
Read this article to learn: to be scalable and capable of powering at least
< On the ground conditions in Cambodia including grid and environmental risks two tenants. With the strong Chinese presence in
< The regulatory conditions for foreign investors in Cambodia Cambodia it’s no surprise that Huawei dominates
< Comparing the cost of tower rentals in urban and rural areas this market and its energy solutions.
< What happens to towers that are left idle due to bankruptcy?
Deployment can also be challenging due to
environmental conditions; during the rainy season commercialisation so this is an advantage for Regulations make Cambodia open to any foreign
flooding can cause a water level increase of up towercos. Currently there are two towercos: edotco investment, not only Chinese, but the Chinese have
to three metres. Other challenges in Cambodia and Camtower Link. edotco is encouraging MNOs to definitely gained a foothold. Xinwei Beijing (Cootel)
include landmines, although this situation seems hand over tower and power management to them. is a Chinese MNO founded in 2013 in Cambodia
to be improving everywhere except the most The incumbents have been offering services for that brought in their own equipment and have
remote areas and incidents are becoming fewer over five years and have taken responsibility for leapfrogged to 4G to provide more data-centric
and farther between. There are also some issues power themselves, but the new Chinese operators services. The spectrum for their particular service
with older towers that have never been assessed and investors entering in 2016 should be open to is in the lower 400MHz range and the license is free
and have been poorly maintained that eventually infrastructure sharing and a hybrid power sharing to apply for.
are at risk of collapsing. Some of the MNOs have solution as it will help them get up and running
historically not maintained their tower assets quicker at a lower cost. It remains to be seen exactly what the strategy and
adequately, and there was a tower collapse as objectives of these companies are in this small and
recently as six months ago. Increasingly the The IFC has been involved in financing MNOs in not overly profitable market. Perhaps they have
towercos have been given a directive to ensure the Cambodia, while local banks have been providing been attracted by the open regulations and have
safety of towers. increasingly competitive local financing. Previously come in full force with more money than other
operators have suffered from the cost local countries to capture first mover advantage in 4G.
The regulatory regime is relatively advanced; financing; the interest rates are lower than before
not every country in Asia has towerco licenses. A but still at 8-12%. Cambodia is that does not require A tale of 1,000 towers
new local telecoms law is expected to be put into business to be undertaken in the local currency,
place in Q1 2016; this was in the draft stage a year and US dollars are widely used. Cambodia never Due to a history of poor maintenance in some cases,
ago but no-one has seen the final version and the suffered from currency protections, and the cost the challenges associated with small, low revenue
regulator has kept it quiet. However in general of tower rentals vary from US$300-350 per month telecoms markets and the resulting financial woes,
regulations for MNOs, towercos and infrastructure for rooftops in Phnom Penh all the way down to there have been cases of telecoms infrastructure
providers are moving in the right direction. Foreign less than US$100 the further outside of the capital sitting idle in Cambodia, as in other markets
investment in Cambodia is encouraged and there you go. This is even cheaper than the US$600 across Asia, as a result of MNO bankruptcies.
are no restrictions on foreign ownership. This is average in India. The challenge for towercos is to Take for example the portfolio of 1,000 towers in
different from other markets in the region such make these assets profitable to achieve some ROI; Cambodia that were originally owned by Cambodia
as Vietnam where foreign investors are limited towercos need to decide whether to choose a pure Shinawatra or Camshin. Camshin was a joint
to 49% ownership of companies. There is still no tower model or a service including energy. Ground venture between Shin Satellite of Thailand and
regulation on green energy or carbon reduction, rentals are a key component in the construction the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication of
but this is a work in progress. of a tower, and ground rent varies significantly in Cambodia founded in 1993. Camshin had its license
different areas of the country. edotco are prepared extended from 15 years to 35 years in 1997, and
With new operators from China appearing in this to pay a sensible premium to have the first site in a was also given a license to provide mobile services
market, there have been some slow rollouts and given area as this confers a big advantage as it can under the brand Mfone the same year. By the time
the regulator takes a progressive view towards be challenging to find another site. it launched 3G services in 2007, Mfone was already
struggling due to the intense competition and obtain a telecoms license.
“
low ARPUs in the Cambodian market. Price wars
became so intense that the government intervened Three years of disuse have had an impact on
in Q4 2009 with a minimum tariff edict, but the these assets; according to a local source the power
damage was done and Mfone continued to lose equipment on the Mfone base stations is now
subscribers. defunct. Only the Phase 9 and Phase 10 power
In the end Mfone’s supplies can still be used, and will probably need
By Q4 2012 Mfone was starting to have legal upgrading or replacing. Orphaned towers can
troubles over unpaid bills. Eltek Valere won a
remaining assets were also pose a safety risk for local communities; in
court injunction against Mfone that year over sold to Khmer Unified April 2015 a former Mfone tower in Battambang
failure to pay US$3.73mn in service charges. collapsed during a storm causing extensive damage
Mfone was required to provide an assessment of
Network Communication to the surrounding buildings. Unable to obtain an
its inventory and was banned from selling off any (Khmer Unicom) for operator license, Khmer Unicom sold the former
assets until the situation was resolved. Mfone was
also threatened with legal action by Hello Axiata
and Smart Mobile over unpaid interconnection
fees. Thaicom attempted to sell Mfone to a local
US$10mn, less than 11% of
their estimated value
“ Mfone assets in January 2016 to Xinwei Telecom
Cambodia (Cootel), owned by Chinese internet
mogul Wang Jing. Cootel is the newest entrant into
the Cambodian wireless market, starting operations
investor, INT Management Service, but the deal in Q3 2013 and offering exclusively 4G services
fell through and in January 2013 Mfone filed over its “multi-carrier wireless in the local loop”
for insolvency. Mfone signed an agreement network.
with Mobitel to migrate its subscribers on to
their network with a roaming agreement. This in areas with patchy coverage. In addition to this It remains to be seen how long it will take for the
agreement was then disputed by Huawei claiming many sites came with unfavourable leases with Mfone towers and power equipment to be repaired
it was in violation of an injunction to freeze local landowners, some of which were renegotiated and upgraded given this long period of inactivity;
Mfone’s assets. This injunction was lifted by April at higher rates in latter years as Mfone came under but the story of Mfone’s 1,000 towers raises several
of 2013 so that the sale of Mfone’s assets could increased financial pressure. In the end Mfone’s questions: how many other tower portfolios are
commence. remaining assets were sold to Khmer Unified there like this in other markets around Asia with
Network Communication (Khmer Unicom) for similar conditions? Are there other neglected
Telecoms towers can prove to be a hard sell unless US$10mn, less than 11% of their estimated value. assets that could represent an opportunity? Does
conditions are just right. In this case interest in the Khmer Unicom, owned by Chinese businessman there come a point when towers should just be
Mfone towers was low with 30% of them located in Khao Yun Dy’s Khmer Holding Group. was another decommissioned and dismantled for the safety of
urban areas where competitors already had their potential entrant into the already crowded the local community? Perhaps there is a role for
own assets and tower coverage was overlapping. Cambodian telecoms market. Unfortunately, the towercos to play in preventing similar cases like
The remaining 70% of the towers in rural areas Mfone assets then sat idle for another three years this in the future in Cambodia and other markets
could be a different story as some may be located as Khmer Unicom attempted unsuccessfully to across Asia
China tower market FAQs Market context
What are current levels of mobile / SIM

Up to 275,000 new towers built in 2016 as China races to meet 4G coverage and
penetration and ARPU?
drive its infrastructure-sharing mandate
According to data released by the Ministry of
China is home to the world’s largest towerco China Tower Industry and Information (MIIT), as of the end
Corporation (CTC), as well as a fragmented but good-sized ecosystem of August 2016, there are 1.309bn mobile phone
of 200+ independent towercos. The State-owned enterprise subscribers in China. This represents 95% SIM
and towerco giant has kicked into high gear in the past 16-18 penetration.
months, tackling significant build demands from the three MNOs,
streamlining operations, and driving supply chain transparency Blended ARPU figures from the three operators
range from CNY ¥47-60.
through its unique procurement platform. CTC remains eager and
committed to IPO in Q4 2017. Read on for your one-stop shop on the
What is the status of China’s 4G rollout?
Christie Liu, Head of China & Myanmar shape of the exciting Chinese tower marketplace.
In the first half of 2016, China Mobile added over
Keywords: 4G, Air Conditioning, ARPU, Asia, Asset Register, Bankability, Batteries, Best of TowerXchange, 200,000 4G base stations, increasing its total to
Build-to-Suit, Carve Out, China, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Tower Corporation, CTC, China 1.32mn. During the same period, China Unicom
Unicom, Construction, Country Risk, Debt Finance, Exit Strategy, General Office of the State Council, grew its network by 216,000, for a total of 600,000 4G
Guodong, IBS, Infrastructure Sharing, Lease Rates, Leasing & Permitting, Liu Aili, Market Forecasts, Market
base stations.
Overview, Masts & Towers, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, MIIT, Miteno, Myanmar
Infrastructure Group, MIG, New Market Entrant, O&M, On-grid, Operator-led JV, Outdoor Equipment,
China Telecom’s basic 4G coverage is expected to be
Pass-Through, Procurement, Regulation, Research, RMS, Rooftop, State-owned Assets Supervision and
complete by year-end, with a target of 340,000 for
Administration Commission of the State Council, SASAC, State Administration for Industry and Commerce
2016, growing its total to 850,000.
of the People’s Republic of China, SAIC, Shelters, Shining Star International Holdings Limited, Stakeholder
Buy-in, Sun Kanmin, Tax, Tenancy Ratios, Tong Jilu, Tower Count, Towercos, TowerXchange Research,
All in all, China has a network of over 2mn 4G base
Transfer Assets, Valuation
stations.
Read this article to learn: What is the number of 4G customers in China?

< What is China Tower Corporation, how does it operate, and what does it own?
< Lease rates for China Tower and independent towercos As of 30 September 2016, China Mobile reported
< Growth opportunities and regulatory landscape 481mn 4G customers, while China Unicom has
< Valuation benchmarks, tenancy ratios, and investibility approximately 89mn 4G subscribers and China
Telecom at approximately 107mn.
How many new towers were built in China in ARPU for China’s three MNOs (CNY/user/month)
2016?
China Mobile China Unicom China Telecom
For context, prior to CTC, there were approximately
1 January to 30 September, 2016 60.0 46.7 56.0
1.38mn towers built by the three operators over 30
years between 1985 to 2014. 2015 59.6 40.8 54.1
It was reported that asset transfers of roughly Approximate tower ownership in China by operator 2014E
1.5mn towers happened around the end of 2015 and
beginning of 2016.
By September 2016, CTC was quoting roughly

388,000
1.63mn towers, with estimates to get up to 1.7-1.8mn
by year-end. China Mobile
752,000 China Telecom
As such, CTC build volume for the year would be
between 200-300,000 towers. China Unicom
246,000 Total = 1,386,000
In terms of independent towerco output, estimates
would be in the range of 20-30,000.
How many towers are in China and who owns

them? China Tower Corporation tower counts by year
China Tower Corporation will own between 1.7-

1985-2014 1.38mn
1.8mn towers by the end of 2016.
The roughly 200+ third-party towercos will own 2015 1.5mn

approximately 40-50,000. We now know of one
towerco with towers in the five-digit count, with at 2016 1.75mn (est)
least three others in the four-digit count.
2017 1.9mn (est)

What is the future growth of in China?
CTC still has a lot of building to do, including plans to 0.5mn 1.0mn 1.5mn 2.0mn
China Tower Corporation coverage of subway and high speed lines acres of land and CNY ¥50bn of investment.
As of September 2016 Completed Under construction Total One of the goals of CTC is to improve the customer
experience from, in some cases, a few hundred KB
Subway 195km 631km 3,800km
per second, to as much as 20MB per second once 4G
High speed 1,208km 5,653 15,000km is fully deployed.
provide coverage on the 56 subway lines and 59 of the tower growth will be dependent upon the operators’ CTC is also seen as a mechanism for reducing
high-speed train lines within the next three years. demands. the gap between competing MNOs by providing
China Unicom and China Telecom with access to
CTC has also developed strategic partnerships with Major cities will need more infill sites to provide the China Mobile’s vast tower network, enabling them
22 provinces and autonomous regions to better density needed for heavy data need. More light-pole to accelerate and catch up their 4G rollout. If 4G
integrate network planning and construction integrated tower designs that are sleeker, smaller, coverage were complete, using VoLTE could enable
into local planning, as many are keen to drive and faster to deploy will likely play a role, as well as refarming of valuable spectrum.
economic development through enhanced mobile microcell and small cell.
and broadband coverage. Reportedly the new The formation of CTC not only allows China
arrangements have been better compared to what What is the vision behind creating China Tower to accelerate 4G rollout, but also enable the
operators were dealing with in the past. This Corporation? implementation of the country’s mobile broadband
theoretically paves the way for faster and more build network strategy.
out. With the approval of the General Office of the State
Council (国务院) and led by State-owned Assets The creation of CTC is also a reform of sorts, to drive
There is some speculation that within three year’s Supervision and Administration Commission of the efficiency and inject new energy into the industry.
time tower construction could slow down in China. State Council (SASAC, 国资委) and the Ministry of
The standards for 5G are yet to be defined and many Industry and Information Technology (MIIT, 工信部), Opportunities to diversify CTC into other shared
commentators have indicated that 4G is more than the joint venture was formed to promote a culture of infrastructure, and the sheer scale of the business,
enough for the general mobile consumer. Generally infrastructure sharing in China. Also referred to as means the vision is less to create the world’s largest
5G would mean higher site density and smaller “co-build, co-share.” and most valuable towerco, but to create one of the
equipment mounted at lower heights. world’s largest and most valuable infrastructure
CTC was formally created on 15 July, 2014 to companies.
On the independent side, one source estimates that consolidate and share existing towers, to construct
there could still be 50,000 to 100,000 towers available shared additional towers, and to save land and tower Does CTC also own assets beyond the macro
to build given the size of the country. resources. network, such as rooftops, IBS, DAS and
transmission infrastructure?
The need for macro towers will decrease over time In 2015 alone, compared to MNOs own build, CTC
as major coverage projects get completed. Ultimately, was able to realise savings of 265,000 sites, 13,000 CTC has absorbed most, if not all, China’s legacy
towers, monopoles, and rooftops. There is an Shareholders in China Tower Company
appreciation at CTC that the co-construction
and sharing model can extend beyond towers to China Reform
transmission infrastructure, but that does not Corporation
seem to have been incorporated yet. 6%
IBS are widely deployed in China, but there are China China Mobile
China
not many DAS. Telecom Mobile 38%
China Unicom
27.9%
We did hear of one towerco with a substantial China Telecom
streetlamp project in one of China’s major cities – China Reform Corporation
they called them “information poles” and spoke of
how they were supporting the Smart City vision. China Unicom
28.1%
Does China Tower Corporation only own and
lease up the towers, or do they undertake O&M
too? While the Ministry of Industry and Information We’ve been able to identify one other board member
Technology (MIIT) defines policy, CTC is effectively Sun Kanmin (孙康敏) who is an executive with China
CTC is responsible for the construction, operation, answerable to SASAC, the State-owned Assets Telecom. CTC does not wish to disclose the identities
and maintenance of towers. Having said this, given Supervision and Administration Commission. of the rest of its board members at this time.
engineering design, construction, and the likes are
also included as service categories on the online What is the governance structure of CTC? This governance structure is unlike the past, where
procurement platform, it would be reasonable to more company members would also be part of
expect a certain level of sub-contracting of O&M. There are currently nine members total on the the board, and was created specifically to avoid
board. inefficiency and abuse of power.
Who are the principal stakeholders in China
Tower Corporation – who are they answerable Mr. Liu Aili (刘爱力) is the Chairman of the board. What is the organisational structure of CTC?
to? He is also the Executive Director and Vice President
of China Mobile, principally in charge of planning There are 15 business units/departments within
China Mobile is the largest stakeholder of CTC and construction, network operation, and business CTC, including management, construction and
at 38%, while China Unicom and China Telecom support. maintenance, finance, human resources, business
own 28.1% and 27.9% respectively. China Reform partnerships, operations and development, audit,
Corporation, likened to a sovereign wealth fund Mr. Tong Jilu (佟吉禄) is the General Manager of CTC telecommunications technology research institute,
with a particular focus on reforming State-owned and the only board member formally employed information technology research institute, and
Enterprises, owns the remaining 6%. within the organisation. more.
There are three levels of CTC management: long as they hold a valid manufacturing license in companies are often more energised and faster to
Headquarters in Beijing, provincial branches, and China (for product providers), are registered with market,” said one interviewee.
city/municipal offices. In total, there are 377 branch the State Administration for Industry and Commerce
offices across the country. of the People’s Republic of China (SAIC), and meets In other instances it seems the independent
successful third-party audit. towercos simply undercut CTC, as a function of
How is the financial performance of CTC? lower management costs. On still other occasions
A lot of smaller players are not on the platform for it seems that independent tower companies might
For the first half of 2016, CTC owed CNY ¥150bn one reason or another, but instead work through have better local site hunters, and are able to
(US$22bn), with a negative profit margin of 4.6%. those that are and act as sub-contractors; this type leverage relationships with MNO network planners
of partnership arrangement could provide a point of at provincial or municipality level to secure direct
Revenue for 2016 is estimated to be in the range of access into CTC as well for international vendors. orders.
CNY ¥60-64bn (US$8.9-9.5bn).
For further details, please refer to our article “What “CTC has a scale advantage from the legacy towers,
How and what does CTC buy? and how China Tower Corporate buys.” but no significant advantage when competing for
new BTS contracts,” said one interviewee.
The Tower Online Platform officially launched in Does CTC have some kind of right of first refusal
the summer of 2015, one year after the creation of to build new towers for the three State-owned “In some provinces the carriers are more open to
CTC. As of 5 September, 2016, there are 723 suppliers MNOs? new entrants as they don’t feel it’s in their interests
officially registered in the system, with 74% having to have a monopolistic towerco, whereas in other
been shortlisted and 58% having successfully Some sources told us that all build to suit (BTS) provinces CTC are more entrenched,” said another
received purchase orders; spending also reached CNY processes were supposed to be open. Other sources interviewee.
¥26bn. told us that the official structure of the Chinese
tower market is that the MNOs are no longer A Right of First Refusal type arrangement isn’t
The platform was created to increase supply chain building their own towers, and all the work is being necessarily the primary risk to the independent
transparency and efficiency, allowing CTC staff to see undertaken by CTC. While MNO builds have more sector’s organic growth potential. Rather it’s the
who made a purchase, from which manufacturer, at or less halted, the reality is that CTC currently lacks relationships and economics that may affect a
what costs, plus comments and ratings on product the capacity to meet 100% of MNO demand, which in towerco’s ability to survive and thrive. Towercos
quality, delivery, service, et cetera. a practical sense means in some cases third parties with good connections to local government and/
are contracted to build sites which are then are or operators will continue to secure projects and
It hosts 27 major supplier and five service categories, transferred to CTC’s balance sheet. tenants. From there it’s having the cash flow to
including the likes of tower, air conditioning, shelter, maintain day-to-day operations and financing to
battery, iDAS, engineering design, construction, and In other instances it seems that the independent continue building. New builds are now subject to
more. towerco steps in as a fallback option if CTC lacks the lease rate benchmarks set out by CTC, resulting
the capacity, or gets too bogged down in process, to in a more challenging environment compared to the
Suppliers can register on the platform for free, as meet MNO demands on time. “China’s private tower past.
Is it easy to get a new tower built? For example, the “Urban Flower” sits at 25m, In the independent sector, average tenancy ratio for
can be integrated with lightning for the city and towers are around 1.2 to 1.5.
While China’s citizens once welcomed towers incorporate CTC’s logo and branding. It also has
and coverage, radiophobia and NIMBYism (not in a 40m tower suited for stadiums, large public What is the typical capital outlay for a new tower
my back yard) now exist in China. To combat the spaces, et cetera, that can be a landmark structure in China?
former, CTC has relied on a more concerted and with LED lights at the top. There is also a more
integrated effort from the government, operators, simple and sleek multi-purpose tower meant to be Of course much depends on the nature of the
and media to propagate educational messaging integrated with street lighting, sensors, data, and structure, but the average seems to be in a CNY ¥250-
around radiation, comparing tower emissions to analysis. 350,000 (US$37-51,800) range.
common household appliances. One supplier has
also mentioned having to move fast in getting a Around two thirds of China’s sites are GBTs What would be the impact of consolidation from
tower up and/or disguising the tower as some other (Ground Based Towers – mostly monopoles), the
three to two MNOs?
unrelated light pole or billboard. Towercos who other third are rooftops.
have good local government relations can often
Consolidation from three MNOs to two would
circumvent the issue also, as they are building with Approximately how many of China’s towers are
certainly lower the glass ceiling on prospective
their approval and support. currently shared? What are the tenancy ratios?
tenancy ratios in China, and would be value
destructive to both CTC and independent towercos.
In general though the environment in China is It is likely that not all tower assets in the CTC
conducive and favourable to tower building: there portfolio are currently shared. CTC was reported
While there has been rumor of MNO consolidation,
is a mature steel and metal processing industry; having shared 265,000 stock towers during
the government’s current strategy appears to be to
the grid is reliable and stable so downtime is 2015, achieving a sharing rate of 75%. Through
accelerate China Unicom and China Telecom’s 4G
insignificant, reducing opex; and the vendor September 2016, this increased to 502,000 towers,
rollout by providing access to China Mobile’s towers,
network is strong having supplied 1mn+ base representing a growth of 1.8x, and 81% sharing
stations already. Fibre is also used for backhaul so rate. However, these are not conventional “tenancy and in doing so start to even out the competitive
there is seldom need to accommodate microwave ratios” as over two-thirds of CTC’s asset register are imbalance.
dishes. not included in these “stock towers.”
If the creation of CTC does not have the desired
What is the mix of GBTs versus rooftops in China, Back in July, our sources suggest average tenancy effect in terms of competitive rebalancing, only then
and how has CTC affected tower design? ratio for CTC by year-end 2016 could be in the range would the issue of MNO consolidation return to the
of 1.15 to 1.35, given a lot of the legacy parallel agenda.
CTC has standardised tower designs, reportedly infrastructure, thus reducing the need for co-
from 1,000 down to 155 (each design at different location, plus not all new build has been completed. The scope of a China Unicom-China Telecom merger
heights would represent one). CTC also made an One recent industry report suggested a tenancy would likely be limited to their wireless businesses,
effort to introduce designs of different aesthetics, ratio of 1.29 in 2015, with projection to rise to 1.39 given that a combined entity would have 80-90%
functions, and heights to suit various environments. by 2016 year-end. share of the wireline market.
Are there any significant “non-traditional Telecommunications Infrastructure Co- It was also confirmed there is an escalator, “an
tenants” on China’s telecom towers? construction and Sharing Office” have the right inflation adjustment factor” which is common in
to define the pricing of lease rates? tower agreement contracts.
The usual mix of MVNO, enterprise industrial
communications equipment, traffic monitoring, No. In July 2016 CTC finalised its leasing and What type of co-sharing discounts are available
first responder networks and Wi-Fi equipment are pricing agreements with China Mobile, China for operators through CTC?
all prospective additional tenants. CTC has made Telecom, and China Unicom, which essentially
repeated mentions of business diversification and set the marketplace benchmark. The formula On new towers, a 20% discount will be applied for
innovation to include the likes of billboard ads, offers deeps discounts for co-location and covers sites shared by two lessees and a 30% discount for
sensors, weather monitoring, et cetera, so the acquired towers, newly constructed towers, indoor those shared among three lessees, with the first
opportunities are there given the size of its network. distribution systems, transmission products, and sole occupier (“anchor tenant”) benefitting from
service products. a further 5% discount. When it comes to site cost
Is there any prospect of active infrastructure and electricity, a co-sharing discount of 40% will be
sharing in China? This has put pressure on the independent towercos applied for two lessees and 50% for three lessees.
who can’t charge more than what CTC is charging, Again, the anchor tenant would enjoy an additional
The only infrastructure sharing agreement of scale especially for new towers, unless they are in highly 5% discount.
in China before CTC was China Telecom and China coveted locations. All pricing on previously signed
Unicom’s deep collaboration to improve economics contracts are still being honoured. For further details, please see our article “The
in low utilisation, remote areas. To date, the two implications of China Tower Corporation pricing.”
operators are said to be actively sharing 600,000 4G So while no government body or agency per se has
base stations and 14,500km of fibre transmission defined lease rates, CTC has markedly influenced What is the status of rural coverage in China?
network. industry pricing.
Despite the huge land area, rural coverage in
Regulation What is the pricing formula used by CTC? China may be better even than the US; even in
low population density areas of Tibet you will see
Are China’s independent towercos licensed? The formula to be used for “newly-added coverage signs.
telecommunications towers” is:
No, there is no licensing regime for towercos in How are tower companies taxed?
China, and no immediate prospect of a licensing Product price = base price × (1 – co-sharing discount
regime being introduced. One towerco recently rate 1) + (site cost + electricity input cost) × (1 – co- There was no reported special tax status for tower
confirmed this again based on notification from and sharing discount rate 2) companies in China.
communications with MIIT.
Base price = (standardised construction cost × (1 China fully implemented its VAT reform on 1 May
Does the Ministry of Industry and Information + impairment rate) + maintenance expense) × (1 + 2016 and replaced all business tax with the value-
Technology (MIIT), regulator or “National cost markup rate) useful lives of depreciation added tax (VAT).
The construction services sector’s new applicable “The MIIT, SASAC or the province vii. Sign exclusivity agreement with the third
VAT is 11% (general) and 3% (small-scale). telecommunication authorities will severely punish parties in the construction of telecommunications
the three basic telecom carriers, if the following infrastructure (including leasing)”
In terms of the sale and importation of goods, logistic behaviors were found. Basing on severity such
services, modern services, transportation, repair punishment could be recommended to upper Clause vii. above calls attention to the fact that
and processing services, asset leasing, the standard level unit to fire the related management. Such MNOs would appear to not have permission to
applicable rate is 17%, and 13% for some products. dismissed staff shall not be engaged within three sign exclusive agreements with third parties
years. (towercos), suggesting a degree of limitation on
State-owned enterprises have sometimes been deep build to suit partnerships.
affording special tax treatment, enabling them i. Without the approval of the provincial
to consolidate. There was no clear indication yet coordination agencies, construct towers and other Who owns the land under Chinese towers
whether this might apply to CTC. ancillary facilities, as well as IBS in public transport and on what basis is tenure granted to
and construction of buildings and other key areas infrastructure firms to build towers on that
Is document number 586 (2014) the latest land?
regulation governing co-construction and ii. Without the consent of the provincial
sharing? Is it now fully enforced? coordination agencies, refuse to open sharing when All land in China belongs to the government, but
the existing telecommunications infrastructure is “Land Use Rights” can be secured for a 15-year
This is the most recent document, and it has suitable for sharing term for industrial use, usually at a reasonable
been fully implemented. But document 586 is an cost. As renewal fees cannot be defined up front,
agreement not a regulation. It was proposed by iii. Without the approval of the provincial there is some exposure to risk of lease escalations
the MIIT and agreed with China’s three MNOs to coordination agencies, build parallel infrastructure when renewing after 15 years, but in general it
improve resource utilisation; reducing occupation was felt that escalations would be fair in a market
of land and improving the appearance of the iv. Independently build new infrastructure when where a State-owned Entity was dominant.
landscape. joint construction should be carried out
Above ground level, the telecom structures
A couple of excerpts from document 586 (please v. Violation of requirement of infrastructure themselves belonged to China’s MNOs and now
forgive any translation imperfections): sharing in key areas (key areas including key public belong to CTC, or they belong to the independent
“From January 1, 2015, in principle, the three basic transportation sites, key buildings, scenic parks and towerco.
telecom carriers shall no longer build towers and other places identified by local communications
other base facilities themselves, as well as IBS in administration, and inter-province key fiber Land lease fees could also differ from region to
subways, railways, highways, airports, railway cable construction, and the domestic extension of region, project by project. One towerco mentioned
stations and other public transportation key sites international transmission) not having to pay land fees in one city but paying
and large venues and multi-owner commercial by usage square footage in another. But this could
buildings, government office buildings and other key vi. Violate national standards on optical fiber “To- be more the case for street/highway projects,
sites.” Home” construction where lighting is incorporated into the tower.
China tower market end FY15 China tower market end FY16 China tower market forecast end FY17
20,000 45,000 80,000
1.3% 2.5% 4%
1,500,000 1,750,000 1,900,000

98.7% 97.5% 96.0%
CTC Independent Source: TowerXchange
How complete is the paperwork on China’s tower, the towerco would be compensated. In this with five to ten towercos in each of China’s 31
towers? particular case, the land belongs to the government, Provinces. There are currently 200+ towercos in
for public use. China.
It was widely acknowledged that not all the towers
in China, whether CTC or independently owned, had The permit follows, No. 40 of the Urban and Rural A lot of the independent towercos thrive on having
a complete set of licensing, permitting and leasing Planning Act, which grants construction rights. strong local government and/or operator relations,
paperwork. It appears to vary depending on the enabling them to build quicker than State-owned CTC.
local government and project. Independent tower market
At the end of 2014, China may have had as few as
We know of one region where the towerco has Who are the independent tower companies in 10-20 independent towercos owning ~5,000 towers.
a full set of papers stamped by the authorities, China? How much market share do they have? By the end of 2015, those numbers had increased
from meeting minutes with city planning officials How fast are they growing and what is the top to ~20,000 towers among as many as 200 towercos.
outlining project requirements, to construction end for their potential market share? Independent towercos built ~10% of China’s
permit, construction plan, et cetera. This was new towers in 2015, a proportion which bullish
described as “a tower’s most complete legal process With the exception of four or five towercos with commentators feel could reach 30% within a year.
and best protection.” This also means should the quadruple digit tower counts, China’s independent
government for whatever reason takes down a towerco market is highly fragmented and localised, It is axiomatic to say, but readers must be reminded
of the sheer scale of China; an independent tower One source suggested that Chinese towers with an a combined CNY ¥91.9bn (US$13.5bn) in cash. At
sector can still thrive even with less than 2% market average tenancy ratio of 1.5 were changing hands this phase, valuations were thought to be around
share. At the beginning of 2016 TowerXchange have for an average of CNY ¥450-500,000 each (US$65- CNY ¥214-230bn (US$32-34bn). In 2015 when China
spoken to a few bullish tower industry leaders who 70,000 each). Another source put the figure at CNY Reform Corporation injected cash for 6% share, this
feel the glass ceiling on the scale of the independent ¥700,000 (US$100,000) with a tenancy ratio of 2.0. A was valued around CNY ¥203bn (US$30bn). And now
tower sector in China could be as high as 20% within third source suggested a 51% stake in a portfolio of CTC is driving towards an IPO by the end of 2017,
five years – that could represent 400,000 towers, the several hundred towers with a tenancy ratio above reportedly with hopes to be valued at above CNY
equivalent scale of the entire tower market in the 2.0 had been acquired at a valuation again of CNY ¥270bn (US$40bn).
European Union! ¥700,000 (US$100,000) per tower.
All in all, while it may appear that the MNOs were
While there are independent towercos active in Guodong, which is probably China’s largest under-compensated for their towers, they also got
China’s largest cities, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, independent tower company secured a CNY ¥700mn equity in CTC that can then be “cashed in” when the
Guangzhou and Shenzhen, perhaps the highest (US$100mn) investment reportedly at a high teens world’s largest towerco IPOs.
penetration of independent towers can be found valuation they were very proud of.
in Provincial capitals, tier two and tier three Is China Tower Corporation a potential buyer of
cities in some of which TowerXchange has heard The transfer of China Mobile, China Unicom and independent tower companies’ towers?
unconfirmed reports that independent towercos China Telecom’s towers to CTC reportedly yielded
have a market share significantly in excess of 50%. an average of just US$22,000 per site, significantly At one point CTC were believed to have made an
below replacement cost. But an asset transfer offer to acquire Chinese towers at ~US$80,000 each.
However, a reality check is required now that CTC between entities all fundamentally State-owned Whether that valuation is still current remains
is in the full swing of tower building and leasing (and owned by each other) is a poor valuation unclear, and whether such a valuation may be
(it’s only really been operational since 2015), and benchmark. The low acquisition cost reflects the attractive to current owners depends on tenancy
perhaps flexing its muscle a bit. There are some depreciation of an inventory of ten plus year old ratio, TCF, and uniqueness of location.
reports of negative consequences for MNO staff towers, towers which were built to gain market
that gave contracts to independent towercos, and share and with less of a view toward longevity and At this point however, multiple sources have
reports of delays in payments to towercos. But structural capacity, so significant improvement confirmed CTC has not acquired any independent
there are still opportunities for smart and strategic capex will be required. The low price point also towercos or their assets.
towercos. While major coverage projects will likely reflects the mixed bag of assets being transferred,
be concluded in the next three to five years and less inclusive of everything from substantial ground There has been much talk of monopoly since the
new macro towers will be needed, difficult sites based towers, a great many monopoles, rooftops, creation of CTC, though our sources believe the Party
will always exist and the independents have the and even small Wi-Fi offload sites. is keen to encourage competition, and currently
flexibility to get the job done. CTC and the independent sector co-exist to serve the
What’s important to note also is that China Telecom market place.
Are there any valuation benchmarks set by received only equity as part of the deal, while China
towerco financing or tower sales? Mobile and China Unicom received both equity and Chairman of the Board at CTC, and China Mobile
executive, Liu Aili has also publicly acknowledged being taken on the independent tower sector, firms such as the Silk Road Fund and the Asian
the presence of independent towercos. “CTC is not appreciating the positive role of market forces in Infrastructure Investment Bank.
the exclusive provider of towers in China, there are setting a fair lease price, and appreciating that
200+ third-party companies building and operating the supplementary capacity and hunger of an We know of two independent Chinese towercos that
towers. Therefore CTC will be rejected by the market independent tower sector could accelerate the have been actively exploring the overseas market.
if it doesn’t deliver on low costs, good service, and achievement of the Ministry’s ultimate goals: For example, in October 2016, it was announced
competitive rental prices,” he said. to support efficient sharing of resources, and to Hong Kong-based Shining Star International
accelerate the rollout and adoption of 4G. Holdings Limited acquired Myanmar Infrastructure
While tower acquisitions are not completely out Group (MIG) for US$12.7mn. Shining Star’s business
of the picture, at this time, CTC is wholly focused “China is progressing and promoting spans real estate, hotel, tourism, education, property
on integrating assets and new builds to meet the entrepreneurship,” said one interviewee, with management, and more.
operator’s demands and prepare itself for an IPO in reference to the risk of asset seizure. “The China
2017. Dream as proposed by President Xi is built on an What are typical lease rates and terms in China?
open, competitive market.”
Is there a risk of State Nationalisation of Lease rates are a complicated formula based on
independent towers? Again, there has been public acknowledgement of height and weight of equipment, desirability of
the 200+ independent towercos and their role in location et cetera. At the beginning of year, most
Some sort of compulsory purchase order of building and operating towers, and providing value interviewees agreed that a range of CNY ¥4,500-
independently owned towers, at an unfavorable to the marketplace overall. 6,000 pcm was common (US$665-885). The lowest
valuation, or independent towercos simply we heard was CNY ¥3,500 pcm (US$515) in less
finding CTC building towers adjacent to theirs, Our sources also indicate that operators in some developed cities, rising to CNY ¥11,000 pcm in
is the Armageddon scenario for Chinese tower regions are quite friendly and favourable towards (US$1,625) on high rental cost sites in major cities.
entrepreneurs and their investors. independent towercos, as they are perceived to be
more efficient, provide faster service, and more However, the creation of CTC and the finalisation of
It must be acknowledged that nationalisation nimble in negotiating with local stakeholders. the pricing formula in July 2016 have put downward
of assets is a risk hanging over several thriving pressing pressure on the market.
independent tower markets in other nations. Is that Do China’s tower companies have much appetite
risk present in China? Yes. Did it seem like that was for International opportunities? On the independent side, rates are now between
a concern whilst the independent sector had a single CNY ¥2,300 pcm (US$340) to CNY ¥5,400 pcm
digit market share? No. China’s tower sector seems largely pre-occupied (US$800). Again, desirable and highly coveted sites
with their huge and changing domestic market. can still yield good rates. We were also told that
The impression TowerXchange got from the MIIT However, for the handful of Chinese towercos with the rate could also sometimes be higher if no one
was that, while their initial vision for CTC was appetite for opportunities overseas, capital may responds to an RFP.
to create a State-owned ‘natural monopoly’ to be accessed for opportunities within the ‘One Belt,
maximise efficiency, a pragmatic view was now One Road’ footprint through associated investment CTC lease rates are significantly lower than
anywhere else in the world, with estimates around U.S. versus China macro tower build economics
CNY ¥26,000 per tower on an annual basis or CNY
¥2,166 pcm (US$320). This figure is surprisingly low One tenant US Two tenants US One tenant China Two tenants China
and suggests a business model calibrated in favour of
Construction costs $275,000 - $44,000 -
the MNOs. Since the summer, another industry report
came out suggesting per tower leasing fee of around Tenant revenue $20,000 $50,000 $4,500 $7,200
CNY ¥3,900 pcm (US$575) for CTC in 2015, and CNY Opex $12,000 $13,000 $2,600 $3,000
¥3,000 pcm (US$445) for 2016.
Gross margin $8,000 $37,000 $1,900 $4,200
Like India, when additional tenants are added Gross margin % 40% 74% 42% 58%
to Chinese towers, existing tenants’ leases are
ROI 3% 13% 4.3% 9.5%
discounted.
Source: US illustration drawn from an American Tower presentation, June 2015; does not reflect any American Tower financial data.
China data from TowerXchange, based on our own research and reviewing the models of Goldman Sachs and others
Lease terms are typically 10+10 years.
MHz license and owns most of China’s broadcast companies in particular struggle with the fact that
Down payments for new sites have been reduced towers. TowerXchange have not yet been able to towers are not securable.
to a single year since the advent of CTC, adversely ascertain if these towers are offered for co-location
affecting independent towerco cash flows. by China’s MNOs. State and provincial level investment funds may not
be inclined to invest in entities which compete with
How do the economics of a single tower in China Investment State-owned CTC.
compare to the USA?
How can early stage towercos in China access Please explain the latest rules regarding foreign
See “U.S. versus China macro tower build economics.” capital? ownership of, or investment in, communications
Note that when an additional tenant is added, lease infrastructure?
rates are discounted for both the new and original China offers a challenging path to scale for local
tenant in China. This is not the case in the US. tower entrepreneurs. Raising debt from Provincial TowerXchange understand, but have been unable
financial institutions is complex, time consuming, to confirm, that passive infrastructure is not
We must emphasise that you must treat this table and expensive. While private, domestic investment considered a sensitive asset class, so FDI may be
with a pinch of sale – China data is averaged based on is gradually becoming more available to debt- possible into Chinese joint ventures, particularly
multiple sources but all sources are subjective. funded infrastructure firms with contracted long those in free trade areas, or through VIEs. We have
term cash flows, like towercos, Chinese capital heard unconfirmed reports of one foreign investor
Who owns China’s broadcast towers are MNOs co- markets have historically been predisposed to invest acquiring a 51% stake in a towerco.
locating on them too? only in profitable companies, at the expense of
business models like telecom towers that naturally An interested investor called attention to the
China Broadcasting and Media Group has the 700 lend themselves to a degree of leverage. Small tower VIE (Variable Interest Equity) structure, which
enables foreign investors to invest in sensitive the domestically listed entity, releasing capital at an stock exchange can only accept investment in CNY,
infrastructure, do investors still need to use this agreed exchange rate. meaning foreign investors would have to exit at the
or is more direct investment now permitted given time of listing, or setup a new entity. More recently
the recognition that passive infrastructure is less What are the potential exit strategies for it seems that qualified international investors can
sensitive? investors in Chinese towers? invest in companies listed on the Shanghai Stock
Exchange.
One TowerXchange source defined VIE as a As in any market, exit strategies tend to focus on
mechanism for foreign direct investment in China potential IPO or trade sale. There is one listed tower company on the Shenzhen
via an international holding company, a WOFE Stock Exchange, Beijing Miteno Communication
(Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise), in which USD, CTC may be a prospective trade sale counterpart, Technology Company Limited (300038), with at least
EUR or other currency could be invested, which although management is very much focused on one planning to list in Shanghai in 2016. It should be
could be registered in the Caymans, Delaware et new builds and improving operations in its bid to
noted that there is approximately a two-year wait to
cetera, and which could be listed on the NASDAQ or IPO in Q42017. At least one of the Indonesian tower
list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
other international stock exchange. companies is believed to have an appetite to invest
in China, while TowerXchange has learned of two
While the Shanghai Stock Exchange opens access
The VIE structure was apparently first used in this domestic rollup plays.
primarily to domestic investors, a listing, or dual
sector over 20 years ago to facilitate investment in
listing, on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange offers
China Unicom, with subsequent VIE investments in Could a major international strategic investor be
more exposure to international liquidity and
Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu. interested in acquiring Chinese towers? Probably
an increased level of transparency with which
not at the current scale of the independent market,
international investors are more comfortable. Most
A critical question when leveraging a WOFE to where the largest independent towerco just hit five-
of China’s large infrastructure entities are listed in
invest in China is where the IP sits, at holding digits tower count this year. But if an independent
Hong Kong.
company or local subsidiary level? If the latter, towerco could build or rollup 30-50,000 towers,
international investors could be exposed to risk. they may attract interest from some of the more
acquisitive international towercos. Most stakeholders TowerXchange spoke to assumed
“A VIE would be a viable but suboptimal route to a better valuation would be achieved on the
investing in a Chinese tower company,” said one When considering exit through IPO, the perception Shanghai Stock Exchange (“the P/E multiple in
interviewee. “Yes you can do it, but it may adversely remains that Chinese companies need three years Shanghai might be 30-50x compared to 10x in Hong
affect valuation.” of profitable trading history to list as an A-share Kong”), but there are precedents where higher
on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. There was some valuations were realised in Hong Kong (e.g. in the
What would foreign investors options be to suggestion that unprofitable companies might soon insurance industry), while the current appetite
repatriate capital? be allowed to list, but apparently that potential of international investors for towers as an asset
reform will not take place imminently. class, and the valuation of natural comps, may also
In the event a foreign investor was seeking exit from contribute to a potential healthy valuation of a tower
a listing entity, they might seek to sell their equity to Some sources suggested that entities listed on that company on the Hong Kong stock.
Will it be possible to invest in CTC? Is there a
plan to list China Tower Corporation on the stock
market in future?
It’s been made clear that CTC is driving towards

an IPO by the end of 2017 as a means of repaying
China’s three MNOs the full value of injected legacy
assets.
Speculation continues as to whether CTC will

list domestically as an A-share or open up to
international investment through a Hong Kong
listing. The lease and pricing formula announcement
in July and subsequent estimates on lease rates that Source: China Tower Corporation
are much lower than expected may suggest a leaning China has one of the world’s most reliable electicity RMS is deployed on some, not all cell sites. CTC is
towards the A-share option. However at this time, it grids. Unlike most countries, its supply exceeds considering making RMS a National standard.
remains inconclusive. demand.
Who is responsible for site modernisation and air
One analyst suggested around 30% of the equity in What backup power solutions are typically on conditioning, towercos or MNOs?
CTC could be floated. cell sites? Are towercos or MNOs responsible for
them? CTC is responsible for shelters and air conditioning.
Power
Towercos provide backup battery banks, typically While most new sites are built with outdoor
Are power costs passed through from China with 4-8 hours float. Most batteries are lead-acid. equipment, few legacy sites have been modernised
Tower Corporation to the MNOs? There are very few backup DGs. with, for example, free cooling.
According to the finalised pricing formula in July CTC is also recycling the battery from electric Is there distributed renewal energy in China?
2016, electricity input cost is part of the “product vehicles for site usage. Compared to lead-acid
price,” aka lease rate to the operators. It is to be batteries, they are described as withstanding up to In September 2016 CTC reported having 10,177 solar
priced on a lump sum or itemised basis. 60 degrees Celsius versus 35 degrees, is half the size and wind generation sites across the country, with
and weight, and rechargeable up to no less than 500 annual capacity of 120mn kwH.
What proportion of the cell sites are on-grid, on times versus 300 times.
unreliable grids or off grid? There is also news that CTC has plans to deploy
Are remote monitoring systems typically solar on a large scale in line with the government’s
Almost all sites are on-grid. Multiple sources confirm deployed on cell sites? objectives in reducing carbon emissions
The implications of China
Lease agreement details
The terms of the lease agreement are for a five-year
Tower Corporation pricing term covering:

1) Acquired towers
Scale of discounts offered to incentivise co-location makes the Chinese tower market unique 2) Newly constructed towers
3) Indoor distribution systems
4) Transmission products
On 8 July, 2016, the world’s largest towerco,
5) Service products
China Tower Corporation (CTC) finalised its
leasing and pricing agreements with China
Pricing formula
Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom.
The agreement outlined a pricing formula The pricing formula takes into account factors such
that offers deep discounts for co-locations. as standardised construction costs, depreciation,
We dive into the details of the agreement plus maintenance expense, cost markup, and co-sharing
offer a look at what the pricing formula means discounts. The formula to be used for “newly-added
to the operators and the other independent telecommunications towers” is:
towercos. (Yes, there are independent
Product price = base price × (1 – co-sharing discount
towercos in China!)
rate 1) + (site cost + electricity input cost) × (1 – co-
sharing discount rate 2)
Keywords: Business Model, China, China
Mobile, China Telecom, China Tower Base price = (standardised construction cost × (1 +
Corporation, China Unicom, Co-locations, impairment rate) + maintenance expense) × (1 + cost
Infrastructure Sharing, Lease Rates, Market markup rate) useful lives of depreciation
Overview, Tower Count
Due to the variance in construction costs across
different geographical areas in China, the 31
Read this article to learn: provinces are divided into four categories with a
< Details of CTC’s leasing agreement with operators different adjustment rate for each. The impairment
< Pricing formula and specific discounts offered for new build towers rate and cost mark up rate are fixed at 2% and 15%
< Implications for China’s mobile operators respectively. The maintenance expense is to be
< Implications for China’s independent towercos adjusted based on the final actual price. The site
cost and electricity input cost are either priced on a
< Estimated range of baseline pricing per tower
lump sum or itemised basis.
Co-sharing discount rates widespread co-location, with an estimated 10% cut in not for the actual number of towers.
costs for China Telecom and 5-10% for China Unicom,
On new towers, a 20% discount will be applied for according to a report by Nomura International. CTC also revealed that it delivered on 485,000 out
sites shared by two lessees and a 30% discount for of 584,000 tower-related requests from the three
those shared among three lessees, with the first With lower rental fees from the operators, this operators in 2015. As of June 2016, CTC fulfilled
sole occupier (“anchor tenant”) benefitting from agreement means CTC would need to improve 885,000 of 1mn requests overall.
a further 5% discount. When it comes to site cost operational efficiency and drive down opex as it aims
and electricity, a co-sharing discount of 40% will be for an IPO in 2017. Our sources suggest average tenancy ratio for CTC
applied for two lessees and 50% for three lessees. by year-end 2016 could be in the range of 1.15
Again, the anchor tenant would enjoy an additional “We expect China Mobile, China Unicom, and China to 1.35, given a lot of the old infrastructure was
5% discount. Telecom will enjoy CNY 2.4 bn, 1.9 bn, and 1.8 bn overlapping thus reducing the need for co-location,
leasing cost savings, which will boost their FY16F plus not all new build has been completed.
What does this mean for the operators? EBITDA by 1%, 2%, and 2% respectively,” said
Leping Huang, Executive Director of China Telecom In the independent sector, average tenancy ratios
On the one hand operators benefit by paying less and Technology Research at Nomura. Also, as this are around 1.4 to 1.5. Prior to CTC pricing being
rental fees as CTC takes in less revenue, but at the agreement is retroactive, the leasing fees and losses released, average lease rates were roughly CNY
end of the day China Mobile, China Unicom, and from last year would need to be adjusted, though this ¥4166pcm (US$625) per lessee, based on two MNOs
China Telecom all have stakes in CTC, at 38%, 28.1%, is not expected to have much impact on the three co-locating.
and 27.9% respectively. operators’ 2015 earnings, said Huang.
CTC lease rates are significantly lower than
Back in March 2016, the Chairman of China Mobile, What can we deduce from pricing figures? anywhere else in the world, with estimates around
Shang Bing disclosed that during November to CNY ¥26,000 per tower on an annual basis or CNY
December 2015, China Mobile paid rental fees of Previously, none of the operators nor CTC have ¥2166 pcm (US$325). This figure is surprisingly low
CNY 5.6 bn to CTC. He also indicated then that early disclosed the actual number of towers in existence in and suggests a business model calibrated in favour
estimates of 2016 fees would be approximately China, possibly because they didn’t yet know as huge of the MNOs, leading one to question the impact on
CNY 35 bn. Local news media Sina also quoted Xue asset registers are still being reconciled and networks its future valuation as CTC gears up for an IPO.
Taohai, the company’s Vice President and Chief integrated. However, on 22 July, to celebrate its two-
Financial Officer as saying that while initial rental year anniversary, CTC released figures stating that Speculation continues as to whether CTC will
fees are similar to opex, as tower ratios increase, the up to the end of April 2016, it was responsible for list domestically as an A-share or open up to
costs are expected to decrease. operating 1.55mn sites, which we believe includes international investment through a Hong Kong
macro towers, rooftops, and IBS. listing. This latest pricing announcement suggests
Compared to the last iteration, this new, finalised a leaning towards the A-share option, but no final
agreement allows all three operators to enjoy Nomura estimates there were just under 2mn towers decision has yet been reached.
reduced rental costs when the newly engendered leased at the end of 2015 by all three operators.
culture of infrastructure sharing encourages Though note this is just a proxy for total tenancies, No doubt international investors are keeping an
eye on the space, but the latest pricing formula and
CTC by the numbers lease rate estimates are raising eyebrows: will CTC be
a profit centre or a cost centre? Is this simply a balance
sheet re-engineering exercise, to take the costs off the
MNOs? Or can CTC generate value through efficiencies?
CNY While it’s too early to reach any conclusions, the

1.55mn sites
¥2,166 CNY15bn
government seems keen to expand the scope of CTC
in the future. The latest news mentioned potentially
As of 30 April, 2016
Estimated total having sensors on the towers to help provide traffic
pcm lease revenue and environmental data; adding and monetising LED
billboards through advertising sales; and playing a role
Estimated lease rate in Q1 2016 in electric vehicle charging stations.
What does this mean for the other independent

Shareholders... ...Compared to MNOs own-build, towercos?
6% infrastructure sharing savings in 2015:
The word on the street is that the three operators are
still keen to engage with other independent towercos,
27.9% 38% 265,000 sites especially as CTC cannot currently keep up with
demand for new build in all provinces. The formation
of CTC means the operators are not allowed to build
CNY50bn their own towers anymore.
28.1% of investment China being such a large country, it has a lot of

local tower builders serving various regional areas.
China Mobile 13,000 acres of land Their existing contracts with the operators largely
China Unicom remain intact. However, there is a sense of pricing
China Telecom pressure moving forward now the biggest player has
China Reform Corporation set a downwardly revised marketplace benchmark,
apparently after a review of what the other
2 Years in
operation
1.15 - 1.35
Estimated tenancy ratio year end 2016
~US$25bn
Valuation during
last funding round
independent towercos were charging. But China’s
myriad of ~200 independent towercos can still play a
role – as long as their pricing is kept just below what
CTC is offering
What and how China Tower
Platform overview
CTC was created under the philosophy of “change,
Corporation buys innovation, and open cooperation.” In keeping

with this focus and recent e-commerce trends, and
China Tower spends CNY ¥24.8bn in 13 months with 417 suppliers through motivated by the drive to maximise the benefits of
shared economics, CTC built a new procurement
innovative online procurement platform, increasing transparency and efficiency
model known as the Tower Online Platform. By
hosting all required operational resources and
The Tower Online Platform officially launched in services on the platform, it allows for centralised
the summer of 2015, one year after the creation of control, layered implementation, frontline ordering,
China Tower Corporation (CTC). As of 5 September, unified payment processing, increased speed and
2016, there are 723 suppliers officially registered efficiency, and transparency to drive the health of
in the system, with 74% having been shortlisted the industry.
and 58% having successfully received purchase
orders; spending reached CNY ¥26bn. With 27 In a presentation in 2015, CTC highlighted
major product and five major service categories, seven mechanisms for the success of the online
and continued demand for new sites from three platform:
operators, efficient, streamlined procurement
will continue to play a major role. Read on for a 1. Platform operation and protection
comprehensive guide on this unique procurement (平台运作和保障机制)
model, created by the world’s largest towerco to 2. Supplier evaluation (供应商评价机制)
drive supply chain efficiency. 3. Dynamic, interactive operation (动态运营机制)
4. Price control (价格管控机制)
5. Quality assurance (质量保障机制)
Keywords: Asia Insights, Batteries, CTC, Capex, China, China Tower Corporation, Editorial, Energy,
6. Supplier and/or product exit (淘汰退出机制)
Insights, Lithium,Masts & Towers, Passive Equipment, Procurement, Spare Parts, Tower Online Platform 7. Information security (信息安全机制)
By bringing procurement online, CTC created a

Read this article to learn: platform that it describes as business-to-business
< How China Tower’s online procurement platform works (B2B) and online to offline (O2O).
< How a supplier can be registered on the platform
< China Tower’s procurement spend Pilot testing of the platform began in June 2015
< Product and service categories in the system across seven provinces. After user and partner
< How suppliers are evaluated and rated feedback, it became fully operational in August.
According to a letter addressed to partners in July
Tower Online Platform transactions by month Source: TowerXchange
2016, CTC noted the platform to be generally well
received by its 377 branch offices across the country
July 79.4 during its first year of operation. It also disclosed
having eight procurement management staff at
August 8,168 headquarters and just under 500 full-time and part-
September 21,425 time procurement personnel across the country.
2015
October 42,969 Transactions to date

November 85,723
The first transaction through the Tower Online
December 223,216 Platform was recorded on 15 July, 2015.
Total of
As of 18 September, 2015, within the first few
January 130,572 13 months: months of operation, the site processed 2,292
¥24.8bn orders, resulting in 7,434 product items purchased
February 99,002
at a value of CNY ¥170mn. This initial round of
March 283,274 procurement involved 396 suppliers. Registered
suppliers at this point totaled 644.
2016
April 358,496
May 410,227 One year later, orders executed on the platform

have been reported at 2mn, with over CNY ¥26bn in
June 368,359 transaction value. While from the perspective of the
three operators this number wouldn’t be considered
July 399,711
significant since they were used to spending CNY
¥200bn annually, for a towerco it was still quite
CNY ¥ (10,000s) 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 substantial, said CTC vice president Dong Xiao
Zhuang at a presentation in Beijing in September.
Spending in the first few months of the platform
31st August 2015 5th September 2016 going live climbed steadily, followed by a noticeable
drop in the first two months of 2016. This downturn
in activities was attributed to the Chinese New Year
Registered suppliers 260 723 holiday and operators being preoccupied with year-
end reviews, and therefore a drop in tower-related
Shortlisted 203 534 requests. Procurement picked up in March again,
hitting a peak in May.
Recieved orders 81 417
In total, purchases made through the Tower Online
Platform represent 60% of CTC’s total spend. Dong < Shelter (基站机房) 2) Registration with the State Administration for
stressed this is cumulative since the platform < Cable/fiber (光缆) Industry and Commerce of the People’s Republic of
launched, however, if tracking just from January < iDAS (室分产品) China (SAIC)
2016, 80% of total spend is undertaken through < Engineering design and supervision
the online procurement platform. He accounts the (工程设计和监理) 3) Successful third-party audit, such as by the
slower uptake at the beginning due to doubts by < Construction (施工) Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of
some provincial offices and inability to keep up < Other ancillary equipment (其他配套设备) the People’s Republic of China (MIIT)
with some of the urgent operator build demand last
year. Editorial note: What’s listed in bracket is sourced One source we spoke to mentioned increasing
straight from CTC. pressure on the supplier side as CTC is now the
Product and service categories main and only client compared to the past with
There are said to be over 2,400 product types in the the three operators. A lot of smaller players for
The first group of products to be procured online system right now. one reason or another are not on the platform and
were monopoles (单管塔), non-monopoles (非单管
instead, work through those that are and act as sub-
塔), and integrated cabinets (配套综合柜). The next
CTC believes the online procurement platform contractors.
phase brought on 13 more product categories, with
can close the gap between supply and demand,
more following since.
tighten the trading chain, reduce process costs, Platform operations
and ultimately bring greater economic and social
Today the platform boasts 27 major supplier and
benefits to the industry supply chain. Breaking through boundaries of information,
five major service categories including:
marketplace, and time, the online platform allows
Supplier certification and registration direct interaction between supply and demand.
< Tower (铁塔)
< Integrated cabinet (配套综合柜)
As of 5 September, 2016, there are 723 suppliers CTC describes the procurement process as a closed-
< Battery (蓄电池)
in the system, with 534 having been shortlisted by loop:
< Air conditioning (空调)
< iDAS antenna (室分天线) CTC provincial offices, and 417 having successfully
< Power cable (电力电缆) received purchase orders. 1. Centralised quality assurance: After certification,
< Distribution cabinet (配电箱柜) product and service suppliers set up a virtual store
< Generator (油机) Over 95% of the registered suppliers are said to be on the platform, publishing key information related
< Point of Interface (POI) private enterprises. to qualification, product information, pricing,
< Passive devices (无源器件) service, and more.
< Leaky coaxial cable (漏缆) Registration on the CTC platform is free, as long as
< Switching power supply (开关电源) the supplier meets the following criteria: 2. Layered process of ordering: Provincial offices
< Field survey unit (FSU) can leverage the information provided on the
< Feeders (馈线) 1) Hold valid manufacturing license in China (for platform, then take into account any local factors to
< Fiber jumper (光缆跳纤) product providers) select their desired suppliers.
3. Frontline staff participation: In consultation with was described as akin to buying on Taobao, the < Delivery cycle commitment (供货周期承诺)
city offices, frontline staff are directly involved with Chinese online shopping website similar to eBay < Engineering service capability (工程服务能力)
procurement; everything is on-demand and in real- and Amazon, where once you place the order, there < Fault response system (故障响应体系)
time. is mutual trust between the buyer and the seller on < Spare product and parts inventory
the legitimacy and activation of the order. (备品备件库设置)
4. Material distribution to site: Products are < Logistics capabilities (物流能力)
delivered directly to point of installation. Supplier evaluation and exit < Timeliness of delivery evaluation
(到货及时性评价)
The platform fully embraces a key feature of online
5. Unified payment system: All purchases on the < Post-engineering service evaluation
buying platforms, which is the star-rating and
platform are paid out through head office. (工程服务后评价)
commenting system. Within the context of local
environmental factors and service capabilities, As of the beginning of September 2016, a total of 407
6. Full transparency: All information related to
suppliers are rated against pricing, product, and suppliers have delivered on their orders, receiving
suppliers, product pricing, sales volume, supply,
service. average ratings of 4.72 stars out of five.
post-evaluation, et cetera are all available on the
platform, allowing for full monitoring, disclosure, In a presentation last year, CTC outlined some of Tied to the concept of supplier evaluation is the
and feedback of the various units, procurement its evaluation factors. All three categories are rated notion of “survival of the fittest” and healthy
process, and results. against five stars. competition, which in theory could lead to the
exit of a supplier and/or product at a certain point
The system allows frontline staff to do real-time Pricing
in time. CTC identifies three ways as part of its
comparisons across the whole of the market place. < Five stars = preferred (优选)
elimination/exit framework.
< Four stars = should choose (宜选)
Through the platform, for any given tower, any staff < Three stars = optional (可选) 1) Product removal: This is defined as a product
at CTC would be able to see who made the purchase, < Two stars = alternative (备选) not meeting new technology and/or business
from which manufacturer, at what cost, plus < One star = limited (限选) requirements or product quality testing not meeting
comments and ratings on product quality, delivery,
technology and/or business requirements.
service, et cetera. This level of transparency is said Product
to decrease the risk of corruption. < Raw material inspection (原材料进厂检测) 2) Self-removal: This is when a registered supplier
< Factory inspection (成品出厂检测) is no longer offering products and/or services for its
It also means there is greater clarity on purchasing < Selection test (选型检测) own reasons.
decisions made across different business units and < Unannounced inspection (飞行检测)
offices across the country. < Arrival quality evaluation (到货质量评价) 3) Forced removal: This is defined as a registered
< Post-product quality evaluation supplier committing acts against the law and/or
Also, unlike before, frontline staff can now make (产品质量后评价) fraud; breach of contract in relation to quality,
purchase orders. Once the order is placed by the supply, service, et cetera resulting in serious
technical staff, it represents a contract, whereby the Service consequences; continued and long-term poor
signing of paperwork is no longer required. This < Post-sale service channels (售后服务机构设置) evaluation ratings on the platform.
citing the cost to manufacture has been very
competitive in the past year, given the price of steel
had been on the decline since October 2015, going
as low as ¥1,840 per ton. In December, prices clearly
went back up, potentially due to governmental
influence. Nonetheless, supplier prices increased
accordingly, but still lower than the rate of increase
for raw materials. Given this, CTC feels the prices
inputted by suppliers into its platform have been
very reasonable.
Out of the 700+ suppliers registered with CTC, one

of our sources approximates over 200 to be tower
manufacturers.
Pricing for non-monopole and lithium batteries

continue to come down gradually. Though this is
not believed to be the result of suppliers negatively
bidding like in an RFP situation where the baseline
is not always known.
CTC believes the online platform allows for natural

price adjustment based on market dynamics.
Accounts payable
Online platform The first year of the platform inevitably brought

Pricing To illustrate the marketplace nature of the platform, some hiccups. In its partner letter in July 2016,
CTC shared a few charts on the pricing movement one year after the platform going live, CTC
All product pricing on the platform is visible to for monopole, non-monopole, switching power acknowledged issues regarding payments, which it
internal and external parties through searches. supply, and lithium batteries over the course of took seriously and acted swiftly with measures to
Suppliers are free to list prices as they wish and seven to ten months. Unfortunately, no actual or address the matter.
CTC does not ask for pricing discounts. This level relative pricing figures were given on the y-axis.
of transparency enables suppliers to act in a This includes the integration of the online
“reasonable manner.” Nonetheless, CTC uses monopoles as an example, procurement platform with a financial system
which simplified the overall process and therefore
increased efficiency.
CTC also introduced another first, where once the

See you at our future events!
order arrives and is inspected and accounted for,
it automatically enters into the payment cycle,
reducing human intervention and expediting
payment. This negates the partial payment cycles
of the past where collection is still needed post
Meetup Meet up
Europe 2017
order completion.
In addition, CTC has increased payments from once

Americas 2017
a month to twice a month.
5-6 April, 7-8 June,
In theory, most accounts are paid within two London Boca Raton
months of order fulfillment.
When it comes to long-term funded projects with

longer payment cycles, the provincial unit would
coordinate with China Development Bank to
manage the process.
Future
Meetup Africa Meetup Asia
It’s clear CTC is keen to drive as much procurement 2017 2017
as possible through its Tower Online Platform.
What would be interesting moving forward is to 3-4 October, 12-13 Decemeber,
1) see what new product categories will get added,
particularly as CTC has repeatedly made mentions Johannesburg Singapore
of business model diversification and innovation
to include things like billboard ads, sensors,
weather and environmental monitoring, et cetera,
2) the number of suppliers that get registered,
shortlisted, and awarded orders, and 3) product www.towerxchange.com
pricing patterns give the transparent nature of the
platform
The history of the Indian
India’s first mobile phone call was made in July
1995, but the growth of the Indian telecoms market
tower industry
was initially slow due to high license fees. The pace
of rollout dramatically accelerated in 1999 when
the government made a forward-looking shift
An examination of the growth of infrastructure sharing in India and its role in from fixed license fees to a revenue share regime.
providing connectivity in the world’s second largest telecoms market With the fixed license fee frozen and thereafter a
percentage of revenue shared with the government,
In 2007, India’s first mobile networks were hosted on around operators were able to pay license fees from their
100,000 telecom towers, considerably less than the current tower revenues.
count of over 450,000. Over the past nine years, operators and
independent tower companies have built an average of almost The next challenge faced by the operators was
40,000 new towers per year and, as a result, telecom coverage building enough infrastructure to achieve all-
now extends to 90% of India’s geography. India is one of the few India coverage. Due to India’s vast geography, this
countries in the world with an average of two tenants per telecom required a portfolio of at least 45,000 towers, and
tower - and the efficient sharing of towers, facilitated by neutral, a huge capital outlay. At this time an individual
non-discriminatory tower companies who now own 69% of India’s site cost US$200,00, and towers represented 70%
towers, has been critical to the growth of telecommunications and of network costs. As a result, no operators had all
By Ian Ferguson, Head of TowerXchange Asia
the associated positive impact on economic growth. India coverage.
Keywords: 3G, 4G, American Tower, Ascend Telecom, Asia, Asia Research, Bharti Infratel, Brookfield India’s Telecom Infrastructure Industry
Asset Management, Capex, Construction, Hutchison, IDEA Cellular, India, Indus Towers, Investors, came into existence when the Department of
M&A, Market Overview, MNOs, Opex Reduction, Quippo, Regulation, Reliance Communications, Telecommunications invited applications for
Reliance Infratel, Research, SREI, TAIPA, Tata, Tillman Global Holdings, Towercos, Tower Vision, IP-I and IP-II registrations in the year 2000. The
TowerXchange Research, Viom Networks, Vodafone India registration certificate of IP-I states: “Registered
IP-I to establish and maintain assets such as dark
fibre, Right of Way, Duct Space and Towers for
Read this article to learn: the purpose to grant on lease/rent/sale basis to
< The role of the tower industry in expanding Indian telecoms infrastructure from 100,000 to 450,000 the Licensees of Telecom Services licensed under
towers in nine years section 4 of Indian Telegraph Act, 1885”
< Tracking the growth of each of India’s top six tower companies
< The prevalence of operator-led towercos in the Indian market The first infrastructure sharing agreements took
< The current status of the Indian tower market and predictions for the future growth place in 1999-2000 after the formation of the COAI
(Cellular Operators Association of India), but were
limited to carefully controlled, tower-for-tower Indian towerco tower counts 2009-16
exchanges known as barters or swaps, with each
300,000
operator sharing the same number of assets, and
no money changing hands. With cellular operators
cautious of trusting one another sufficiently to 250,000
embrace deep tower sharing partnerships, the
limited scope of these barters meant they generated
150,000
negligible efficiencies.
The first tower sharing breakthrough happened in 100,000

2005 when operator Spice approached Quippo, the
equipment leasing firm of SREI, to start building
the first independent infrastructure: 50 towers in 50,000
Punjab, to be paid for by a rental fee for tenants, the
first of which would be Spice. The rental fee was
to be lowered by adding more tenants, and before 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Q1 2016 Q2 2016
long the second and third tenants, Hutchison and
Indus Towers Reliance Infratel Quippo-WTTIL / Viom Networks Bharti Infratel
Bharti Airtel were on board. Quippo SREI benefitted
GTL Infrastructure American Tower Tower Vision ITIL Ascend Telecom
from increased rental fees from multiple tenants,
and the operators benefitted from lower rental *The Reliance Infratel tower count is not consistently disclosed Sources: TowerXchange Research, TAIPA, Company Reports
fees, and most importantly access to towers without

having to build and maintain them. Q1 2009 Q1 2010 Q1 2011 Q1 2012 Q1 2013 Q1 2014 Q1 2015 Q1 2016 Q2 2016
Indus Towers 95,154 102,938 108,586 109,325 111,819 113,008 115,942 119,881 120,739
The success of this first venture led to the creation Reliance Infratel 48,000 49,300 50,000 50,000 50,000 43,379 43,379* 43,379* 43,379*
of “Project MOST” (Multi Operator Shared Bharti Infratel 27,548 30,568 32,792 33,147 35,119 35,905 37,196 38,458 38,642
Towers) in cooperation with the Union Ministry Quippo-WTTIL / 36,000 37,250* 38,500 39,250* 41,000* 41,600* 42,200* 42,200 Sold
of Urban Affairs and Ministry of Communications, Viom Networks to AMT
Government of India, 2006-7. American Tower 2,600 7,700 8,801 9,301 10,690 11,956 13,289 15,361 58,130
GTL Infrastructure 9,411 12,456 32,650 32,578 29,432 27,839 27,839* 27,839* 27,839*
Meanwhile UK private equity investors the
Tower Vision 3,000 4,550* 6,102 8,275 8,400 8,400 8,400 8,400 8,400
Ashmore Group and some partners from Israel
ITIL 1,686 2,160 2,542 2,574 Merged with Ascend
started Tower Vision, India’s second independent
Ascend Telecom 450 983 1,021 1,290 4,083 4,173 4,366 4,873 5,200
towerco, which had sites in Karnataka. Tower
Vision also engaged in tower sharing with Spice. * Estimate Source: TowerXchange Research, TAIPA, Company Reports
Tower ownership in India in 2008 Tower ownership in India in 2016
Source: Frost & Sullivan Research 2008, TAIPA Sources: TowerXchange Research, TAIPA, PwC
Indus Towers
314 15,000
10,000
5,000 American Tower
8,000 RITL
9,600
Indus Towers Bharti Infratel
Essar 120,739 GTL Infrastructure

61,500 70,000 14,421 Tower Vision
Quippo
RITL Ascend
25,000
Bharti Infratel BSNL
GTL Infrastructure Reliance Jio
Tower Vision Reliance

2,250
700 Other independent towercos 65,000 58,130 IDEA Cellular
20,000 3,330
6,010 23,500 Vodafone India
3,100 Operator captive
5,200 Bharti Airtel
8,400 27,839 MTNL
43,379
38,642 MTS
Others
By now the concept of infrastructure sharing in late 2006. Bharti Airtel also partnered with on managing the portfolio and decommissioning
had really caught on: “We realised that operators Hutchison and Idea to set up their own towerco overlapping sites. Between 2006 and 2008, Quippo
were fundamentally ill-suited to manage passive by pooling their existing tower assets. Indus grew from those initial 50 towers to 5,000 towers
infrastructure efficiently, said Akhil Gupta, Towers, the world’s first joint venture towerco through acquisitions and organic growth, and
Chairman of Bharti Infratel. “The other reason was conceived in 2006, and had a major impact achieved a tenancy ratio of over 2.5.
of course was that we felt that this infrastructure from 2007-08, with 70,000 towers from day one.
would need to be shared extensively amongst As a 100% shareholder-owned entity, it was quite After the partners in Indus Towers brought to
operators to reduce cost, especially in low tariff distinct from Quippo, which was 100% non- market their 70,000 towers, Reliance and Tata
countries like India, which was possible only with operator owned. While Indus was larger in volume, followed suit. Reliance hived off assets into their
independent towercos.” almost all their initial tenants were internal and own 100% owned towerco, while Tata Teleservices
there was limited external marketing of the towers hived off their assets into 100% owned WTTIL.
Bharti Airtel carved its own towerco, Bharti Infratel for three or four years, allowing them to focus However, WTTIL invited the participation of
Timeline of the Indian tower industry
2000 2000 2005 2006 2006 2007 2007 2008
The Indian The COAI (Cellular Quippo-SREI Bharti Infratel GTL Infrastructure Indus Towers, a joint RCom and Tata hive TAIPA (Tower and
government lays down Operator’s becomes the first is established IPO venture between Bharti off their towers into Infrastructure
the framework for Association of independent Airtel, Hutchison (now separate towercos Provider’s
infrastructure sharing India) is formed towerco Vodafone) and Idea is Association) is
with the creation of founded founded
IP-I registrations
2009 2009 2010 2010 2010 2013 2013 2013 2014-5 2016
Viom Networks American Tower Having completed GTL American ITIL and Government Bharti Infratel A total of over 440 Deal flow
builds 16,000 Corporation integration Infrastructure Tower buys Ascend restructures IPO values the MHz of spectrum is resumes with
towers in a enters the Indian with WTTL and buys 17,500 Essar Telecom Telecom the telecom company at auctioned, stimulating acquisition of
single year, a market, buys Tata’s tower towers from Infrastructure merger industry US$7.6bn (which 3G and later 4G network Viom Networks
record for the XCEL Telecom business, Quippo- Aircel for and their and cancels has risen to over overlays, adding by American
tower industry, and Transcend WTTL becomes US$1.8bn 4,450 towers 122 MNO US$10bn today) considerable loading to Tower
primarily for Infrastructure Viom Networks for US$432mn licenses India’s towers
Uninor Source: TowerXchange
another towerco to manage and run the entity; committees: Energy including renewable sources, Infrastructure, is backed by private equity company
Quippo bid for and won the rights to merge their Finance, Legal issues, Regulatory and Operations New Silk Route and was incorporated in 2002.
13,000 towers. The Tata-Quippo joint venture which includes interactions with the telecom Ascend merged with India Telecom Infra (ITIL), a
portfolio grew to 18,000 towers, and would later service providers, incumbents as well as new joint venture between TVS Interconnect Systems
become Viom Networks. operators. TAIPA draws on the expertise of its (TVSICS) and Infrastructure Leasing and Financing
members to identify key common issues facing Services (ILFS) in 2011.
To further promote tower sharing, TAIPA, the towercos, and works with the government to
Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association address them. The first international and independent towerco,
was formed in 2008 to promote tower and American Tower Corporation, entered the Indian
energy management used to support cellular Another independent player in the Indian market, market in 2009 with the acquisition of XCEL
communication. TAIPA works through five Ascend Telecom, formerly known as Aster Telecom with its 1,730 towers, and Transcend
each other, Tata Teleservices and Uninor were
The cautionary tale of GTL Infrastructure able to become all-India operators. Our work with
GTL Infrastructure are continuing to do a great job managing 27,839 important towers with a tenancy Uninor gave Quippo the opportunity to rollout
ratio of 1.7; some very talented people work at GTL Infrastructure, and the company continues to play 16,000 towers in a single year – a world record in
an important role in the Indian telecoms infrastructure ecosystem. But it would be remiss if we were its own right for the sheer scale of deployment
to neglect to share some lessons which GTL and their shareholders have learned the hard way. across a massive geography like India.” Despite this
unprecedented rollout,fierce competition among
Founded in 2004, GTL Infrastructure listed on the stock market in 2006, debuting at a share price of carriers, often relying on cut-throat offers to attract
Rs 39.95, with a market cap of US3.1bn. In the heyday of the Indian MNO goldrush, GTL’s stock was subscribers, created considerable instability in the
trading at just under Rs 100. The company had raised US$1.8bn to rollout a portfolio of 23,700 towers, Indian market.
which they supplemented with the acquisition of 17,500 Aircel towers, with 21,000 tenants, for a
further US$1.8bn. At the time, GTL was the largest independent tower company in the world. All of this changed in 2012 when the Indian
government restructured the telecoms industry and
However, much of the value in the Aircel deal was derived from future cash flows derived from a
revisited a large number of licenses that had been
planned further 20,000 tenancies. The 2012 MNO market restructuring meant Aircel was unable
previously awarded, resulting in the cancellation
to honour its commitments. The timing was disastrous for GTL, who had placed orders and paid
of over a hundred operator licenses. The number
advances for towers and other equipment, and had to short close their commitment to vendors. The
of licensed mobile network operators in each Circle
company ran up substantial debts, and the net worth of GTL was fully eroded: you can buy a share
dropped from an average of eleven to the five that
today for a couple of rupees. The company still turns over in excess of US$500mn per annum, and has
currently hold 85% market share, which had a
assets worth around US$3bn, but GTL Infrastructure;s market cap is currently around US$80mn.
direct impact on the towercos.
GTL has implemented a turnaround plan. 3G and 4G overlays and bringing welcome loading revenue,
and the company has struck an innovative deal with Intelligent Energy to take over the power “While the cancellation of 122 licenses had put the
equipment on their sites telecom industry in India on a stand-still mode
with lot of uncertainty, the tower industry also
Infrastructure with its 327 towers. This was several decided that the only way for faster rollout faced a huge brunt with companies like us facing a
followed by the acquisition of Essar Telecom’s was to launch through independent towercos who setback of close to 15,000 tenancies,” Former Viom
4,450 towers in 2010, which gave American Tower would provide them with an existing platform and Networks President Umang Das told TowerXchange.
a considerable footprint in India which it has due focus as customer clients. In particular, Uninor, “As a company, we decide to sit back and re-
continued to expand through organic and inorganic Telenor’s Indian opco, became the only company strategize the way business should be done and
growth. to proudly proclaim that they didn’t invest a dime resultantly, we managed to record our maiden
in building their own towers. (Quippo, later known profit in one of the most difficult periods in the
We’ll let former Viom Networks President Umang as Viom Networks) were able to share the roll-out year 2012. The loss of all those tenancies helped
Das take up the narrative: “Another seven or eight between Uninor and Tata Teleservices and provided us focus on cash flow, on reducing opex, and on
operators entered the Indian market in 2008, and them with a pan-India footprint. By sharing with consolidating our relationships with the incumbent
market leading operators. Our profit margins have
increased year on year ever since. It became critical Lease pricing in India
that we could still make healthy IRR. Our idea is
to exceed 20% IRR even with a single tenant on a Lease pricing is fairly consistent at around Rs 32,000pcm (approximately US$500) for a single tenant
tower.” on a ground based tower, with an additional energy charge at a rate depending on grid availability.
“We designed a Master Service Agreement (MSA) whereby with the addition of a second or third
The 2012 restructuring resulted in an extended
tenant, it would result in a lower charge for everyone,” said Bharti Infratel’s Gupta. “Towercos make
hiatus on the M&A activity that took place between
a lot more money with a second tenant, but the anchor tenant also gets approximately 20% relief on
2007 and 2012. The tower transaction pipeline
their lease rate and energy charge. This made it a true win-win situation for both and resulted in a
was further slowed by repeated spectrum auction
unique situation where a company makes more money when its existing customers start paying less
delays, but when a total of over 440 MHz of
than before.”
spectrum was finally auctioned between 2014
and 2015, the floodgates were opened on network
Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers subsequently amended their MSA so that from 1 April 2016 the rate
investment.
card is increased 2.5% each year, and any new tenants come in at that rate to compensate those who
came earlier. This will ensure pricing parity between anchor and co-locating tenants
The new allocation of spectrum also requires the
redesign of India’s mobile networks. “The 1,800 giving American Tower genuine all-India coverage. doubtless have to be invested into BSNL’s towers
MHz band will require twice as many towers to make them suitable for co-location, many of
as the 900 MHz band,” TAIPA DG TR Dua told The next major deal may involve Reliance BSNL’s towers are in uniquely desirable, otherwise
TowerXchange. “The latest auction saw the shift of Communication’s sale of Reliance Infratel, which inaccessible locations - there is likely to be pent
some operators from 1,800 to 900, some from 900 to has been on the market since mid-2015. A potential up demand for such sites. With a tenancy ratio
2,100 and some from 900 to 1,800; this will lead to deal with Tillman Global Holdings and TPG fell of around 1.1, BSNL’s towers could see the fastest
changing tenancies and incremental changes in the through in early 2016 due to a disagreement tenancy ratio growth in India if and when they
numbers of towers.” over the valuation of the assets. Brookfield Asset come to market.
Management has subsequently been mentioned as
The new spectrum, network redesign and rollout a prospective acquirer, while American Tower are There is still a long way to go to provide full
has re-energised the tower transaction pipeline believed to be targeting 100,000 towers in India - at telecoms coverage in India; in terms of tenancies 3G
in India. American Tower landed the first punch the right price, Reliance Infratel could represent is on about 50% of the towers. Over the next 18-24
with the acquisition of 381 towers from KEC one of the last acquirable portfolios of scale. months it is anticipated that 3G will replicate 2G’s
International, but that was the prelude to the main 95% coverage of India’s geography. The 4G rollout
event: the conclusion of a drawn out negotiation to BSNL is in the process of carving out of its ~65,000 is already spreading to second tier cities - Bharti
acquire Viom Network, for an enterprise value of towers into a new towerco subsidiary; the company Infratel Chairman Akhil Gupta told TowerXchange
US$3.3bn, bringing American Tower’s tower count is evaluating assets but the process could take some he felt that the 4G overlay was already 20%
to 58,130, and adding Tata to its customer base. And time. While substantial improvement capex would complete.
Growth trajectory for total Indian tower count through 2020 The impact of these new rollouts on India’s
towercos will be tremendous - Deloitte forecast
439 454 470 481 492 511 tenancy ratios will rise to almost 2.5 by 2020. The
24.0 40.0 effects are already being seen: “Indus Towers does
8.0 15.0
0.7 3.5 a lot of what we call ‘projects’: ranging from as
little as one antenna being added or removed, to
fibre being brought into a site,” Indus Towers CEO
Bimal Dayal told TowerXchange in an interview
which you can read in full in this edition. “In 2014,
a busy year, we did 133,000 projects. In 2015 we did
216,000 projects including everything from 2G, 3G
and 4G to microgrids. Growth is increasing year on
year and, with another spectrum auction coming
up, more network realignment will be required.”
FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20
Towers Data standalone towers The operator market is currently being restructured
again in India, although this time it’s better news
Tower Figures in Thousands
for towercos! The merger of Aircel, MTS and
Reliance Communications headlines the current
Growth trajectory for site tenancies
2.48 phase of consolidation. To quote Gupta again:
2.31 “it is not healthy for the industry to have say ten
2.19
2.08 operators, including five or six sitting on spectrum
1.94
1.77 without the wherewithal and means to rollout.
Consolidation remains a work in progress, but it
will leave spectrum in the hands of companies that
have the resources for rollouts.”
1,359 1,487
1,115 1,237
970 In the meantime some Indian towercos are already
775
in the process of evolving from a pure passive
infrastructure sharing model to a full multi-service
FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 model providing end-to-end support of both passive
and active network elements. “In the next five years
Total sites (thousands) Tenancy ratio I see the Indian tower industry growing thanks to
Source: Deloitte analysis courtesy of TAIPA the ongoing spectrum auctions and new revenue
streams including white label Wi-Fi and CCTV,” said in their specialist, highly skilled workforce, and to and applied in operator-led tower markets.
TR Dua. invest in the environment. For example, in the American tower market,
discounting lease rates as new tenants are added
Towercos are looking for new ways to help In March 2016 Indus Towers converted their is considered value destructive. In India, it’s been
operators minimise opex and capex and become 50,000th cell site to run diesel free. Bharti Infratel at the heart of the business model since inception.
their key partners for managed services including now has over 31,000 towers that consume less Some stakeholders in India would go further
customised site planning, energy efficiency, access than a litre of diesel a day. Crucially, the progress than advocating shared savings, they suggest
to fibre networks and white label Wi-Fi services of energy efficiency initiatives in India is now MNOs create their own towercos: “Our model is
for end users. India’s towercos have been pioneers extending to two and even three tenant towers, a good one, and we’re proud of Indus Towers;
of small cell deployment, and are also keen to play which have higher energy requirements. The we recommend that MNOs don’t make their own
a key role in the development of Smart Cities; the energy conservation possibilities run into billions of towercos, but that they consolidate resources with
first tenders have already taken place. The future rupees. other MNOs in one portfolio,” said Akhil Gupta.
certainly looks bright for the Indian tower industry.
The roadmap to efficient connectivity which has It is interesting that China, the only tower market
What can we learn from the success of India’s been drawn in India is an important benchmark for in the world of comparable, indeed greater,
towercos? the rest of the world because it proves this can all scale than India, the MNO-owned China Tower
be done at scale. Company has consolidated the resources of the
A year ago Akhil Gupta told TowerXchange three operators in a single portfolio, and adopted a
“We’re on a mission of operator disarmament – to Another lesson from India: the business model is similar lease pricing model. Comparable business
disarm their manpower and make it economically more robust if a single tenant tower is profitable. models can also be found in the UK (CTIL and
unfeasible for them to build their own towers. I’m “As a result of focusing on quality, innovation and MBNL), Greece (VICTUS Networks), and Poland
pleased to say that today virtually no operator in cost reduction, towers which once cost US$200,000 (NetWorkS!) - it will be interesting to see whether
India builds its own towers.” to roll out each were brought to down to US$50,000, STC and Mobily come up with a comparable
and today below US$25,000,” Umang Das told joint venture model in Saudi Arabia, or whether
If there’s one lesson the Indian tower industry has TowerXchange. “India has the lowest cost tower ultimately they sell their towers
to share with the rest of the world it is that MNOs rollouts in the world.” The governance of MNO-owned towercos must be
should focus on their core business; delivering carefully managed to ensure independence. “We
minutes and megabytes and ensuring a great Lighter, modular structures do not have to be built must give credit to our operator shareholders who
customer experience. Leave building, maintaining with capacity for multiple tenants at the outset, brought together their operating teams and, also
and operating towers to specialist tower companies. but can readily be upgraded. Of course, whether enabled the Indus Board to be distinct from the
Towers should be leased up on a non-discriminate, a single tenant tower can be profitable without people who run operations within each MNO,” said
commercial basis, and the industry needs a India’s abundant local steel remains to be seen! Indus Towers CEO Bimal Dayal. “These ‘Chinese
regulatory environment that encourages tower Walls’ are important – without them, Indus
companies to invest in ICT infrastructure, to invest India also has some unique lessons to be learned wouldn’t have reached where it stands today.”
Evaluating tower American Tower’s acquisition of Viom Networks,
a strong portfolio of 42,200 towers with a tenancy
ratio of 2.4, at an enterprise value of US$3.23bn,
transactions and deal flow in India may soon be followed by the acquisition of Reliance
Infratel by Tillman Global Holdings and TPG for
A report from the TowerXchange Meetup Asia 2015 roundtable, hosted by a reported US$3.3bn. Viom Networks realised a
valuation of US$76,540 per tower. While Reliance
Nomura’s Pankaj Suri
Infratel’s tower count and final valuation remains
unclear, the cost per tower will be comparable to
Five of Asia’s leading tower transaction analysts were joined the new benchmark established by the AMT-Viom
by another dozen interested stakeholders at the “India tower deal.
valuations and deal flow” roundtable held at the 2nd annual
TowerXchange Meetup Asia on November 24-25 in Singapore. Why have recent Indian tower M&A apparently
The conversation started with a debate about the relative merits attracted lower valuations than recent global
of different valuation metrics, before contrasting the valuations comparisons, with towers changing hands in
of Indian towers with similar assets in international markets, Indonesia for US$300,000+ and the recent sale
before focusing on recent and future transactions involving of Verizon towers in the U.S. coming in at over
American Tower and Viom, Reliance Infratel, and the potential US$400,000 per tower? One explanation is that
New Delhi, India
carve out of a towerco bringing to market BSNL’s ~65,000 towers. the replacement cost of an Indian tower (as low
as US$25,000) is significantly lower than a tower
in, for example, Indonesia at around US$100,000
Keywords: American Tower, Ascend Telecom, Asia, Asia Insights, BSNL, Carve Out, DAS, EBITDA, Exit or in the U.S. where a tower can cost upwards of
Strategy, IBS, Idea Cellular, India, Insights, KPIs, Lease Rates, Market Forecasts, Market Overview, US$250,000. Similarly, lease revenues in India are
Nomura, Reliance Infratel, Sale & Leaseback, Single RAN, Southern Asia, Tenancy Ratios, Tillman lower, typically around US$600pcm compared to
Group, Tower Vision, Towercos, Valuation, Viom Networks, Vodafone approximately US$1,150 in Indonesia, and around
US$1,800 in the U.S. The proportion of opex spent
on 15-20 year ground leases (currently around
50%) is increasing in India. Compared to their
international counterparts, many Indian towercos
< How to measure the value of a tower
have a limited capacity to generate amendment
< New benchmarks for the value of an Indian telecom tower revenue from the exchange of conventional
< Are there many zero tenant towers in India? antennae for multi-band antennae. Indian
< Value drivers for BSNL’s towers towercos, and their investors and analysts, called
< Potential tower transaction deal flow in India for pricing based on radio signals not on numbers
of antennae.
A hypothetical perfect evaluation of a tower
portfolio or tower transaction would require an How to measure the value of a towerco or a tower transaction
understanding of the structural capacity and
demand for capacity of each tower in the portfolio. The financial analysts at the “India tower valuations and deal flow” roundtable used a variety of tools
What excess wind load capacity is available on a to value towercos and to evaluate tower transactions. The oft quoted, oft critiqued cost per tower,
given tower? How readily and cost efficiently could or valuation per tower, was recognised as a flawed metric given the dynamic relationship between
the structure be updated? More importantly, is the price paid and rental fees: some sellers seek to maximise revenue from the sale, others seek to
there demand for additional space on the tower? minimise opex. Conventional financial performance valuations, such as P/E (price to earnings ratio),
A proactively marketed tower portfolio like Viom leverage ratios and EBITDA margins; or financial performance valuations adapted to basic tower
industry metrics, such as EBITDA per tower or EV (Enterprise Value) per tower, were felt to be more
“
informative.
Tenancy ratios remain a critical and relatively stable performance indicator, although analysts warned
that different towercos have different definitions of a tenancy, particularly affected by their ability to
generate ‘amendment revenue’ (revenues from existing tenants adding supplementary technologies).
Multi technology BTS and multiband antennas make it difficult to understand whether the tenant
should BSNL’s portfolio of 65,000 concerned is running 2G, 3G or 4G and, while contractual language in markets like the U.S. often
towers come to market, the defines the cost of ‘amendments’, in markets like India it has proved more difficult to monetise an
existing MNO tenant running a supplementary technology
current tenancy ratio of around
1.1 to 1.2 suggests there could be Networks’ with India’s highest tenancy ratio at 2.4 environment, some analysts have suggested India
pent up demand for their many might have already leased up space to the most needs 50% more BTSs in the coming years. Many
obvious tenants, whereas should BSNL’s portfolio of of those BTSs need to be smaller. The height and
towers in sought-after locations. 65,000 towers come to market, the current tenancy weight of towers in India is coming down, making
“Towers with low tenancy ratios ratio of around 1.1 to 1.2 suggests there could be structures easier to relocate. The spectrum now
pent up demand for their many towers in sought- being acquired demands antenna located lower
are more marketable provided after locations. “Towers with low tenancy ratios are on structures, shifting market dynamics from a
they’re in right location,”
concluded one analyst
“ more marketable provided they’re in right location,”
concluded one analyst.
Data growth in India is currently focused on urban

coverage to a capacity play. Analysts estimated
30% of India’s 400,000 new BTS would be IBS and
iDAS, 35% being tenancies on existing towers, 35%
requiring new towers.
areas, with a second stage to come in semi-urban
and suburban India. With currently around 800,000 Deal flow in India
BTS and 400,000 towers in India, and a BTS needed
approximately every 500m in a high data usage Deal flow returned to the Indian tower market with
However, the cancelled sale of Mitratel in Indonesia
India has few remaining zero tenant towers (initially structured as an equity swap with Tower
Bersama) represents a cautionary tale when it
With the restructuring of the Indian MNO market in 2012, and the associated cancellation of comes to monetising public assets: political risk is
122 MNO licenses, a significant number of telecom towers were left with no tenants. However, substantial with these kinds of transactions. As a
according to analysts at the recent roundtable, as few as 1% of India’s 400,000 towers, and a result, the prevailing opinion was that a potential
maximum of 4%, currently have no tenants. Most zero tenant towers have now been leased up, phase of third party management of the BSNL
dismantled or relocated towers might be brief, with a spin off and IPO the
most likely outcome.
a vengeance in H2 2015. With the acquisition of investors, from bond rating agencies, and from the
Viom Networks by American Tower announced but debt market. With substantial capital being spent Participants all agreed that the scale and
not yet closed, and with Tillman and TPG having on spectrum and 4G rollout in India, many MNOs attractiveness of locations in the prospective BSNL
entered exclusive, non-binding negotiations to are increasingly inclined toward a view that they towerco would make it a formidible competitor
acquire Reliance Infratel, two of India’s largest would rather have cash in hand to focus on their for new tenants with the likes of Indus, Bharti
tower portfolios may soon be ‘off the table’. Ascend core business, rather than the steady flow of cash Infratel, the new owners of Reliance Infratel and the
Telecom, the last of India’s ‘big little’ towercos, with that comes from retaining their towers or a captive combined ATC India + Viom Networks.
4,843 towers and a tenancy ratio of 1.8, is being towerco. ‘Professionalising’ towers frees up the
restructured with an investment by ROI Acquisition towerco to strengthen and increase the shareability Conclusions
Corp creating an enterprise value of US$308mn of towers, thus maximising their value.
(10.8x projected 2016 EBITDA or US$63,597 per There is no standard metric for the evaluation of
tower). Tens of thousands of towers remain operator towers and tower transactions, but the most widely
captive in India: Vodafone are believed to have quoted metric, cost per tower, is fundamentally
What’s left? around 10,000 outside of Indus Towers, while Idea flawed.
Cellular has a captive portfolio of 8,600 towers with
GTL has sold many assets to alleviate debts, a tenancy ratio over 1.6 which could be monetised. When comparing Indian towers and Indian tower
but retains almost 30,000 towers – a potential transactions with international deals, one must be
acquisition target for anyone with appetite for a However, analysts were most excited about the cognizant of the wide variation in cost structures
turnaround play. Tower Vision and their 8,600 prospects of BSNL’s ~65,000 towers coming to and lease prices.
towers have been rumored to be on the block in the market. With many of their POSs on high quality
past. towers in fantastic locations, and with very little With deal flow returning to the Indian market, with
lease up to date, the Telecom Ministry has increased almost 100,000 towers worth almost US$7bn in
Tower transaction deal flow in India, or in any pressure on BSNL to hive off the towers, perhaps as the process of changing hands, attention remains
market, is ultimately driven by MNOs’ appetite to a 100%-owned subsidiary, perhaps with a tender focused on the world’s second largest tower market,
monetise their towers. This in turn is a function for a third party towerco to market the towers and with analyst interest particularly piqued by the
of pressure to restructure balance sheets from manage operations. future of BSNL’s highly desirable ~65,000 towers
TowerXchange’s history of
The Indonesian tower market has come a long way;
in the early 2000s, Indonesia was overpopulated
the Indonesian tower industry

with MNOs sub-optimally deploying capex to build
parallel infrastructure. However, all of that was
about to change. A 2006 regulatory policy change
An examination of the Indonesian tower market and how the country’s towercos enforced tower sharing and laid the foundation
enabled telecoms growth in one of Asia’s most populous countries for the Indonesian tower industry. Now Indonesia
is the world’s #4 mobile market, with a thriving
Indonesia’s tower industry is one of the world’s most tower industry. Indonesian towercos own 64% of
mature and strongest, combining efficient organic growth, the country’s 85,537 towers, which serve a more
strong MNO partnerships yielding substantial sale and sustainably structured operator market led by four
leasebacks, and towerco-on-towerco consolidation. tier one MNOs and three further challengers.
Towercos own almost two thirds of Indonesia’s towers, and
other than China, there are no other tower markets that While the mobile market in Indonesia has
build 3,000 to 5,000 towers, rooftops and infill sites per year experienced tremendous growth for several years,
while delivering solid tenancy ratio and TCF (tower cash it is becoming more and more competitive and
flow) growth. margins have been shrinking. MNOs have been
bracing for change as growth rates have levelled off
and tariff wars have intensified. The market is still
Keywords: 3G, 4G, Active Infrasharing, Asia, Asia
dominated by Telkomsel with a 45% market share,
Research, Balitower, BIT Teknologi Nusantara, DAS,
but the landscape has changed with the addition
Editorial, Fibre, IBS, Indonesia, Indosat, Infrastructure
of a number of newer operators backed by foreign
Sharing, KIN, Market Overview, Mitratel, Persadasokka
partners: Indosat, XL Axiata, and Hutchison 3G.
Tama, Protelindo, RANsharing, Research, Rooftops, STP, The market is rounded out by several other local
Sinar Mas Group, Small Cells, Smartfren, Southeast players: Internux, Sampoerna Telekomunikasi and
Asia, Telkom, Tower Bersama, TowerXchange Research, Smartfren, making a total of seven MNOs. Telkomsel
Towercos, Valuation, XL Axiata, iForte was the first to launch 4G in December 2014,
By Ian Ferguson, Head of TowerXchange Asia
followed shortly by XL Axiata’s launch in three
cities later the same month. Indosat received a 4G
Read this article to learn: concession in the 800MHz, 900MHz and 1800MHz
< The origins of the Indonesian tower industry and and early deals bands in early 2015.
< An overview of the main towercos in the Indonesian market
< Financial overview of the Indonesian tower industry Indonesia’s GDP per capita has surpassed the
US$3,000 threshold, indicating the emergence of a
< The development of small cells and infill sites in urban centres
fast-growing middle class. A healthy 60% of GDP
Tracking the inorganic and organic growth of selected Indonesian towercos goes on local consumption – Indonesia has relatively
little dependence on imports. During the 2008 global
60,000 financial crisis, Indonesia was one of a handful of
countries whose GDP growth remained positive.
50,000
Indonesia is home to very diverse telecom
40,000 infrastructure requirements, comprising dense
metropolitan environments and very remote rural
30,000 areas. There is a population of 28 million in the
Greater Jakarta metropolitan area alone at peak, and
mobile data demand is accelerating, which in turn
20,000 is fuelling demand for infill capacity sites. Indonesia
has a young population that moved straight to mobile
10,000 and has embraced data services; mobile broadband
penetration is at 37% and climbing, and handheld
devices are the preferred method of accessing the
2011 2012 2013 2014 2013 2015 2016 YTD Internet. Indonesia is still predominantly a 2.5G
Protelindo Tower Bersama STP IBS Tower Mitratel market, and leapfrogging from there to 4G is a huge
Balitower Persadasokka Tama Centratama Menara (Formerly Retower) task that will require substantial investment in
infrastructure and equipment.
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 YTD
6,363 Indonesia’s main players
Protelindo 8,460 9,766 11,595 12,237 15,167
Tower Bersama 4,868 7,055 8,866 10,825 11,389 11,553
Protelindo is the largest towerco in Indonesia
STP 1,428 2,246 2,798 6,651 6,674 6,938
where they own over 15,000 towers after the recent
IBS Tower 1,989 1,992 1,992 2,114 2,638 2,638 acquisition of 2,500 towers from XL Axiata in Q1
Mitratel* 2,337 3,143 4,129 5,434 6,792 8,000 2016.
Balitower 51 119 708 1241 2,317 4,510
Persadasokka Tama 314 445 621 832 904 1,012 Protelindo had a big impact on the market with
Centratama Menara** 311 374 489 531 653 719 its landmark sale and leaseback of towers from
17,661 23,834 29,369 39,223 43,604 50,537 Hutchison. Over the last two years, Protelindo has
Subtotal
significantly improved its scale and credit profile.
Change 6,173 5,535 9,854 4,381 6,933
Its leverage has improved through EBITDA growth,
Notes: Protelindo 2016 figure is inclusive of recently acquired towers from XL
supported by a significant increase in the number of
* Mitratel 2016 figure is an estimate ** Centratama Menara (Formerly Retower) Source: TowerXchange Research, Company Reports tenancies on its towers.
Tower deals in Indonesia 2008-2016 Source: TowerXchange towers and 287 shelters).
Year Seller Buyer US$/Tower Towers/Sites Value US$

STP has also started building towers as of December
2016 XL Axiata Protelindo $100k 2,500 $250mn 2012 creating organic growth in addition to its
2014 XL Axiata STP $131.4k 3500 $460mn inorganic growth; their revenue and EBITDA are
2012 Hutchison Protelindo N/A 503 N/A growing at a CAGR of around 40%, and EBITDA
margins remain over 80%.
PT Central
2012 Protelindo N/A 152 N/A
Investindo
Founded in 1995, PT. Dayamitra
2012 Indosat Tower Bersama $207.6k 2500 $519mn
Telecommunications (Mitratel) is the fourth largest
2011 Infratel Tower Bersama N/A 595 N/A
towerco in Indonesia. Mitratel is a wholly-owned
2010 Hutchison Protelindo $112k 1482 $165.9mn subsidiary of PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia, Tbk
2008 Bakrie STP $64.4k 543 $136mn (Telkom).
2008 Hutchison Protelindo $135.4k 3692 $500mn
PT Komet Infra Nusantara (KIN) is a towerco
Protelindo has also begun to expand its microcell towers purchased from operators, and tower builds, renowned for their entrepreneurial flair. The
assets and fibre footprint to support the continued and was the first towerco to achieve scale with its company started operating in Indonesia in 1995
organic and inorganic growth of its portfolio. The early acquisition of passive infrastructure assets and was created on the basis of the simple notion
company acquired iForte in June 2015 along with from Telenet Internusa, Bali Telekom, Mobile-8, of introducing infrastructure sharing in a relatively
its 450 microcell towers, seven hotel BTS and 700km Prima Media Selaras and SKP. virgin market by its (former) CEO, David Burke,
of fibre with over 180 PoPs in the city centre and who was then employed by Telkom (David was also
business districts in Jakarta and Surabaya. A share-swap to gain control of Telkom subsidiary credited as being one of the architects of Mitratel).
Mitratel was announced, but was overruled by the David was one of the few expats to work for the
Based in Indonesia, the Tower Bersama Group government in Q3 2015. state-owned company, to whom the whole concept
comprises PT Tower Bersama, PT United Towerindo, of tower sharing was very new. To date, KIN enjoys
PT Telenet Internusa, PT Batavia Towerindo, PT STP is the third largest tower company of scale a portfolio of 1,000 towers built thanks to both
Bali Telekom, PT Prima Media Selaras and PT in Indonesia, owning and operating 6,938 organic and inorganic growth and is run by CEO
Triaka Bersama, all operated seamlessly under telecommunication sites with a tower tenancy ratio and COO, Mohamad Iwan.
one management team. The group’s infrastructure of approximately 1.7x. STP has seen steady growth
extends to Java, Bali, Sumatra and Batam and is thanks to the acquisition of existing portfolios from PT Inti Bangun Sejahtera Tbk (IBS) is one of
currently being expanded into Kalimantan and local operators such as Axis, Bakrie and Hutchison Indonesia’s “big four” publicly traded independent
Sulawesi. Telecom, and also acquired tower portfolios from tower companies, founded in 2006 and listed in
a few small tower companies over the past years: August 2012. IBS is a fully-owned subsidiary of
Tower Bersama has steadily grown its tower Nurama Tower (176 towers, 182 shelters and 100km the Sinar Mas Group, which also includes MNO
portfolio with acquisitions of smaller towercos, of fibre), HCPT (200 towers) and ISP Group (493 Smartfren among its telecoms assets. Starting as an
in-building system solution provider, IBS has since Estimated tower count for Indonesia Source: TowerXchange
focussed its resources on passive infrastructure,
Towerco-owned
earning it a significant presence in the market. Mitratel
15,167 6,938
Tower Bersama
2,638 1,000
Founded in Bali in 2006, and a relative newcomer 1,012 Protelindo
719
to the Jakarta telecoms market, Balitower has been STP
making waves with its unique business model 4,510 IBS Tower
for infrastructure sharing. After its role in the
500 KIN
11,553 3,000
Persadasokka Tama
decommissioning of parallel infrastructure in Bali,
Centratama Menara
Balitower set its sights on Jakarta, entering this
Balitower
market in 2015, and rolling out a large number of Gihon
new light towers and poles as part of a deal with the Others
8,000 18,000
local government to install CCTV on its towers and Operator-captive
poles in exchange for access to land. Telkom + Telkomsel
8,500 XL
Established in 2006, PT. Persada Sokka Tama started 4,000 Indosat
off constructing BTS towers before becoming a
tower provider in 2008 and providing co-locations Growth Story for Indonesia’s big four: tenancy ratios
for telecoms service providers in Indonesia. The Tenancy ratio: 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
company has over 1,000 towers mostly concentrated 2.0 Source: Quarterly and annual company reports,
TowerXchange research
in Java and Nusa Tenggara.
Financial overview of the Indonesian tower

1.5
industry
At the outset, the Indonesian tower industry

looked closely at the Indian model and used it as a 1.0
1.88
benchmark. However, the two countries ended up 1.70 1.76 1.74 1.72 1.75 1.73 1.67
1.63 1.65 1.62 1.68 1.58 1.69
taking very different paths with Indonesia being 1.53 1.50
1.39
1.3
able to allocate risks and rewards more evenly 1.20
0.05
between towercos and MNOs and more closely
replicating the North American tower industry
model. And the profitability of the Indonesian tower
industry is one very obvious measure of its success.
Protelindo Tower Bersama STP IBS Tower
New Street Research single tower model details excluding pass-through expenses). New Street
Research estimated prevailing lease rates in
Indonesia to be around US$1,200pcm at the end of
2015.
Tower Bersama and Mitratel
One of the largest proposed tower deals in the

history of the Indonesian tower market was the
acquisition of Mitratel from Telkom by Tower
Bersama. First announced in late 2014, the initial
phase of the swap deal was to see TBIG receive 49%
of the shares in Mitratel in return for 290mn TBIG
shares (approximately a 5.7% stake). No cash was to
change hands in the first phase of the deal, although
TBIG would assume ~US$234mn of debt. The second
phase could follow anytime in the following two
years, during which time PT Telkom Indonesia had
the right to swap its remaining 51% stake in Mitratel
for an additional 473mn TBIG shares – a further
8%. This would value the deal at the equivalent of
around US$904mn, including ~US$142.5mn in cash
as a deferred consideration if certain performance
Source: New Street Research, Company data 2015
milestones were achieved. In the end this deal
Indonesian towercos, particularly Protelindo, Tower In a recent TowerXchange article New Street was cancelled in mid-2015 as it failed to gain the
Bersama and STP, quickly drew the attention of the Research referred to a Single Tower Model the approval of the Indonesian government, and to date
investment community. Debt was made available research firm built to compare colocation growth, the future of Mitratel and its ~8,000 towers remains
and capital flowed, enabling further organic and economics, and returns of towers in different uncertain.
inorganic growth. Successful bond issuances and markets around the globe. The model analysed
IPOs followed. There are five towercos of scale in base station density, smartphone penetration, Continuing growth and acquisitions
Indonesia and over forty ‘mom and pop shops’ and leasing rates, escalators, pass-through expenses,
middle market towercos in Indonesia, ranging from construction costs and regulatory risk, and they The ebb and flow of sale and leaseback deals since
local community managed assets to substantial concluded that Indonesia was the most attractive 2008 has led to Tower Bersama, Protelindo and
regional entities, owning anything from a handful tower market for investors, and generated one STP deploying around US$2bn to acquire 12,220
to 1,000 towers each. of the highest day one cash flow yields (at 15%, towers from Indonesia’s operators, and they’ve built
New Street Research global market ranking by tower returns Axiata would be the creation of a joint venture
%, IRR less WACC towerco to pool and optimise their tower assets.
At this stage, however, these planned partnerships
have been limited by the government, and it
appears that they won’t advance anytime soon,
raising concerns about the level of competition
in the MNO market, and rumours of MNO
consolidation and sales are starting to emerge.
There is significant cell site densification occurring

in Indonesia driven by consumer demand for
mobile data services, and the tower industry is
starting to grasp the heterogeneous networks
(‘HetNet’) opportunity. Rooftop installations make
up a significant chunk of the assets of Indonesia’s
‘Big 3’ towercos, namely Protelindo, Tower Bersama
and STP. The other major factor in the future
of Indonesia will be diversification of product
offerings to adapt to LTE. STP and Protelindo appear
to be on the front foot in this regard with their
Source: New Street Research, Company data 2015 diversification into fibre, microcells and DAS. As of
September 2015, STP had a 2,454km fibre network
a similar number of build-to-suit and build-to-fill In addition to the active tower market, operators
sites over that period. For Indonesia’s ‘Big Three’ are also continuing to partner with each other to and 384 microcell poles, thanks to their purchase
towercos, the prized assets are Telkom/Telkomsel’s remain competitive, especially the smaller market of BIT Teknologi Nusantara, and their earlier
17,615 remaining operator-captive towers, the most players. Indosat and XL Axiata have been engaged acquisition in 2012 of PT Platinum Teknologi.
pervasive network in the country, of which the in RANsharing for some time, and this has also been Protelindo recently acquired iForte and their 450
operator has admitted as many as 13,000 could be extended to include co-operation on the rollout of micro cell towers, seven Hotel BTS and 700km of
sold, although they have no financial imperative to some LTE sites. Partnerships like this can greatly fibre. Meanwhile, Balitower have installed fibre and
divest. With the cancellation of the Mitratel deal, it reduce opex and help smaller operators to remain added over 2,000 micropoles in Jakarta.
is unclear whether these assets can still be acquired competitive, and keep shareholders happy. The
or whether Mitratel is destined to continue as a model is so successful that Indosat and XL Axiata Conclusion
captive towerco, in which case it could be a vehicle have proposed creating a separate entity to manage
for the management of the aforementioned 13,000 their networks outside of Java. Another possible The Indonesian tower market is elegant and
Telkom towers. step in terms of partnership for Indosat and XL investible because of its simplicity. A deep culture of
infrastructure sharing has been rapidly developed:
Indonesia’s towercos build 3,000-5,000 towers,
rooftops and infill sites per year, tenancy ratio
growth compares favorably to many other global
tower markets, with around 0.13 tenants added
per tower per year. Indonesia may be the most
comparable tower market in the world to the USA,
with MSAs and economics closely resembling the
world’s oldest independent tower market, perhaps
not surprising given the prominent role played by
one of the US tower market’s forefathers, Michael
Gearon, in the creation of Protelindo. Indonesia’s
towercos are not encumbered by significant
engagement in energy logistics - power is a pass
through on almost all their sites, yet many are
expanding their business model by investing in
fibre and small cells.
TowerXchange are a little surprised by the relatively

low valuations ascribed to Indonesian towercos,
although STP and Protelindo have such a low float
as to make poor benchmarks. Tower Bersama’s
share price reached such an attractive point that
Visit the TowerXchange.com website
the company recently instigated a substantial share
buyback programme. < Access to the “Internet of People” in the global tower < A comprehensive archive of TowerXchange’s
industry – a trust web of over 35,000 decision makers interviews and analyses, searchable by topic, country,
in telecom and broadcast infrastructure company or grouped by category (e.g. interviews or
TowerXchange think there is still value to be found
how to guides)
in the simple, stable, mature Indonesian tower
< Independent analysis and commentaries on the
market, and there are many best practices to learn < The latest news and registration information about
prospects for tower transactions in selected countries
from the Indonesian market leaders attending TowerXchange’s Meetups.
the TowerXchange Meetup Asia in Singapore on < The latest industry emerging market tower industry
December 13-14! news – BEFORE it’s published in the TowerXchange
Journal, accessible 24/7 from desktop, tablet or mobile Tower Xchange
www.towerxchange.com/meetups/meetup-asia
TowerXchange market
Mobile market in Laos
The mobile market growth in Laos had been
study: Laos slowing, but SIM penetration climbed 11.3%

between Q4 2014 and Q4 2015 to 78%, according to
4G is being rolled out and more than one MNO has incentive to monetise towers, GSMA Intelligence.
but government involvement and slow growth disincentivise investment The two clear market leaders are LTC, 51% State
owned, which has money from Shenington
The mountainous, landlocked country of Laos is Investments, and Unitel, also 51% State owned,
has the lowest population density in the ASEAN which has money from Viettel. Unitel invested
region, with a population of just under 7mn spread heavily in tower building and has by far the
across 238,800 sq km. There are just under 7,500 country’s largest network.
towers in the market, all remaining MNO-captive.
Four MNOs, three of which are majority State- ETL is controlled by Ministry of Defence and have
owned, participate in a relatively slow growing been in financial difficulties for some time, with the
market. However, 4G deployment has begun, and government increasingly seeking to arrest the bleed
3G coverage is already widespread. With possible of money. Interest from China in acquiring ETL
windows of opportunity to invest in the #2, #3 or reportedly floundered on concerns about payroll
#4 operator’s towers, its time for TowerXchange to and pensions. Subsequent management changes and
By Kieron Osmotherly, CEO, TowerXchange allocation of spectrum for 4G has put ETL on a path
examine the tower market in Laos.
toward IPO. LTC and Unitel are already listed.
Keywords: 4G, ARPU, Asia, Asia Research, Batteries, Beeline, Country Risk, Decommissioning, ETL,
Infrastructure Sharing, Investment, LTC, Laos, Market Overview, Masts & Towers, On-Grid, QoS, Number four MNO Beeline, from which VimpelCom
Regulation, Research, Skilled Workforces, Tower Count, TowerXchange Research, TowerXchange have been seeking to exit, recently successfully
Research Asia, Unitel, Viettel, VimpelCom arrested a decline in subscriber base. Having sold
their opcos in Cambodia and Vietnam, Laos remains
an anomaly on the VimpelCom balance sheet. The
Russian parent company has been through at least
three rounds of trying to divest Beeline Laos, but no
< The mobile market in Laos and impact of government stakeholdings
party has so far met their valuation. Beeline is cash
< The prospects for tower divestitures in Laos flow positive, so the company is under no pressure
< The culture of infrastructure sharing in Laos to accept a low bid.
< Current status of 4G rollout
< Power generation and cell site energy in Laos A fifth MNO Sky Telecom, also owned by the
military, own spectrum but don’t have a network.
With a population of around 7mn and GDP per How many towers are there in Laos and who owns them?
capita of US$5,400 (Source: CIA Factbook, 2015), by
most metrics Laos should be a three MNO market,
423
and a merger between Beeline and Unitel or ETL
might be one way of creating a more rational 1,950
1,100
market.
LTC
Prospects for tower divestiture Unitel
Unitel don’t need cash with Viettel behind them, and ETL
their 4,000 towers give them a genuine coverage
Beeline (VimpelCom)
differentiator. LTC seem similarly disinclined to
monetise towers, although rumours that Shenington
Investments may be seeking an exit could create a
window of opportunity. 4,000
ETL’s IPO could slip further in the future, and the

company is heavily indebted, so may be receptive launch, and the Beeline towers are generally in good Coverage and profitability
to an offer to buy their towers. An approach may be condition.
best directed to the government, with the incentive Laotian MNOs make most of their margin in
that the cash from monetising towers could be Infrastructure sharing to date Vientiane (the commercial capital with a population
reinvested in upgrading networks. of 760,000), Savannakhet (population around
There are currently no independent towercos in 120,000, the second city and manufacturing hub),
Beeline currently has 711 sites, 423 sites for which Laos, although TowerXchange are tracking at least Pakse (population 88,000, where there are tea and
Beeline holds the lease, plus 288 sites co-located on one interested party. There are third party TV and coffee plantations), and in Luang Probang in the
shared towers. At the end of 2014 Beeline owned 444 radio towers, and the Ministry of Defence own a few, Northeast (population 55,000, a cultural and tourist
sites, but they removed BTSs from 21 non revenue but most tower structures remain operator-captive. centre). It is difficult to find enough ARPU to provide
generating tower sites in 2015, as the operator only economic coverage outside these areas.
had a handful of towers in these areas so not enough There is quite an active market for bi-lateral
coverage to generate customer demand. infrastructure sharing – swaps with no money 4G
changing hands. One MNO reportedly tried to
VimpelCom is in the process of monetising towers instigate a lease price of US$150 per month, but LTC has launched 4G, primarily in the largest
worldwide, but may prefer a full sale of their Beeline other operators were reluctant to pay. LTC share city Vientiane, while Unitel also rolled out 4G in
opco in Laos. Much depends on who the new owners quite extensively, ETL and Unitel also share. As the Savannakhet. ETL has a loan to roll out 4G, while
of Beeline might be – moentising their towers smallest network, 40% of Beeline’s base stations are Beeline seem inclined to focus on provision of high
could provide a nice cash injection to enable a 4G co-located on third party towers. quality 3G in Vientiane. With ARPU is just under
US$5, and not much disposable income, there is little must be done in-house. There are few proven be poor in Laos.
demand for premium 4G handsets, so the business infrastructure companies to provide support.
case to invest US$100mns in 4G is weak for the Most network investments are in the upgrading of
challenger MNO. Similarly it can be challenging to motivate and sites for 4G; there are very few new sites in Laos,
retain staff; one MNO reported staff turnover as and most of those are urban infill concrete poles.
Regulatory environment high as 30% annually, and head hunting can be Beeline built just six sites last year, less than a fifth
a problem. There is a shortage of experienced, of the total they were building back in 2012.
There is a risk of conflicts of interest given well educated prospective employees, and salary
government majority stakes in three MNOs: ETL are expectations can be high. The opening of the ASEAN What do towers cost in Laos?
100% State owned, Unitel and LTC are 51% State- employment market should help, making it easier
owned – the government even owns 22% of Beeline. for foreign workers to take jobs in Laos. Cost per site depends on what you are building
This was exemplified in 2011 when a price floor of course, but for example a 60m guyed mast
was introduced in response to a disruptive new Chinese investment tower with capacity for two operators and four
market entrant (Millicom, whose majority stake microwave dishes would cost approximately
was later acquired by VimpelCom) undercutting Chinese investment in Laotian infrastructure is US$24,000, including foundations, tower, and
the tariffs of government owned incumbents. After widespread. Laos is known as the battery of Asia, electrical equipment. O&M works out at around
a stand-off on pricing and promotions, Beeline’s and there are hundreds of hydropower schemes US$900 per site per year, inclusive of the
interconnect with the other three MNOs was denied planned, many Chinese backed, with some increase maintenance of both passive and active equipment.
for several months, with the government supporting in Thai investment.
the incumbents. The so-called ‘Beeline Crisis’ (2011- Given the deficiency of high-rise structures in Laos,
12) slowed mobile growth and continues to cast a Huawei is by far the biggest telecom investor it is perhaps unsurprising that less than 5% of
shadow over the investibility of the Laotian telecom in Laos, with a substantial team on the ground urban sites are rooftops. Most sites are guyed mast
market. supported by good warehouse infrastructure. towers, a few are free standing.
Access to the Ministry and other government Power Conclusions on the investibility of Laotian
stakeholders in Laos is reportedly good, and there towers
have been signals of intent to take a more liberal Laos has a surplus of power generation which they
approach to the regulation of telecommunications. export, so grid availability is good in the country, While there may be an opportunity for a tower
and new sites can be connected to the grid quickly company to invest in Laos, they would have to
Ease of doing business and efficiently. There are still unannounced outages, be comfortable with the level of government
so backbone sites have DG and battery backup: 4-6 involvement in telecoms in the country. The
Doing business in Laos is difficult. Laotians are a hours battery backup is standard. deficiency of local steel may also be an issue, with
friendly, incredibly laid back people, but projects towers having to be imported from Vietnam or
require close supervision to keep on time. In a Network investments China. China may indeed be the most likely source
telecoms context this means it can be difficult to of investment in Laotian towers, with the country
get high quality I&C work done on time, and much Network performance is generally acknowledged to being eligible for ‘One Belt, One Road’ funding
The unique structure of the
Malaysia’s mobile market
Malaysia is home to a mature, fiercely competitive
Malaysian tower market mobile market led by listed entities Celcom, Maxis
and DiGi each with between 11.5 and 12.5mn
subscribers, with fourth operator U Mobile claiming
4G rollout accelerates migration to shared infrastructure in Malaysia
around 4mn subscribers. Eight LTE operators have
been newly licensed.
A culture of infrastructure sharing has existed in Malaysia
since the turn of the millennium when the MCMC licensed over
Among a population of 30.49mn, mobile penetration
a dozen State-backed towercos, one stop agencies to permit and
declined to 144.8% in Q2 2015 from 145.8% a year
build towers in their respective States. Fast forward to 2014,
earlier (Source: MCMC Pocket Book of Statistics),
after the consolidation of Malaysia’s MNOs from five the three, indicating the maturity of the mobile market.
and Malaysia was host to the first carve out within Axiata’s The battle among Malaysia’s operators is now
edotco empire. edotco now operates 3,600 of Malaysia’s 22,000 concentrated on capturing 4G customers.
towers, while the State-backed towercos operate a further 3,200.
Drawing on insights gleaned from the Malaysia roundtable at Malaysia’s tower market
the TowerXchange Meetup Asia 2015, let’s take a closer look at
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
the unique structure of Malaysia’s tower and mobile market. There are around 22,000 towers now in Malaysia,
representing almost exactly 2,000 mobile
subscribers per tower.
Keywords: 4G, Active Infrasharing, Asia, Asia Space, Axiata, Build-to-Suit, Carve Out, Celcom, Common
Tower, DAS, Decommissioning, Densification, Desabina, DiGi, D’harmoni, edotco, Hybrid Power, Infra Quest,
Around 1,000 new towers were erected in Malaysia
Infrastructure Sharing, KJS, LTE, Leasing & Permitting, Lithium, Malaysia, Market Overview, Maxis, Melaka
in 2015, where a new ground based tower (GBT)
ICT, Network Rollout, OCK, Off-Grid, PDC Telecommunications, Pass-Through, Perak Integrated Networks,
can cost in excess of RM300,000 (US$69,000). All
Perlis Comm, Premium Radius, RMS, Rangkaian Minang, Sacofa, Solar, Special Structures, State-Backed
of Celcom’s new build went through edotco, while
Towerco, Telekom Malaysia, The Naza Group, Touch Matrix, Towercos, U Mobile, YTL, Yikedbina
Maxis and DiGi continued to build their own towers
in 2015 – that may change in the latter’s case in 2016.
Read this article to learn: Much of Malaysia’s growth has come not from
< Who owns the towers in Malaysia’s competitive, mature mobile market? new GBTs but from ‘special structures’ like lamp
< How many new towers are being built in Malaysia and by whom? posts, billboards, flagpoles, clock towers, minarets
< The increasing role of ‘special structures’, DAS and BTS hotels in fulfilling demand for urban infill sites and water tanks which are easier to permit and
< Are Malaysia’s State-backed towercos acquirable? harmonise with the skyline in dense urban areas
< The status of fibre and LTE rollouts and forecast demand for new towers needed for 4G where there is substantial demand for infill sites.
The problem with permitting is particularly acute in
Figure one: Malaysia’s mature, competitive mobile market: subscriber An estimated 30-40% of Malaysia’s GBTs are in
numbers (in 000s) overlapping locations, but to date we’ve seen
relatively little decommissioning.
15,000 Celcom Maxis DiGi
DiGi and Maxis each have a similar sized tower
14,000
network (an estimated 3,400 and 3,800 respectively),
while Telekom Malaysia retained around 1,000
13,000
towers. There is substantial bi-lateral sharing of
12,000 MNO-captive towers in Malaysia, although there
are less tenants on the 5,000 towers owned by YTL,
11,000 a Malaysian integrated infrastructure developer
with investments in communications, utilities,
10,000 construction, property, hospitality and IT. U Mobile
Q314 Q414 Q115 Q215 Q315 owns a negligible number of towers, and has
Note: Other operators, including U Mobile with around 4mn, account for a further ~7mn subscribers. Source: MNO quarterly reports, MCMC
Figure three: Estimated tower counts

Figure two: Estimated tower counts for Malaysia Source: TowerXchange, Q4 2015
for Malaysia’s State-backed and other
edotco 3,600 independent towercos
DiGi 3,400 Sacofa 765
Maxis 3,800 Touch Matrix 460
1,000 D’harmoni 346
Telekom Malaysia
KJS 309
State backed towercos 3,200
Common Tower 260
YTL 5,000 Infra Quest 201
2,000 Yikedbina 200
Unaccounted for
1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 Asia Space 154
Perak Integrated Networks 150
Malaysia’s administrative capital Putrajaya, where solutions in Malaysia, including several hundred
Desabina 118
it is reportedly almost impossible to permit a macro in edotco’s portfolio. edotco is also working on
Melaka ICT 95
tower. In response to such challenges, edotco are the first of several BTS hotels for the Malaysian
soon to erect Asia’s first space-saving carbon fibre market, wherein each site in a cluster would be Rangkaian Minang 90
tower. equipped with a neutral antenna, with MNOs’ PDC Telecommunications 43
equipment hosted in a centralised equipment Perlis Comm 23
There are a substantial number of multi-tenant DAS room. Source: TowerXchange, Q4 2014
leveraged co-location to accelerate time to market. known as Premium Radius, which is Kedah Malaysia’s eight newly licensed LTE operators are
state’s exclusive partner for telecom structures. subject to license conditions requiring 10% coverage
Towercos own 31% of Malaysia’s towers, led by Premium Radius claims to have an order book for within the first year, and few have the time or
edotco’s 3,600 towers carved out of Celcom / Axiata. 235 telestructures and an exclusive contract for capital to build their own towers. Some of their
edotco aims to increase their Malaysian tower count microcell coverage with Kuala Lumpur City Hall. demand for points of service will be fulfilled by co-
by around 1,000 in 2016. A further 3,200 towers location, some by active infrastructure sharing.
are owned by 14 different State-backed and other Universal Service Provision fund deploying rural
independent towercos. State backed towercos have towers Fibre availability is reasonably widespread in
a monopoly on new builds in four or five States Malaysia and, although there are several fibrecos,
as “One Stop Agencies” (they do the permitting as As in many telecom markets, Malaysia’s MNOs are it still sometimes feels like Telekom Malaysia has
well as the building), but edotco has been able to required to contribute 6% of their earnings toward monopoly status. Their nearest competitor is City.
negotiate rights to build in most other States. a Universal Service Provision Fund. This fund
has been active deploying RM3bn (US$700mn) to Power and RMS on Malaysian cell sites
YTL acquired KJS, a state-backed towerco which commission rural towers based on a RAN sharing
then owned 309 towers, for US$15mn in 2014. business model. According to Malaysian publication There aren’t a lot of off grid sites in Malaysia,
Multiple parties have appetite to acquire further The Star, 699 towers had been built by 2013 by but edotco are looking at various off-grid power
State backed towercos, although it may not be an the so-called Time 3 Phase 3 (T3E) project, while a solutions including lithium-ion battery and solar
easy process given political and personal vested tender for a further 400 towers was released in April hybrids.
interests. 2014, with a further 1,000 being commissioned in Power is a pass through at almost all Malaysia’s cell
2015. sites.
Another potential stakeholder in Malaysian towers
is OCK, a leading turnkey service provider operating Progress of LTE and fibre rollouts RMS is not widely used by MNOs but is being
across Asia with a strong presence in Malaysia, considered by some State backed towercos. At time
where they received a Network Facilities Provider Around 3,000-4,000 LTE nodes have been deployed of press edotco’s Echo RMS solution was deployed on
license in 2011. In December 2014 OCK incorporated by each of Malaysia’s three leading MNOs, totalling 2,800 of edotco’s 3,600 Malaysian sites.
a wholly owned subsidiary in Singapore, OCK Telco around 13,000 LTE nodes to date. As usual, these are
Infra Pte. Ltd. to act as their platform in invest in concentrated mostly in the major cities, but rollout Conclusion
the tower leasing business. OCK has since secured a is moving to secondary cities and is primarily using
contract to build 900 towers for Telenor Myanmar. existing sites. The innovation and acquisitiveness of edotco makes
While the company has unsuccessfully bid to build Axiata’s carve-out towerco the most influential
and operate some of the MCMC’s rural towers, OCK At the Malaysia roundtable at the TowerXchange change agent in the mature Malaysian mobile and
do not appear to have yet commenced operation as a Meetup Asia 2015, it was estimated than an tower market. In 2016 and beyond, we expect the
towerco in Malaysia. additional 8,000 towers could be needed for 4G. majority of new towers and special structures in the
However with local authorities reluctant to permit country to be built by edotco, which could also join
The Naza Group, a diversified engineering business, macro sites, most of that demand will be met by YTL in a drive to rollup selected State-backed and
also has a registered Network Facilities Provider microcells, lamp-poles, DAS and IBS. independent towercos
Two tiered towerco market
Estimates suggested 17,300 towers would be needed
to achieve the Myanmar MCIT’s coverage targets by
the end of 2017. Myanmar’s tower stock had grown
emerges in Myanmar to ~10,750 towers at time of press. There is organic

growth for Myanmar’s towercos, but there is also
Imminent entry of fourth MNO will accelerate tenancy ratio growth tenancy ratio growth; the tenancy ratio of mature
portfolios ranges from 1.35 to 1.9, suggesting a
With the reduction in uncertainty in the healthy culture of infrastructure sharing and a
Myanmar tower market comes a reduction in risk, growing need for capacity as subscriber numbers
and a commensurate increase in investibility. continue to grow impressively. The Myanmar tower
Towerco consolidation has only recently begun, rollout seems broadly on track, but let’s take a
but the structure of the Myanmar tower market closer look at the structure of that market.
is increasingly clear, and TowerXchange expect
three towercos of scale to emerge. Likewise, the Who are Myanmar’s operators and what has
structure of the mobile market is becoming clear; been their tower strategy?
MPT has stood its ground; Telenor has grabbed
impressive market share; Ooredoo has continued Few commentators would have predicted that
to differentiate as a first mover in next generation State-backed incumbent MPT (Myanmar Post and
technologies; and now Viettel has been selected as Telecommunications) would have retained their
By Kieron Osmotherly & Christie Liu, Towerxchange market leadership two years after the licensing of
the joint venture partner for the fourth operator.
two international competitors but, backed by KDDI
Keywords: 4G, Apollo Towers Myanmar, Asia, Asia Research, Bankability, Best of TowerXchange, Country and Sumitomo, MPT has a 45% share of subscribers
Risk, Debt Finance, Densification, Digicel MTC, EFT, Eco Friendly Towers, edotco, Exit Strategy, Hybrid with over 20mn.
Power, IGT, Investment, Irrawaddy Green Towers, Lease Rates, MECtel, MLA, MNOs, MPT, Market Forecasts,
Market Overview, Network Rollout, New Market Entrant, OCK Group, Ooredoo, PAMEL, Private Equity, Investors KDDI and Sumitomo intend to invest
Regulation, Telenor, Tenancy Ratios, Tower Count, TowerXchange Research, Towerco Consolidation, a total of US$2bn in their Myanmar joint
Towercos, Valuation, Viettel venture partner MPT, with a US$1.6bn network
infrastructure investment announced this time
last year, which was to drive their base transceiver
Read this article to learn: station count from 2,000 to 5,000. While MPT are
< Contrasting the rollout strategy of MPT, Telenor and Ooredoo; what approach might Viettel take? not believed to have dramatically increased their
< How many towers are there now in Myanmar, who built them and how were they financed? captive tower count, which continues to be rolled
< The structure of Myanmar’s towerco market: scale players, discount players, and those seeking to exit out by Huawei, most of the Myanmar towercos
< Pressure on lease rates and implications for valuation report healthy lease up, which we estimate totals
< The reducing risks of investing in Myanmar towers over 1,500 co-locations from MPT, suggesting MPT is
closing in on their target.
Myanmar mobile subscriber growth by MNO over the last year the aim of achieving 95% population coverage
within three years. Viettel has a creative approach
50 Source: TowerXchange research
to making more marginal locations economically
MPT
45 viable for the provision of mobile coverage.
Subscribers per MNO (mns)
Telenor Viettel successfully and rapidly deployed low cost

40 networks focusing on underserved rural areas
Ooredoo in Mozambique, Cameroon and more recently
35
Tanzania. The Vietnamese military-backed operator
30 Total subscribers
has formed successively deeper partnerships with
towercos, and has already been using the test sites
25
of Myanmar’s towercos, who will be hopeful that
20 Viettel accelerate their rollout and achieve volume
15
Estimated total number of sites in
10 each MNOs network (inclusive of
5 co-locations)
0
Q314 Q414 Q115 Q215 Q315 Q415 Q116 Q216
3,800
Of the two international license holders, Telenor has by the end of Q216. While it initially appeared that
achieved the fastest subscriber growth in Myanmar, Ooredoo was courting the higher value customer
racing to just under 17mn subscribers in two years. with Myanmar’s first 3G then first 4G service, 5,831
Telenor has maintained their reputation as a tough, ARPU fell 35% between Q215 and Q216, while
disciplined and single-minded negotiator with management changes and a slow down in new
towercos, playing off Apollo and IGT as their go- tower build in the first half of 2016 suggest the
to towercos of scale, while driving deep discounts operator is changing strategic direction. Ooredoo
with Eco Friendly Towers and recent entrants OCK. currently has ~3,800 sites. Like Telenor, Ooredoo
Telenor remains broadly on track with their rollout has used third party towercos for their rollout, but
4,000
plan, having lit 5,831 towers by the end of Q216 – all changed strategy in 2015, reverting from an initial
independently owned – with a target to reach 7,000 preference to retain power assets to now requiring
by year end 2016, and as many as 13,000 sites to that towercos provide tower+power.
achieve solid nationwide voice and data coverage.
Having launched a month ahead of Telenor in While they have yet to break ground, soon-to-be Telenor MPT Ooredoo
August 2014, Ooredoo has fared less well in the licensed fourth MNO Viettel has pledged to invest
battle for subscribers, achieving 8.2mn subscribers US$1.5bn in the construction of a 3G network, with Source: TowerXchange research
and capacity at launch by substantially leveraging Breakdown of ownership of the 10,750 towers TowerXchange estimates
co-location.
have been built to date in Myanmar
Viettel owns a 49% controlling stake in Myanmar’s 3000
fourth MNO, with the balance shared among a
consortium of local stakeholders which includes 2500
Star High Public Company, itself owned by
Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), which also 2000
owns MECtel. Viettel will reportedly have access
to assets including 1,000 towers and 13,000km of 1500
fibre, as well as whatever remains of a reported 2600
subscriber base of 3.8mn before MECtel’s MNO play 2400
1000
was discontinued. 1800
1250 1250
Who are Myanmar’s towercos and how are they 500 1000
financed? 100 50
300
0
We would divide Myanmar’s seven towercos into IGT Apollo edotco PAMEL EFT MIG OCK Viettel- MPT
three groups; towercos of scale (IGT, Apollo and MECtel
edotco), towercos competing on price (EFT and Independent towerco towers MNO captive towers Source: TowerXchange
OCK), and towercos seeking an exit (PAMEL and
MIG – with Digicel MTC already departed). from by Alcazar Capital, EPC Investors, M1 Group scale, having spent US$221mn acquiring Myanmar
and local Myanmar company Barons Telelink. Tower Company (MTC) from Digicel. MTC built 1,250
Between them, these seven towercos have built over In December 2015, Dutch DFI FMO arranged a towers for Ooredoo in phases one and two of the
7,000 towers to date, with only MPT building their US$122mn syndicated loan for IGT. rollout. While MTC did not own the power assets at
own sites through Huawei. the sites, which were retained by Ooredoo, edotco
Apollo Towers Myanmar, which has around 1,800 will provide a full tower+power service. Digicel
Currently Myanmar’s largest towerco with around completed towers, also recently raised development MTC CEO Oliver Coughlan stayed on to become
2,400 towers, Irrawaddy Green Towers (IGT) has the finance, having started to draw down a US$250mn edotco’s Country Managing Director for Myanmar,
distinction of being Myanmar’s only towerco to date loan from OPIC. Apollo’s Chairman is former Eaton although he is currently transitioning to a Group
to have secured substantial build contracts from Towers Founder and Orange CEO Sanjiv Ahuja, and COO role with Vijendran Watson taking the helm in
both Ooredoo and Telenor. Ayad Chammas serves as is a joint venture between Ahuja’s Tillman Global Myanmar.
CEO. IGT has declared intent to build 5,000 towers Holdings, TPG and MIL (Myanmar Investments
in Myanmar, spending ~US$490mn. IGT is part of International Limited). Philippe Luxcey is CEO. edotco has a footprint of 16,450 towers across six
ASEAN Towers, which also owns Golden Towers Asian countries, and is currently 100% owned by
with 350 sites in Vietnam. IGT has investment edotco is the third of three Myanmar towercos of Axiata, although their stake may be diluted by third
party investors or IPO in the medium term. edotco wife is believed to be responsible for day to day Telenor has created a tier of discount towercos.
CEO Suresh Sidhu has stated intent to build or management of EFT.
buy 5,000 towers in Myanmar, and the company’s OCK say they will invest US$75mn to build the
balance sheet makes them a strong contender to Myanmar Infrastructure Group (MIG) is backed 920 towers Telenor has contracted; that works
acquire further tower portfolios that match their by Singapore Windsor Holdings. MIG has been out a little over US$80,000 per tower. That’s a
investment thesis. hard-hit by Ooredoo’s slow down in build, having little below the current average build cost of a
built around 100 of an originally contracted 500 tower in Myanmar (around US$100,000), but build
edotco’s next acquisition target may be Pan towers. With the Group exploring opportunities in cost is gradually coming down as a function of
Asia Majestic Eagle Limited (PAMEL, sometimes rental cars and other markets in Myanmar, they volume, and much depends on the cost of energy
referred to as Pan Asia Towers or PAT), whose are believed to be open to offers for their tower equipment. With OCK reportedly charging a lease
1,250 towers were built for Ooredoo in phases one portfolio. Mark Bedingham is CEO of MIG. rate as little as US$900 or US$920pcm, inclusive
and two. The portfolio is almost a mirror image of of power, some competitors had suggested OCK
the Digicel MTC towers. PAMEL has management OCK is the newest entrant to the Myanmar tower would have to deploy low cost DGs and batteries to
DNA in common with Indonesia’s Protelindo, but market. The company boasts impressive credentials minimise capex. However, OCK’s recent order for
remains a distinct entity. In 2014 PAMEL secured as a listed telecom turnkey solution provider in 80 premium, integrated DG+battery hybrid eSites
US$85mn in financing from a consortium of Malaysia, and has ambitious plans to form a pan- from Flexenclosure suggests OCK intend to deploy
five banks: DBS, ING, OCBC, Standard Chartered Asian towerco, including targeting 3,000 towers equipment of a similar standard to other towercos
and Sumitomo Mitsui. PAMEL remains the last in Myanmar. Telenor downwardly negotiated on at least some sites. There are already over 1,200
towerco in Myanmar operating the ‘steel and OCK’s lease rate, believed to be sub-US$1,000, and eSites deployed in Myanmar.
grass’ business model, but that may change with awarded a contract for 920 towers, of which around
the change in ownership. 50 are believed to be complete at time of press. In an exclusive interview featured within this
OCK’s Myanmar subsidiary raised a syndicated loan Journal, TowerXchange asked OCK Group Managing
Vendor finance was critical in the early days of US$40mn from OCBC Bank, Malayan Banking, Director Sam Ooi how they planned to sustain their
when international investors were cautious to United Overseas Bank and Bangkok Bank’s Yangon competitive price point. “OCK is a full turnkey
invest in Myanmar, but climbing tenancy ratios, branches. Terence Lee runs OCK’s operation in solutions provider,” said the MD, “and we are able
healthier cash flow, and an influx of capital Myanmar, while Sam Ooi is Group Managing to leverage our expertise from other countries into
means Myanmar’s towercos of scale are now less Director. Myanmar, resulting in a lower cost to build and
dependent on vendor finance. maintain towers. These benefits are passed on to
Pressure on prices our valued customers.”
A subsidiary of diversified Myanmar
conglomerate Young Investment Group, Eco- There has been little uniformity in lease rates Whether it’s OCK, EFT or any other towerco
Friendly Towers (EFT) has built over 300 towers, in Myanmar since the outset. Whilst there was offering towers at a discounted lease rate, their
most in the Northern States, from a contract significant variation in pricing initially, the greatest challenge will be creating a scalable tower
for 700 from Telenor. Young Investment Group country’s original four towercos have coalesced business in Myanmar. Coming in 30%+ cheaper
Chairman Thiha Aung has represented EFT at within a fairly narrow range of lease rates. than the competition might drive volume, but in
a past TowerXchange Meetup Asia, while his However, the aggressive price negotiations of order to meet Telenor and Ooredoo’s exacting
The reducing risks of investing in Myanmar towercos Source: TowerXchange
Risk At lauch After two years
Formerly imprisoned opposition leader and Nobel peace prize winner Aung San
When the rollout commenced, Myanmar was coming out of a period
Country Suu Kyi’s NLD party achieved a landslide victory in the 2015 election. While most
of military rule and unrest, with continuing instability particularly in
risk International sanctions remain in place, and many personalities from the old military
the Northern States. International sanctions remained in place.
junta remain influential, Myanmar is becoming more open to international investment.
Two years ago, Telenor and Ooredoo, plus their towerco partners,
All four towercos (Apollo, IGT, MTC and PAMEL) who rolled out towers in phases one
had to work within an accommodating yet immature regulatory
and two received “Network Facilities Service (Class)” or NFS(C) licenses on 3 February
Regulatory environment. For example, there was no policy defining the licensing
2015, just over a year after Ooredoo and Telenor were granted their licenses. However,
regime for towercos, and Myanmar’s first four towercos had to trade,
proving title within incomplete land registries remains a challenge.
and raise capital, with only letters of non-objection for over a year.
Proven international telecoms contractors have opened offices in Myanmar, such as
Given the under-developed existing telecom infrastructure in ATM Towers, Camusat, GSM TP, GTL, ieng, LCC / Leadcom, LeBlanc, Mer Group, Quanta
Operational Myanmar, there was a lack of experienced telecoms subcontractors TowerGen, RS Infra, Sagemcom, Salasar Techno and Zamil. Those contractors, and their
with the know how to acquire, construct and maintain sites. towerco partners, have invested substantially in training, growing a substantial local
skills base which now forms a significant majority of the workforce.
When the towercos entered Myanmar they needed to send 980

FX is probably the number one risk which has not gone in the towerco’s favour, with
Myanmar Kyat (or MMK) to get US$1. The FX situation quickly
Currency the MMK devaluing 18% versus the U.S. dollar over the last two years. However, the
worsened, peaking at a little over MMK1,300 to the dollar in the
current rate of around MMK1,180 to the dollar seems to have stabilised.
second half of 2015.
Apollo initially entered the Myanmar market at a disruptive lease The lease rate price war shows no signs of abating, with new entrants OCK reportedly
Pricing rate around 30% below that charged by the most expensive of their accepting a disruptive sub-US$1,000pcm lease rate from Telenor. To date, Myanmar’s
competitors. Apollo’s lease rates have since normalised. towercos of scale are holding firm on pricing in the US$1,200-1,800 range.
The prevailing tenancy ratio in Myanmar is around 1.5 – about as high as could be
The reality is that a significant amount of parallel infrastructure
expected given the number of new towers being built. While co-construction never
was built in phase one. When ‘Project Optima’, an effort to rollout
materialised, Myanmar’s three active MNOs seem to prefer to buy rather than build,
Commercial 1,105 shared phase two towers stalled, in part because of differing
and Viettel may be inclined to co-locate to accelerate time to market. The extent to
approaches to power asset ownership, it was looking like the supposed
which there is parallel infrastructure in Myanmar’s major cities may prove useful as
culture of infrastructure sharing in Myanmar was a thin veneer.
networks are already crowded, with infill sites sought both for offload and for 4G.
Axiata’s edotco, which has ready access to capital and a pathway to IPO, has already
A “gold rush” of relatively under-capitalised towercos pursued
Exit completed one transaction and has an appetite for more. American Tower took a long
contracts in Myanmar, and for the first few months there was no clear
strategy look at the Digicel MTC assets that edotco ultimately acquired – it was too soon for them
sense of a strategic buyer who could facilitate successful exits.
in 2015, but has the Myanmar tower market now been sufficiently de-risked?
quality standards and SLAs, the cost of a tower is in excess of US$1,700pcm. These towers are likely in three large towerco portfolios – around 5,000
the cost of a tower. At such a low lease rate, discount to be sought-after by Viettel when they begin their towers built and rolled up by edotco, plus a further
towercos will have to drive to a healthy tenancy rollout. Expect PAMEL’s towers to attract a healthy 8,000 towers built by OCK, IGT and Apollo, at
ratio quickly to create the necessary cashflow. Will premium when they come to market. least one of which will have received an offer
the entry of Viettel, and resultant urgency generated they can’t refuse by then and exited. Who are
among incumbent operators, drive tenancy ratios As the rollout extends deeper into rural areas, often potential buyers? edotco of course, while American
close to two within the next 12-18 months? beyond the reach of Myanmar’s finite paved road Tower are known to have considered entering the
network, search rings call for towers to be built Myanmar market in 2015, but the level of risk may
What are Myanmar’s towers worth? in less accessible locations, often well beyond the now be more attractive to their investment palette.
reach of the grid. Mature towercos will sometimes
With the PAMEL and MIG portfolios reportedly reject sites in such remote areas, wary of the cost Newest entrants OCK have been bullish about their
coming to market, it should be noted that not all of site acquisition, the complexity of the build, plans to rollup a pan-Asian portfolio of towers –
towers and towercos are created equal in Myanmar; elevated opex costs as a function of energy logistics, indeed they recently announced the acquisition of
just because edotco paid US$176,800 per tower and reduced co-location potential. However, 1,938 towers in Vietnam for US$50mn. OCK are the
for Digicel MTC’s 1,250 towers does not mean all towercos coming later to market may be under wildcard in our forecast; if they can build at speed
Myanmar towers will change hands for a premium more pressure to accept such locations as they and drive to their targeted 3,000 Myanmar towers
of that magnitude. seek scale. The near-term and potential future TCF at their discount price point, they are going to prove
from those sites may not match that of Myanmar’s popular with all four Myanmar MNOs.
The usual valuation rules apply: the value of a tower phase one and two towers, indeed if the MLA is not
is as much to do with the paperwork (particularly drafted smartly and the location is undesirable, TowerXchange think there is room for two to three
the permits and the commercial terms defined some towers may barely be worth the capital towercos of scale in Myanmar in the long term,
in the MLA - Master Lease Agreement) as it is to deployed to build them. As we said at the outset; not perhaps fed by one or two localised or discount
do with the attractiveness of the location and the every tower in Myanmar is worth the US$176,800 towercos that may ultimately become “build to flip”
quality / capacity of the structure. The value of a per tower edotco paid for a portfolio which now has plays.
tower is not just about Tower Cash Flow (TCF) today, a tenancy ratio of 1.9; towercos and their investors
itself a product of lease rate, tenancy ratio and opex must be wary of building towers with a much lower The Myanmar tower market today looks
costs; it’s more about potential future TCF. glass ceiling on tenancy ratio, which may be worth dramatically different from a year ago. Many
less than US$100,000. risks have receded and, while there remains some
The first and much of the second phase of pressure on lease prices from aggressive buyers
the Myanmar tower rollout were naturally Forecasting the future of Myanmar’s tower and discounters, Myanmar’s three towercos of scale
concentrated in the country’s three most densely market are holding firm at a price point that enables them
populated cities: Yangon, Naypyidaw and Mandalay, to attract international investment, and to build
as well as the transport routes between them. For By the end of 2017, Myanmar will have the targeted quality assets in a timely manner, fulfilling the
example, PAMEL have built 1,250 robust, phase 17,300 towers, around 4,000 of which will remain ambitious visions of Myanmar’s three-going-on-
one towers and leased them up to a tenancy ratio MNO-captive on MPT and Viettel’s balance sheets. four operators, and meeting the insatiable appetite
reported to be around 1.8, with a healthy lease rate The remainder will be concentrated primarily of Myanmar’s citizens for mobile services
Myanmar migrates to
Ooredoo Myanmar was the first operator to launch
fourth-generation services last May in Myanmar’s
three largest cities. The operator aims to cover one-
the 4G era half of Yangon’s townships, all of Mandalay and

about 90% of Nay Pyi Taw’s townships. The company
Ooredoo and Telenor commence 4G overlay, Viettel may follow suit when launched announced recently that 85% of its users go on the
internet every day, and that average monthly data
History was made in Myanmar last May when usage per user was nearly on par with customers in
Ooredoo Myanmar launched the first 4G services Europe. Ooredoo’s network consists of more than
in the country, followed shortly by rival operator 3,800 sites, about one-quarter of which will have a
Telenor Myanmar. The speed of the 4G launches 4G by the time this article is released in August 2016.
are unprecedented considering Myanmar’s 2G
and 3G mobile subscriber penetration increased Ooredoo has stated that its customer base in
from 10% in 2014 to above 80%, or 45mn users, Myanmar had increased by 108% year-on-year and
reported that its data network now covers more than
as of June 2016 after the country opened to
85% of the population.
international service providers. Nearly 95% of
the population is expected to have connectivity
In an announcement to investors, Ooredoo stated
by the end of the 2017, and this rapid rollout
that it continued to be the data leader in its markets,
stands out as an examplar of the merits of
including Myanmar and Algeria. The company now
shared infrastructure. In comparison, Thailand
has around 200,000 4G subscribers across its user
and Indonesia took seven to eight years to go
base.
from 10% to 95%+, while Vietnam took four
years to rollout coverage.
Ooredoo Myanmar has rolled out 4G services on
two frequencies: 900MHz and 2100MHz; Ooredoo’s
Keywords: 2G, 3G, 4G, Asia, Asia Insights, Market Overview, Market Share, MECTel, Myanmar, Ooredoo,
licence allows the company to buy additional
Regulation, Spectrum, Telenor
spectrum for a fee, and the telco successfully applied
to purchase more a few months ago. The company
announced in a recent press release that it was ready
Read this article to learn: to invest more in spectrum pending a government
< The progress of the Ooredoo and Telenor 4G launches in Myanmar auction.
< The performance of Ooredoo Myanmar and Telenor Myanmar
< The government of Myanmar’s roadmap for spectrum The government of Myanmar released a new version
< Where 4G figures in the plans of Viettel and the consortium which won the fourth license of its spectrum roadmap in April 2016, which
< How and where Myanmar’s towercos stand to benefit from the 4G rollout indicates that the Posts and Telecommunications
Department (PTD) could make unallocated portions
of the 850/900MHz and 2,100MHz frequency bands
Implications of 4G for Myanmar’s MNOs and towercos
available, in addition to the 700MHz, 1,800MHz,
Ooredoo were struggling to gain market share so were compelled to be first movers in next generation networks.
2,300MHz and 2,600MHz bands. The new Ministry
Telenor, as they typically are worldwide, were fast followers so there will be negligible competitive differentiation
of Transport and Communications announced in
between the two through 4G.
February 2016 that it would make spectrum on the
2,600MHz band available to telecommunications However Ooredoo and Telenor’s introduction of 4G this early does give them a head start in the battle for the QoS-
sensitive high value customer in advance of fourth operator Viettel’s launch, which could take until 2017 before any
sector players in an auction, which was postponed in
meaningful coverage is achieved. Viettel, which owns 49% of the venture alongside a consortium of 11 Myanmar
March 2016.
companies, has already stated intent to launch 4G on 1,800MHz spectrum, but that may take considerable time as
they don’t yet have the license.
The auction was delayed again in July due to
The launch of 4G is particularly good news for the towercos who built towers in the first two phases of rollout, which
objections from Ooredoo and Telenor who composed
were concentrated in Myanmar’s three largest cities; Yangon, Naypyidaw and Mandalay. While there was a degree of
a joint letter to the Myanmar Investment Commission
parallel infrastructure built in high population density areas, the demand for infill sites for 4G will further increase
and stated that the proposed spectrum prices would demand for space on these already coveted towers.
not give an acceptable level of return. The tender
With 4G amendment revenue kicking in just two years into the rollout, and a fourth MNO launch imminent, 2017 is
will be called again for local and foreign firms in
going to be a good year for some of Myanmar’s towercos
August, according to Ministry of Transport and
Communications. 1,800MHz spectrum may be up for 4G all over Myanmar.” According to the company Competition in Myanmar will only continue to
auction in the first quarter of 2017. more than 60% of its subscribers use data, and this intensify with a fourth operator license set to
percentage is set to increase. be awarded. The fourth operator is to be run by
Telenor was second to market with 4G services in the Vietnamese MNO Viettel in cooperation with a
capital of Myanmar, Naypyidaw, starting in July 2016. Telenor, Myanmar’s second largest operator with government stakeholder, Star High Public Company
Former Telenor Myanmar CEO Petter Furberg stated 16.9mn connections and a 37% market share, has Limited, and a local consortium, Myanmar National
after the launch that in addition to rollout in the more than 5,800 towers across the country. Telecom Holding Public Limited. N
capital, the company is continuing to test 4G in other
cities including Yangon, Mandalay, Myawady and Due to the company’s continuing strong performance Star High Public Company Ltd. is owned by by the
Muse, and will progressively roll out the technology in Myanmar, Telenor’s investments in this market military-controlled Myanmar Economic Corporation
nationwide. Telenor’s 4G coverage in Naypyidaw is will remain high to secure service quality to 17mn (MEC) which also owns MECtel. MECtel reportedly
supported by 5MHz of spectrum on the 2,100MHz customers and pave the way for further expansion started offering mobile services in 2013, but was
band. and growth. The strong EBITDA in Myanmar has deemed ineligible to apply for the fourth operator
already achieved positive cash flow, according to license. Once the fourth license is awarded, MECtel’s
Furberg also stated that Telenor is looking forward Telenor’s Q2 report. At the same time, Telenor added assets, which reportedly include approximately
to participating in the spectrum auctions planned 1.4mn new subscribers over the three months to 1,000 towers and over 13,000km of fibre, will be
by the government later this year and that due June – a slower growth in customers than it has seen incorporated into the new entity, along with its
to “the explosive growth of data and increasing in the past. New Telenor CEO Sigve Brekke attributed remaining subscriber base which numbered 3.8mn
data demand by the Myanmar people we believe the slowdown in subscriber growth to increasing as of Q3 2015. Viettel has stated intent to add 4G to its
it is urgently required to expand our services to competition in the market. 3G rollout
Mobilink-Warid merger
The merger between Mobilink and Warid will put
some competitive distance between VimpelCom’s
Pakistani subsidiary and their nearest challenges
clears the way for Pakistan’s Telenor. Fierce competition has driven ARPUs
in Pakistan below US$2, putting pressure on the
first tower transaction country’s MNOs to create efficiencies through

infrastructure sharing. The sale of Mobilink and
Warid’s combined tower portfolio is imminent, with
With the sale of 13,000+ towers imminent, and another deal in the pipeline,
Ufone’s towers also on the market.
TowerXchange examines the opportunities and threats for towercos in Pakistan
How many towers are there in Pakistan, who
The acquisition and integration of Warid by Mobilink is set to be
owns them now, and what is for sale?
accompanied by the spinning off of the combined operator’s towers.
TowerXchange understands that one tower company has secured a
While the PTA suggest there were 40,704 cell sites
period of exclusive negotiations to close the deal to acquire 13,000-
between Pakistan’s then five MNOs in 2015, it is
13,700 towers (after the elimination of overlapping sites). A further
not clear whether shared sites are counted twice.
8,318 towers are coming to market as Ufone seeks to monetise their
TowerXchange has also learned that there are at
assets, which could increase the total level of decommissioning to
least 800 independently owned towers in Pakistan,
around 10%. Besides parallel infrastructure, what other challenges
By Kieron Osmotherly, CEO, TowerXchange owned by Towershare.
will be faced by the towerco acquiring these assets?
As the first MNO in the market, Mobilink has

Keywords: 3G, 4G, AWAL Telecom, Asia, Asia Research, CMPak, DG Runtime, Decommissioning, edotco,
Pakistan’s oldest and largest tower portfolio. All our
Etisalat, IBS, Infrastructure Sharing, Lease Rates, MNOs, Market Overview, Mobilink, PTA, Pakistan,
sources agreed that Mobilink has almost exactly
RANsharing, Regulation, Renewables, Research, Sale & Leaseback, Tax, Telenor, Tenancy Ratios, Tower
10,000 sites, which sounds like a plausible increase
Bersama, Tower Count, TowerXchange Research, Towercos, Towershare, Ufone, Unreliable Grid, Uptime,
in the six months since the last PTA annual report.
Valuation, VimpelCom, Warid, Zong
In 2005 when Telenor and Ufone entered the

market, followed later by Zong, the new entrants
Read this article to learn: lobbied for mandatory infrastructure sharing,
< How many towers are there in Pakistan, who owns them now, and what is for sale? but the market leaders were opposed as Mobilink
< Infrastructure sharing and parallel infrastructure in Pakistan considered their towers a competitive differentiator.
< The progress and potential impact of RANsharing in Pakistan During this period there were only limited scope
< The 4G spectrum and 4G rollout plans of Pakistan’s MNOs barter agreements between MNOs.
< The emerging market for in-building solutions in Pakistan
Mobilink’s position changed in 2011-12 as they
came to see the potential cost efficiencies and Mobile subscriber market share
QoS improvement benefits of infrastructure
sharing. Mobilink now leases out their towers on a
commercial basis, and has around 2,500 co-locating 8.6%
tenants, representing a tenancy ratio of 1.25.
Mobilink’s internal towerco contributes around 3% 29.2%
of the MNO’s total revenue (and doubtless a much
15.5% Mobilink (VimpelCom)
higher proportion of the profit!) Telenor
It is therefore perhaps unsurprising that Mobilink’s

Zong (CMPak)
towers are expected to fetch a significant valuation Ufone (Etisalat)
when they are sold, probably before the year end. 19.3% Warid
With Mobilink’s merger with Warid now approved,
both tower portfolios will be sold together: post
27.5%
decommissioning of ~5-8% overlapping sites, the
integrated Mobilink and Warid tower portfolio is Source: PTA, 2015
“
Breakdown of MNO site counts in Pakistan
Mobilink now leases out their 8,318 9,902

towers on a commercial basis,
and has around 2,500 co-locating Mobilink (VimpelCom)
tenants, representing a tenancy Warid
ratio of 1.25. Mobilink’s internal

towerco contributes around 3%
of the MNO’s total revenue
“ 8,321
5,512
Zong (CMPak)
Telenor
Ufone (Etisalat)
8,651
Source: PTA, 2015
expected to consist of around 13,000-13,700 micro significant densification. The merger of Mobilink
and macro towers. Mobilink are thought to value The emerging market for in- and Warid creates a similar impetus: “Mobilink will
the portfolio at a little under US$1bn, suggesting building solutions in Pakistan have a clear spectrum advantage on all bands,” said
a cost per tower of US$73-76,900, which would a network planner at a competitive MNO. “We can
be consistent with the valuation comp provided There are around 100 sites suitable for the only mitigate this through M&A or deep network
installation of in-building solutions (IBS) in
by American Tower’s recent acquisition of Viom sharing.”
Pakistan. To date, the first four or five IBS have
Networks in India.
been built by MNOs, but with a preference for a
Infrastructure sharing and parallel
neutral host model, so expect towercos to take a
Mobilink’s parent VimpelCom has initiated a global infrastructure in Pakistan
larger role in IBS in the future
tower monetisation programme, and has reportedly
entered into exclusive negotiations with a preferred exemplified by Wi-Fi Broadband service BurQ, While you wouldn’t suggest Pakistan has a mature,
bidder from a shortlist believed to have included which plans 2,500 tenancies over the next three to deeply embedded culture of infrastructure sharing,
Axiata’s pan-Asian towerco edotco, which operates four years. there are believed to be over 4,000 third party
13,000km of fibre in Pakistan; Dubai headquartered tenants on the country’s towers. For example,
Towershare, which had already built or rolled up The 4G spectrum auction and 4G rollout plans of Telenor has over 1,500 tenancies on third party sites
some 800 towers in Pakistan; local towerco AWAL Pakistan’s MNOs in their Pakistani network. One network planner
Telecom, which recently secured a build-to-suit told TowerXchange: “100% of our future rollout will
contract with Mobilink; and Tower Bersama from Pakistan’s MNOs spent nearly US$1.2bn acquiring probably be on shared networks – either shared bi-
Indonesia. 3G and 4G spectrum in 2014. A further 850MHz laterally, or leveraging towerco towers.”
spectrum was recently sold to Telenor Pakistan,
Ufone are believed to have also commenced a which was the sole bidder, paying US$395mn. However, new entrant Wi-Fi broadband operators
process to monetise their 8,318 towers. Ufone is report experiencing slow and bureaucratic processes
the struggling mobile subsidiary of PTC (Pakistan 3G was only launched in late 2014, but GSMA to co-locate on MNOs towers, and have renewed calls
Telemmunications Company), whose profit after tax Intelligence reveals that mobile broadband on the Pakistani regulator to mandate infrastructure
plummeted 52.9% between FY14 and FY15. Ufone penetration almost doubled year on year to 19% sharing.
became part of Etisalat when PTC was privatised in by Q415. Warid launched 4G in January 2015, with
2006. Zong launching in September 2015, and aiming There is significant parallel infrastructure in
to rollout over 5,000 4G sites by year end 2016. Pakistan – it is not usual to see four or even
Prior to the imminent sale and leasebacks, which Telenor only launched 4G in August 2016, but it is five towers and rooftop structures all clustered
may establish a new pricing benchmark, lease rates not atypical of Telenor to be a “fast follower” rather together within 20-50m in urban areas, and there is
in Pakistan were believed to be around the US$800- than a first mover in new technologies. significant network overlap in rural areas as well.
1,000 per month mark.
The overlay of 4G creates an obvious opportunity The sale of the combined Mobilink and Warid towers
Non-traditional MNOs may represent more than for Pakistani towercos to drive tenancy ratio could lead to the decommissioning of 5-8% of towers.
the usual level of potential upside in Pakistan, growth, with network planners anticipating If the Ufone towers were acquired and pooled by
the same towerco, the proportion could rise above Tower licensees in Pakistan Source: TowerXchange Research, PTA
10%.
Date Known
Licensee Location
Network planners suggest around 20,000 sites licensed activity
are required to have full economic coverage in
Communicator’s
Pakistan. June 2006 National Laying fibre and other turnkey services. No towerco activity
Globe
Specialist Group July 2006 Punjab None

Pakistan is in the early stages of fiberisation. While
edotco has 13,000km of readily shareable fibre, Modaraba Al
August 2006 National Sold mobile tower business to Tower Share for Rs 835,000 in 2013
most Pakistani MNOs are rolling out their own Mali
fibre. To date only Telenor and Zong have signed a Rolled up selected other licensees, built 800 towers, contracted to
Towershare April 2009 National
fibre sharing agreement. build 39 sites in the FATAs for Ufone, one of the front-runners to
acquire 13,000+ towers from Mobilink+Warid
Telenor and Zong have also undertaken Pakistan’s Wincom June 2009 Punjab Infrastructure development and maintenance partner of Warid
first RANsharing trials, across approximately 30
DHAI-Telecom July 2010 Punjab None
sites, using the MORAN model (Multi Operator
RAN), where there is no spectrum sharing. Secured BTS contract with Mobilink, outsiders to acquire 13,000+
AWAL Telecom November 2014 National
While Mobilink and Warid are not currently towers from Mobilink+Warid
prioritising RANsharing, the governance of Operates 13,000km of fibre, building 200 towers, one of the front-
edotco July 2015 National
RANsharing will be an important negotiating point runners to acquire 13,000+ towers from Mobilink+Warid
in their tower sale. MKZ Networks March 2015 National None
A progressive regulatory environment, yet local Associated

March 2015 National Turnkey contractor primarily to Telenor and, via Huawei, CMPak
Technologies Ltd
permitting and taxation challenges remain
The PTA released an MOU setting an unofficial Coverage, security and power
The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority target to increase the infrastructure sharing ratio in
(PTA) is renowned to be a progressive regulator, Pakistan. While territorial coverage is in excess of 92%, gaps
exemplified by their granting permission for in the network remain, particularly in the Federally
RANsharing trials before policy governing the Towercos in Pakistan will experience a frustration Administrated Tribal Areas (FATAs) which can be
practice had been drafted. The PTA was also quick common to many markets worldwide; the lack of a unstable, and which require a high degree of local
to recognise the potential value independent joined up approach to site permitting and taxation knowledge and connections to operate in. In April
tower companies could bring ICT in the country, in Pakistan, with different policies from region to 2015, Ufone appointed Towershare to build 39 new
licensing domestic towercos as long ago as 2006 – region, and multiple layers of taxation, including sites in the FATAs.
although only two of those licensees appear to be Federal and regional sales taxes, capital gains and
trading as towercos today. withholding tax. While occasional security challenges within
Pakistan’s tower network make telecom industry
news, network managers report few security Baseline data on Pakistan
problems outside the FATAs.
Although 93.6% of Pakistanis have access to

electricity (Source: World Bank, 2012), many cell
sites are on unreliable grid connections, with
Area:
outages of eight plus hours. Uptime remains a
challenge for MNOs and towercos alike; investment
796,095 sq km 1
in, and maintenance of, backup power solutions
remains critical. Most cell sites have at least one
backup DG, while both Towershare and edotco
Urbanisation: 38.8%1
have expressed intent to build more energy
efficient sites by leveraging deep cycle batteries
and renewables.
Conclusions GDP per capita (PPP):

Pakistan is a unique tower market; from
energy logistics challenges not unlike Africa,
to decommissioning challenges of a magnitude Population: 199,085,847 1
US$5,000 1
seldom seen outside Europe.
The mindset of Pakistan’s MNO seems to have Mobile coverage Mobile broadband penetration:
evolved toward a recognition that the construction (territorial) 19% up from 10% last year 2
and maintenance of towers is not their core
business. Balance sheet pressures, declining ARPU
and the cost of 4G rollout will combine to see
up to 22,000 of the country’s towers transferred
in the coming 6-12 months. Given the need for
Connections: 127.9mn2
92%
consolidation of those networks, TowerXchange
feel the most likely outcome is that a single, pan-
Pakistan towerco emerges, generating considerable
efficiencies and releasing over US$1bn of capital
Sources: CIA Factbook1, GSMA Intelligence, Q4 20152
into the Pakistan ICT ecosystem in the process
A snapshot of the mobile TowerXchange: Please introduce Capitel
Partners.
and tower markets of Singapore Pankaj Agrawal, Partner and Puja Goyal, Consultant,
Capitel: Capitel is a leading advisor on complex
New entrant operator may force infrastructure sharing investment decisions by service providers, global
institutional investors and policy makers in
Experienced mobile and Telecoms, Media and Internet. We have advised on
multi-billion dollar transactions and investments
tower industry advisors
plans. We are based in Singapore and India, and
Capitel turn their analytical
serve a client base located in the U.S., Asia and
lens upon Singapore,
Europe.
providing an insight into
the shifting competitive TowerXchange: Please introduce us to the
landscape for operators Singaporean mobile market. Who are the
and the potential for future operators? At what level is ARPU now and where
infrastructure sharing, or is it trending?
even independent infracos, in
one of Asia’s most mature and Pankaj Agrawal, Partner and Puja Goyal, Consultant,
Pankaj Agrawal, Partner and Puja Goyal, Consultant, Capitel Capitel: Singapore is a mature mobile and fixed
sophisticated mobile markets.
telecoms market, with mobile penetration close to
150%, and fixed broadband penetration in almost
Keywords: ARPU, Asia, Capex, Capitel, IBS, Infrastructure Sharing, LTE, Lawyers & Advisors, M1,
all households. There are mobile only offerings,
Market Overview, New License, New Market Entrant, Regulation, Research, Rooftop, Singapore, Singtel, triple play services and high-speed FTTH broadband
Starhub, Third Party Reports, Tower Count services.
There are three incumbent operators, namely

Read this article to learn: Singtel, Starhub and M1, with mobile market shares
< The potential for a new entrant into Singapore’s competitive mobile market of 49%, 27% and 24% respectively.
< The spectrum holdings used for Singapore’s mature 3G and LTE networks
< How many cell sites there are in Singapore, the split between GBTs and rooftops, and the status The regulator has considered entry of a new entrant
of indoor coverage operator in mobile to offer innovative services and
< Forecasting the capex requirement for a new entrant MNO also to promote competition. The planned auctions
< Why the Singaporean market may open up to infrastructure sharing and infracos in this year will allow new entrants to purchase
spectrum and roll out mobile services. Consistel,
Table one: Spectrum availability and pricing for auctions The average throughput received by consumers is in
the range of 4Mbps – 5Mbps.
Spectrum band Quantum Lot size Reserve price per lot

Incumbents are using 900MHz for GSM as well as
3G and 4G deployments. Operators plan to shut
700MHz 2*45MHz 2*5MHz SGD20mn down GSM services from 2017, and their spectrum
roadmap for 900MHz will also depend on their
900MHz 2*30MHz 2*5MHz SGD20mn spectrum holdings after the 900MHz auctions. In
addition to 900MHz, operators are using 1,800MHz,
2300MHz 40MHz 5MHz SGD3mn 2,100MHz and 2,500MHz spectrum bands.
SGD3mn 3G is deployed on 2,100MHz, and LTE deployments

2500MHz 45MHz 5MHz
are on 1,800MHz and 2,500MHz. The regulator
Note: 2*10 MHz of 900MHz and 40MHz of 2300MHz is reserved at S$35mn for new operator and 2*5MHz of 900MHz to is also offering 700MHz and 2,300MHz in the
be reserved for each incumbent Source: IDA
and MyRepublic are reportedly interested in the launched SIM only plans, and have also reduced Singapore mobile market share
mobile license. tariffs for existing plans.
The fixed broadband market has witnessed Handset subsidies remain a source of concern for
significant price competition with the entry of new operators, and are impacting their profitability due
24%
providers such as MyRepublic that are offering to high subscriber acquisition costs.
FTTx services at a fraction of the incumbent
prices. The model is to leverage the NGNBN (Next TowerXchange: How mature is the rollout of
Generation Nationwide Broadband Network) to mobile broadband? What spectrum has been
49%
offer low priced, high-speed fiber broadband access acquired, at what cost and what spectrum
to households and businesses. is coming to market? What levels of data
usage are we seeing? How fast is data usage
ARPU for mobile only services offered by M1 is at growing, and does the network have adequate
27%
SGD30 per month (US$22.39). For other operators capacity?
offering bundled services, the ARPU is in the range
of SGD42-SGD48 per month (US$30.22-35.82). With Pankaj Agrawal, Partner and Puja Goyal, Consultant,
the entry of new mobile operator, the mobile-only Capitel: Incumbents have been rolling out LTE
ARPU may witness some pressure, as new entrants networks, and have achieved close to 99% Singtel Starhub M1
are reportedly planning to offer 2GB data for SGD8 geographic coverage with LTE. The LTE subscriber
(US$5.76) for a prepaid model. Incumbents have penetration has now reached 70% of the base. Source: TowerXchange
SUMMARY NETWORK MODEL AND ECONOMICS BUSINESS CASE ABOUT US
We estimate 4,500 macro BTS and 9,000 small cells for 55 planning areas4 in Singapore
Capitel estimate 4,500 macro BTS and 9,000 small cells for 55 planning sites deployed per operator for macro coverage.
areas in Singapore Indoor coverage is via building coverage using IBS
and other solutions – incumbents have not deployed
REQUIRED NUMBER OF BASE STATIONS BY FREQUENCY BAND AND PLANNING
AREAS a large number of small cells as their spectrum
Cumulative sites, nos. holdings on sub-GHz bands are good. It is estimated
HIGH DENSITY AREAS1 MEDIUM DENSITY AREAS2 LOW DENSITY AREAS3 that incumbents are covering 600-800 buildings
15,000
with indoor coverage solutions.
14,000
13,961
13,000
12,000
Next generation fibre backhaul is widely available
11,000 in Singapore, and will be needed for high density
10,000 small cell deployments.
9,000
SMALL CELLS, 2300MHz + WiFi
8,000
TowerXchange: Appreciating the incumbents do
7,000
not share counts, what would you estimate is the
6,000
5,000 4,704 total site count for Singapore? And how does that
4,000 divide between ground based towers (GBTs) and
3,000 METRO CELLS, 2300MHz rooftops?
2,000 1,605
1,000 MACRO CELLS, 900MHz
Pankaj Agrawal, Partner and Puja Goyal, Consultant,
-
Capitel: We would estimate there to be a total of
P1
P2
P3
P4
P5
P6
P7
P8
P9
P10
P11
P12
P13
P14
P15
P16
P17
P18
P19
P20
P21
P22
P23
P24
P25
P26
P27
P28
P29
P30
P31
P32
P33
P34
P35
P36
P37
P38
P39
P40
P41
P42
P43
P44
P45
P46
P47
P48
P49
P50
P51
P52
P53
P54
P55
900MHz 2300MHz Small cells 6,000-7,500 sites in Singapore. Given the urban
Note: 1. Areas with population density of 15,000/sq km and above 2. Areas with population density between 1,000/sq. km and
density, 85-90% of those sites are rooftop structures,
4
Commercial in confidence 15,000/sq. km 3. Areas with population density below 1,000/sq km
with most of the rest being monopoles, primarily
Source: Capitel network model, 4. Department of Statistics, Singapore Source: Capitel network model
located on the outskirts of the city.
upcoming auctions, and we expect LTE deployments prices, the mobile data usage is expected to increase
to also start moving to these bands. Table one from the current levels. TowerXchange: Is there a lot of parallel
provides details of spectrum available in upcoming infrastructure, or is there a culture of
auctions. TowerXchange: Roughly how many cell sites infrastructure sharing? Is sharing limited to
are there in Singapore? How is indoor coverage passive infrastructure or is there RANsharing in
Data usage on mobile is reportedly in the range of achieved? Is fiber ubiquitously available? Singapore?
3GB to 4GB per month. The total petabyte traffic
on the mobile network is growing, although there Pankaj Agrawal, Partner and Puja Goyal, Consultant, Pankaj Agrawal, Partner and Puja Goyal, Consultant,
is also support from high penetration of fixed Capitel: Incumbent operators do not share the Capitel: The regulator, IDA has provided a Code
broadband and Wi-Fi. With the entry of new number of sites deployed by them. Independent of Practice for Info-communication Facilities in
operators, increase in offered speeds and affordable estimates from industry analysts suggest 2500-3000 buildings (COPIF) that details the requirement of
“
Pankaj Agrawal, Partner and Puja Goyal,
Consultant, Capitel: There are no shared
infrastructure providers for macro and street
coverage.
There are competitive considerations currently that prevent infrastructure

sharing, however, with increasing competition and stretched balance
sheets we may begin to see bilateral and finally independent infraco led
infrastructure sharing
“ With the increase in price-led competition, and
increasing impact of acquisition cost and falling
broadband prices, there is a clear argument for
infrastructure sharing. If incumbent operators
can develop a commercial model that allows
entrants and potentially other incumbents access
to their network infrastructure, it can be a win-win
arrangement.
building owners and developers to provide space (US$186.6-298.5mn). Our estimates based on
and facilities for deployment of mobile services in network coverage and capacity modeling for each TowerXchange: How would you sum up your
residential and non-residential buildings. of the fifty five planning areas in Singapore suggests vision for the future of the mobile and tower
a capex of close to SGD400mn. This capex consists markets of Singapore?
There is no mandatory sharing of infrastructure, of investment in procuring spectrum and deploying
and incumbent operators have parallel deployments active infrastructure for macro, street and small Pankaj Agrawal, Partner and Puja Goyal,
rather than shared infrastructure. The new cell networks, in addition to transmission and other Consultant, Capitel: We are very positive on the
entrant has requested the regulator to mandate miscellaneous capex. mobile broadband and tower market in Singapore.
sharing of infrastructure especially for indoor We expect new entrants to drive innovative M2M
areas and locations such as MRT tunnels and The new entrant has requested mandatory services and other areas leveraging cloud based
transport networks. As per the current policy, such infrastructure sharing, as they believe it will take services, increasing data usage among retail
a mandatory sharing requirement has not been them three years and more to match the coverage users, and improving service experience. All these
approved. requirement of incumbent operators especially in demand and supply factors will require network
indoor locations such as basements. However, the densification that will drive the need for more sites
TowerXchange: What would a new entrant MNO policy guidelines do not mandate sharing for now on streets, retail locations, transport networks and
have to invest to build a network in Singapore? – there can be a potential commercial model for CBDs.
What are the prospects for a new entrant sharing bilateral sharing among telecom operators which
existing infrastructure? will be market-led rather than regulation–led. There are competitive considerations currently
that prevent infrastructure sharing, however, with
Pankaj Agrawal, Partner and Puja Goyal, Consultant, TowerXchange: Are there any independent increasing competition and stretched balance
Capitel: There are varying estimates for new infracos, particularly towercos, in Singapore? If sheets we may begin to see bilateral and finally
entrant capex in the range of SGD250mn to 400mn+ not, is there an opportunity for one or more? independent infraco led infrastructure sharing
edotco 360: Our first look
TowerXchange: This is our first interview with
edotco focussed on your operations in Sri Lanka;
can you give us an overview of this market and
at the tower market in Sri Lanka your recent projects?
Mohan Villavarayan, MD of edotco Sri Lanka shares detailed insight into the Mohan Villavarayan, MD, edotco Sri Lanka: The
telecom market consists of seven operators; the
country’s rapid telecoms growth two large constellations are Sri Lanka Telecom,
which owns Mobitel, and Dialog. Both players are
Sri Lanka is one of the smaller telecoms markets in Asia, but essentially into quad-play. In terms of market share
one where the tower sharing business model has been in play Dialog is number one at the moment. Additionally,
for several years already. We spoke with Mohan Villavarayan, we have Etisalat, Airtel, Hutchison and Lanka Bell
Managing Director of edotco Services Sri Lanka Ltd. to hear who have relatively lower market share in terms
about the steady ongoing development taking place there. Mohan of subscribers and revenue. The tower sharing
has spent the last twenty years in senior positions within the market largely consists of these seven operators,
telecommunications industry. Since 2010 he has led the passive broadcasters and the armed forces.
infrastructure business for Dialog Axiata PLC and was responsible
Tower counts are generally estimated as we
for establishing strong relationships with all operators and
don’t have access to accurate information. In
broadcasters within the country and for achieving a tenancy ratio
our estimation Dialog has the largest base at
of two plus. In February 2016 he assumed the position of Country
approximately 2,100 towers (excluding IBS) followed
Managing Director of edotco Services Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.
by Mobitel, Airtel, Etisalat, Hutch and Lanka Bell.
Dialog started sharing towers six years ago, and have
Keywords: 3G, 4G, Airtel, Asia, Asia Insights, Axiata Group, engaged in unrestricted sharing. Most of the smaller
Dialog, edotco, Etisalat, Hutchison Whampoa, Lanka Bell, operators have now stopped building their own
Licensing, Market Overview, Mobitel, Off-Grid, Power, towers, it’s only the two market leaders that build
Regulation, Tower Count, TRCSL, Sri Lanka, Insights out new sites, and if the smaller operators want to
Mohan Villavarayan, MD, edotco Sri Lanka
increase their coverage they share with one of them.
Read this article to learn: Sri Lanka still has no specific license for towercos
and at present we have established edotco Services
< An overview of the Sri Lankan telecoms market
Lanka (Private) Limited which can provide all
< A history of infrastructure sharing in Sri Lanka
towerco specific services with the exclusion of
< Tower counts and projected tower builds in Sri Lanka owning a tower (for which a license is required).
< The regulatory situation in Sri Lanka ESLL also manages Dialog Towers, which is
the business unit within the Dialog Group that
“
houses the tower portfolio. We report into the
edotco headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, and have
commercial independence to provide services
within this market.
TowerXchange: We have an estimate that you

Fundamental infrastructure is critical to nation building; and we
have around 4,000+ tenants on approximately
2,000 towers. Is this the case? Are there plans to
build or acquire more?
Mohan Villavarayan, MD, edotco Sri Lanka: At

have to participate and invest in this and become a true partner to
the country, not just a foreign investor
“
present, we have 2,100 towers in Sri Lanka, and the
tenancy ratio is approximately 2.13. M&A will be a
major part of edotco’s strategy, but naturally we will
be selective; it all depends on which towers become the geographical and environmental conditions uptime continue they will result in reduced use of
available in this market and what the terms are. are not a problem. The biggest challenge for Sri DGs.
Lanka at present is that the country is reaching
TowerXchange: Roughly how many towers are saturation where new tower requirements are TowerXchange: There have been some recent
there in the country in total? concerned. All the operators have completed their regulatory developments in Sri Lanka; can you
2G and 3G roll-outs and 4G spectrum is available share your perspective? Is the government
Mohan Villavarayan, MD, edotco Sri Lanka: Our only with Dialog and Mobitel; any of the operators mandating infrastructure sharing or network
estimate is that there are total of approximately that want to provide 4G services will need to engage development?
7,500 – 8,000 towers in Sri Lanka. Most operators in RAN sharing with them. There will be further
don’t share these numbers, but this estimate is requirement for new towers for in-fills et cetera, but Mohan Villavarayan, MD, edotco Sri Lanka: As of
based on our knowledge of the market and reports this number is estimated at a further 1,500 – 2,000 now the regulators interpretation does not recognise
submitted to the regulator. towers or special structures. tower companies and licenses to build and manage
towers are only issued to operators. Several lobbies
TowerXchange: What are conditions on the TowerXchange: What are the grid conditions, and have been made to the regulator and key decision
ground like in Sri Lanka compared to other what proportion of sites are on/off grid? makers to enable the issue of a tower specific license.
markets that edotco operates in? What are the Fundamental infrastructure is critical to nation
main challenges and risks? Mohan Villavarayan, MD, edotco Sri Lanka: The grid building; and we have to participate and invest in this
conditions in Sri Lanka are not as good as Malaysia, and become a true partner to the country, not just a
Mohan Villavarayan, MD, edotco Sri Lanka: Sri but better than those in Bangladesh by comparison, foreign investor. In the past, tower model has been
Lanka is an island with a relatively small land and they are improving every year. At present, we perceived as just a “good deal”, but now customer
mass with 95% of the territory already covered. have fewer than 75 sites off grid. Overall grid is demand is shifting and governments are asking what
Compared to other markets in the edotco footprint, at acceptable levels and as improvements to grid we’re doing for the country.
TowerXchange: Will the regulator interfere in
market pricing of lease rates?
Sri Lankan tower market
Mohan Villavarayan, MD, edotco Sri Lanka: When
125%
38%
licenses are issued there will most probably be
terms included where the regulator could make
determinations on lease rates like they do in the 7,500-8,000
case of operators. The regulator lets the market
towers
95%
play out but reserves the right to step in and make SIM penetration
determinations.
Mobile broadband Challenger MNOs
TowerXchange: Is there some form of protection penetration Coverage Etisalat, Airtel,
against towers being built too close to each Hutchison & Lanka Bell
other?
2 market leaders
Mohan Villavarayan, MD, edotco Sri Lanka: At
present there is a process in place but no strict
mandate. However, the approval process to
2 with 4G spectrum:
Dialog, Mobitel
erect towers involves applying to the TRCSL
(Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri
Population edotco: 2,100 towers with Further
Lanka) and there are multiple layers of approval.
a tenancy ratio of 2.13
The database of sites is checked, the requested
position is compared to the location of other sites,
and in some cases tower sharing may be mandated.
21mn and <75 off grid
1,500-2,000
towers needed
However, if these particular towers are over loaded TowerXchange: Is foreign direct investment in regarding tower transfers, lease sales and
or if the operator concerned does not permit telecom infrastructure / real estate permitted or equipment import?
sharing, approval is granted for the construction of a capped?
new tower. Mohan Villavarayan, MD, edotco Sri Lanka: At
Mohan Villavarayan, MD, edotco Sri Lanka: At present there are no taxes that are specific to the
Ten to fifteen years ago it was common to see towers present there are no regulations preventing FDI’s tower sector. At the point of transferring towers VAT
within a few metres; now there are far fewer. There in telecom infrastructure. Non-national’s are not would be payable on the purchase consideration.
aren’t strict regulations on tower locations, but in permitted to purchase of real estate but can lease to Most operators have duty free exemptions when
some cases the regulator will listen to objections. the required extent; in general foreign investment is importing tower and energy equipment. Within the
Some of the local concerns include radiation, permitted and encouraged. telecommunications sector – the present regime
proximity to population centres and the potential for exempts VAT when operators invoice each other for
lightning strikes. TowerXchange: Are taxation regimes fair services including passive infrastructure sharing
Towerco
perspectives
TowerXchange’s mission is to support the expansion
of the independent towerco model on a global basis
and to do so, we constantly speak with towerco
leaders to improve our understanding of the
governing dynamics of the industry.
In this section, TowerXchange gathered top

interviews conducted during the past few months
with top experts from Asian towercos including
edotco, Indus Towers, Bharti Infratel, OCK, Ascend
Telecom and Cam Towerlink, with insights
spanning from India all the way to Indonesia.
Don’t miss:
153 Ascend Telecom
156 Bharti Infratel
161 Cam Towerlink
164 edotco
175 Indus Towers
188 OCK
Ascend Telecom leverages TowerXchange: Please tell us about your
company and your personal background in
telecoms.
innovative technologies to optimise Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi, CEO, Ascend Telecom:
its 5,200 tower pan-Indian footprint Ascend Telecom Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. is an ISO
9001-2015 Company, incorporated in 2002, with an
Infrastructure Provider (IP-I) registered with the
CEO Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi talks about the origins of Ascend telecom and Department of Telecommunications, Government
their approach to achieving operational excellence of India.
The Indian tower market is mature and diverse, During the financial year 2011-2012, Ascend
with a variety of infrastructure providers meeting acquired India Telecom Infra Ltd., a company
the needs of MNOs across the country's expansive engaged in a similar business which had a
geography. Founded in 2002, Ascend Telecom has portfolio of around 2,500 telecom towers with
been offering coverage for 10,000 tenants, with 4,000 tenants.
42% of them in growth circles. We recently spoke
with Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi, CEO of Ascend Ascend is a professionally owned and managed
Telecom to learn about his vision for the future of company, and is backed by NSR (New Silk Route)
the Indian tower market. which holds a majority share, and Infrastructure
Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS).
Keywords: Air Conditioning, Ascend Telecom,
Asia, Asia Insights, Batteries, Construction, Having a pan-India presence with 5,200 towers
Energy Efficiency, Energy Storage, IL&FS, and 10,000 tenants, with 42% concentrated in
India, Investment, M&A, Network Rollout, New growth telecom circles, Ascend Telecom is a
Silk Route, O&M, Opex Reduction, Small Cells, preferred business partner of all major telcos, and
Tenancy Ratios is recognised as the lowest cost operator with the
Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi, CEO, Ascend Telecom
fastest turn around delivery, offering operational
excellence in diverse geographies. Ascend Telecom
Read this article to learn: has been a pioneer in green energy deployment,
< The origins of Ascend Telecom and its pan-Indian footprint providing green energy solutions in over 50%
< The structure of NSR’s funding and its plans for growth of our towers. Ascend Telecom operates from its
< Ascend Telecom’s innovative approach to energy efficiency corporate headquarters in Bangalore, and has a
< New approaches to small cells and the Smart Cities initiative state-of-the-art NOC in Hyderabad and field offices
in all of the state capitals.
“
full service inclusive of power? What are some of
your strategies to lower opex?
Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi, CEO, Ascend Telecom:
Ascend has consciously engaged in strategic green energy

initiatives to address the pain point of the industry and align with
government/TRAI directives
“ Ascend is a turnkey passive infrastructure provider,
and is recognised as the lowest-cost towerco. We
have made extensive use of new technology to excel
in operations.
TowerXchange: What is your appetite to

deploy your own capex into energy efficiency
programmes versus partner with ESCOs?
Ascend Telecom is managed by a team of in Southern African Development Countries (SADC) Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi, CEO, Ascend Telecom:
professionals with a combined total of 250+ years at the ITU/TCIL, and was the Director of Indian Ascend has consciously engaged in strategic
of industry experience in operating large defence, telecoms services at BSNL. green energy initiatives to address the pain point
telecom, PSU, and private telecoms networks in of the industry and align with government/TRAI
India and abroad with an illustrious track record. TowerXchange: How is Ascend Telecom financed directives. These investments have paid dividends
and how has this evolved over time? with a realised margin of 12-15%, and the gains
I took over the reins of Ascend in 2012. I have 34+ from power and fuel have been increasing over the
years of industry experience in key management Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi, CEO, Ascend Telecom: years. These initiatives include energy efficiency
and leadership positions, managing telecoms Ascend is backed by marquee investors New Silk improvement programmes, analytics-driven energy
PSU and private telecoms enterprises across the Route (“NSR”), the majority shareholder and IL&FS, assets, optimal performance, green initiatives and
globe. I was awarded the President’s medal for the minority shareholder. achieving a higher number of tenancies under fixed
distinguished telecoms services in 2001, anad in opex plans to provide for higher gains.
2008 I was recognised as “CEO of the Year” for the NSR is a leading Indian subcontinent-focused
fastest growing company in Asia Pacific by Deloitte growth capital firm founded in 2006 with more than So far Ascend Telecom has internally funded its
& Touche. US$1bn under management. NSR has a strong and energy program and all deployments have been
experienced team of investment professionals, who done by in-house teams. Armed with trained
My other telecoms experience includes my role utilise their domain expertise and leverage their manpower and credible results, Ascend Telecom
as Group CEO for managed telecom and satellite broad network of relationships to create value and is planning energy management for other
services at ORG Informatics, Vice President of GDSS contribute substantially to the future growth and infrastructure providers and telcos on a capex-
Inc. where I pioneered and deployed triple play success of their portfolio companies. sharing basis.
services across Africa and Southeast Asia. I was
also responsible for the development of telecoms TowerXchange: Does Ascend Telecom provide a TowerXchange: Is Ascend Telecom engaged in
“
The equipment includes fabricated towers which
are SERC/IIT pre-approved, silent and super-silent
diesel generator types which are certified by CICB
and Pollution Control Boards. Other technology
includes VRLA, tubular flooded and lithium-ion
battery banks, prefab shelters, electrical equipment,
air conditioners, safety equipment, wind chimneys,
and solar PV systems selected from ISO certified
Ascend Telecom is forging Smart partnerships to provide suppliers, complying to national and international
an innovative bouquet of services to address small cells, in-

building solutions, and smart poles with value-added services
“ standards.
TowerXchange: Please outline your vision for the

future of Ascend Telecom.
Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi, CEO, Ascend Telecom:

Focused on profitable build and successful M&A, we
will continue to pursue our growth strategy with
organic and inorganic expansion through accretive
organic growth and/or looking for potential based on constant innovation, extensive analytics acquisitions.
acquisitions? and operations feedback.
Ascend Telecom is forging smart partnerships
Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi, CEO, Ascend Telecom: Technology and supply chain teams continuously to provide an innovative bouquet of services to
Ascend has had a proven track record of M&A, strive to identify the most effective and cost- address small cells, in-building solutions, and smart
and is pursuing a growth strategy of organic and optimised solutions for their infrastructure, both poles with value-added services. Ascend Telecom
inorganic growth, with accretive acquisitions, on new builds as well as upgrading their current will be a key player in the Smart City program and
offering innovative solutions and creating avenues sites. Ascend Telecom recognises effectiveness is supporting the Digital India initiative.
for value-added services. of management through multiple suppliers and
service contractors spread across all regions in We will continue to provide cost-effective energy
TowerXchange: What is your procurement model order to ensure sustainability of supplies and management through our green energy initiative.
and process – is it in-house? Who are the key services at all times.
stakeholders? How do you buy and what are your We will strive to continue being the preferred
current priorities? Technology teams, the operations team, the supply business partner of telcos. With planned organic
chain management team, suppliers and service and inorganic growth, and expanded energy
Sushil Kumar Chaturvedi, CEO, Ascend Telecom: contractors and the quality assurance teams are key management, Ascend Telecom is in discussions with
Ascend Telecom’s in-house procurement model is stakeholders. strategic investors
How Bharti Infratel and Indus TowerXchange: What would you say have been
the biggest developments in the Indian tower
Towers are refining infrastructure

market over the past year?
Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: There have
sharing so everybody wins been four major developments: One; 4G rollouts

have started while 3G rollouts have picked up pace.
Akhil Gupta’s annual strategic perspective on the Indian tower market, including Two, the acquisition of Viom Networks by American
recommended best practices to be adopted by the global tower industry Tower Corporation with further consolidation to
come in the Indian tower market. Three, in a more
Akhil Gupta is Bharti Infratel and Airtel’s “tower recent development there have been some tenders
Tsar”. His unique perspective spans not only for Smart Cities and four, the ongoing consolidation
Infratel, Indus and Airtel but the entire tower of MNOs in India.
industry in India as Chairman - TAIPA, and almost
a decade of evolution of India’s unique tower TowerXchange: What has changed within Bharti
industry. This year, Gupta reflects on the impact Infratel over the past year?
of MNO and towerco consolidation on the Indian
tower market, quantifying the current state of 3G, Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: Internally
4G and small cell rollouts, and sharing his vision of within Bharti Infratel there haven’t been many
the finer points of crafting a tower industry where changes. One of the defining characteristics of the
Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel
towercos and MNOs share efficiencies equitably. tower industry and its business model is that it’s
fairly stable and one shouldn’t expect dramatic
Keywords: 2G, 3G, 4G, Acquisition, Asia, Asia Insights, Batteries, Bharti Airtel, Bharti Infratel, Carve change. Telecom network rollouts are the bread and
Out, Co-locations, Deal Structure, Energy Storage, ESCOs, India, Indus Towers, Infrastructure Sharing, butter of towercos. We also participated in a tender
Investment, Lease Rates, Lithium, RANSharing for Bhopal Smart City, and you can expect many
more of these to take place.
Read this article to learn: TowerXchange: What has been the impact of
< The impact of recent MNO consolidation and 4G rollout on the Indian tower business recent MNO consolidation and 4G rollout?
< The changing competitive landscape among towercos in India
< MSA refinements and the drive toward lease price parity between new and anchor tenants Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: The merger
< How loading (aka “amendment revenue”) is managed by Indian towercos between Reliance Communications, Aircel and
< The merits of operator-captive, joint venture towercos
MTS, as well as Videocon shutting down, have been
healthy developments. It is not healthy for the
industry to have say ten operators, including five
“
or six sitting on spectrum without the wherewithal
and means to rollout. Consolidation remains a work
in progress, but it will leave spectrum in the hands
of companies that have the resources for rollouts.
So Indus Towers and Bharti Infratel and the entire
tower industry in India will benefit from each of
these developments.
There is still a long way to go to provide full coverage; in terms of
With regards to 4G, Airtel has been a leader, and
tenancies 3G equipment is on about 50% of the towers. Over the
Vodafone and IDEA are catching up and are likely
to bid for more spectrum in the next auctions.
Reliance Jio was the only company to launch 4G only.
Every other player will have to offer 3G and 4G, and
demand should keep increasing.
next 18-24 months we anticipate that 3G will replicate 2G’s 90%
coverage of India’s geography
“
There is still a long way to go to provide full coverage;
in terms of tenancies 3G equipment is on less than
50% of the existing towers. Over the next 18-24
months we anticipate that 3G will replicate 2G’s Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: I believe the anchor/first tenant on a tower and thus needed
90% coverage of India’s geography. Over the next that this is a transformational move for the tower to be corrected.
two to two and a half years virtually every tower industry worldwide. While there has to be a
should have 3G. Digital India can’t happen without provision for yearly escalation, but clearly the The other uncertainty facing the industry was that
Internet connectivity; this can only be achieved in construct under existing MSA was structurally the renewal price at the end of the term of contract
this country through wireless connectivity, and 3G is defective. When a new tenant comes on a tower the was a big question mark. It was debated that
currently the most cost effective. 4G has been rolled lower applicable rent becomes applicable uniformly since a new tenant is charged at the ‘base rate’ i.e.
out in tier one cities and the rollouts have started to all tenants on that site, including the existing without escalation, the renewals would be at that
in tier two cities with another wave to follow. We tenants. However, the customers which came earlier base rate, which would have caused huge revenue
estimate that current 4G coverage is less than 20%. continued to pay escalation charges as applicable till dip for towercos. On the other hand, it was being
that date. This gave rise to an anomaly whereby the suggested that after ten to fifteen years the tenants
TowerXchange: What can you tell us about the customer who came first ended up paying higher would be so dependent on towercos that towercos
recent refinements of your MSA and the drive charges vis-à-vis customers who came later on the could charge anything. Either way the uncertainty
toward parity of lease rates between anchor and same site. This was fundamentally wrong since this was immense causing concern to customers as
new tenants? could result in a disincentive for a customer to be well as investors as several renewals will come
up in the next few years. To ensure a smooth for any increases, so there is a very fair balance overall quality, investments, and innovations, while
renewal process, we needed to reduce the scope of between the interests of the towerco and those of poor competitors can merely discount and damage
negotiation. the MNOs. the market. Competition makes the market players
stable and responsible and encourages great service
We have accordingly amended our MSA whereby TowerXchange: Are clauses governing RAN- to the customers.
instead of escalation @ 2.5% each year, the rate card sharing typically included in Indian towerco
itself would increase by 2.5% as on 1st April each MSAs? BSNL’s proposed towerco is a sensible step; they
year. As a result, the rate chargeable to existing and have been looking into this and have sent out RFPs
new tenants would become common over time, Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: Our MSAs seeking third party maintenance. BSNL have a
thereby removing the anomaly that existed. do not contain restrictions on RAN-sharing. Since lot of towers at strategic locations which other
we are committed to a win-win situation between towercos cannot get to. Having access to those
In addition, the entire uncertainty regarding us and our customers, I feel that there should not would be good for the operators.
renewal price is removed since all renewals will be be any such restriction. After all, if we can share
treated at par with any new tenancy with price as our infrastructure with various operators, we TowerXchange: Given the potential for further
per prevailing rate card at time of renewal. must also grant them the same privilege to share consolidation in the Indian tower market, will
their resources in a manner which suits them the Bharti Infratel participate?
TowerXchange: How does lease pricing, most. In any event, I do not think that in India
particularly “loading” (known as amendment RAN-sharing is bad because it improves the capital Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel:
revenue in the West) work in India? efficiency and that would result in the rollouts Our coverage is so well spread out that
happening faster and deeper into the country. In most consolidation proposals could result in a lot
Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: When an the long run, the tower companies will gain if the of overlap. However, we would evaluate specific
existing tenant adds equipment or takes more operators go deep into the Indian market as soon as proposals, if any, and decide based on their merits.
space on a tower or on the ground, we charge an possible.
additional amount, which we call ‘loading’. This is TowerXchange: Could you give us an update on
what is called ‘Amendment’ in some other markets. TowerXchange: There has been some Bharti Infratel’s Green Towers P7 programme,
We believe it would be unfair to our customers if restructuring of the Indian tower market: What and the Indian government’s green energy
adding 3G equipment to an existing 2G tenancy are your thoughts on the scaling of American targets for 2020?
required payment of another tenancy fee. Towercos Tower? And are there any updates on the
are technology agnostic - our prices are defined development of BSNL’s proposed towerco? Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: The
by the space used on the ground and on the tower, government has not set any official targets, but
the weight added (or “wind load”), the power load Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: American the tower industry is working on these initiatives
factor addition, etc. Tower’s acquisition of Viom Networks is a healthy on our own volition. Our aim is to reduce diesel
development for the tower industry. It is good to consumption, not just from an environmental
For each of these areas the MSA specifies a rate have strong, not weak competitors as this improves perspective but from a business perspective.
Refuelling sites with diesel is a painful exercise for would be happy to have someone else manage our under the umbrella of your mission to disarm
towercos with possibilities of manipulation, fraud & power equipment so we could concentrate on our MNOs of their passive infrastructure? Should
security concerns. We are significantly investing in core business. towercos rollout small cells in India or should it
energy saving equipment such as Lithium-Ion and be a shared responsibility?
VRLA batteries and solar power. We’re also investing ESCOs propose to put up power plants and serve
in connecting off-grid sites to the grid; currently there several towers in a specific area. But the need for Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: The tower
are approximately 8-10,000 off grid sites between ESCOs is greatest in rural areas where towers are industry must lead small cell deployment, so this
Indus Towers and Bharti Infratel. very spread out; Indus and Infratel’s networks mission of disarmament must also apply to them!
extend deepest into the rural areas, so we could
About 38% of our towers are now green, which certainly benefit. But it is difficult to find many When we build a small cell, we spend a little extra
means they consume less than a litre of diesel a locations suiting their business model, which capex so we can accommodate two tenants.However,
day. Total energy conservation capex invested at the requires four to five towers in close proximity – that would enable us to impose a much lower charge
end of the financial year 2014-15 was in excess of the network is seldom that dense in rural areas. to each operator as compared to their overall cost on
Rs. 3,200mn on a consolidated basis. This is a huge Selling excess generation capacity to households is individual basis.
priority for us. challenging because of the high cost of wiring up
the houses. I do hope that over time they become Small cells are at a nascent stage in India at this point,
Once all sites are connected to the grid, our aim is economically viable. but you can expect to see more over the coming year.
to have a 90-95% diesel free portfolio. This will take
some time, but we hope to achieve it by 2020. TowerXchange: What have been the latest TowerXchange: How is the development of Smart
developments in small cells and IoT? Cities progressing in India? What role is Bharti
TowerXchange: Could you update us on how ESCOs Infratel playing in this?
are progressing in India? Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: There
haven’t been many developments in IoT as yet; Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: Some tenders
Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: There hasn’t this falls more into the operators’ domain as it’s a are now coming out, including Bhopal, and the
been much news recently. We have been doing some function of putting SIM cards into machines. DMIC in Delhi. The terms for the DMIC project were
pilots with them but it hasn’t really taken off in a big unfavourable and as a result there were no bidders;
way to date. We are, however, starting to see a need for small we have won the contract for Bhopal. It seems that
cells and new lighter towers and poles. We are Smart City implementations would evolve over the
TowerXchange: What is holding back Indian following the requirements of MNOs and are next few years.
towercos from forming deep partnerships with introducing new products. However we will
ESCOs? endeavor that small cells are designed to be shared TowerXchange: What makes some smart cities
by at least two MNOs to make them cost effective. projects more investible than others?
Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: The model
doesn’t make good sense at this point. If we could, we TowerXchange: Would you bring small cells Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: Financial
“
feasibility and clarity of terms & conditions.
TowerXchange: There is a Global trend toward

carve out towercos owned by MNOs; what lessons
would you share with companies like China
Tower Company, Telesites and Telxius as you
reflect on your journey and experiences during
the founding of Indus Towers? What would you
do differently if you were stating on that journey
today?
Towers are not the MNOs cup of tea; they have a different mindset
and low level engineering projects don’t fit with a marketing
mentality – they’re chalk and cheese
“
Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: The only
thing I would change from the start would be
the MSA amendments which we’ve just made. To
my mind, what the other global operators need
to do is create an Indus Towers equivalent in Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: There are find last year’s event, and what do you hope we
their market: pool resources with other MNOs, just a few countries left, the major ones are done. can deliver this year?
make it independent, cater to all clients with no
discrimination, provide a common MSA, and a It’s been a satisfying experience – we’ve raised Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel: I must
volume discount incentive. about US$2.5bn to pay down debt, and passed compliment you – TowerXchange is doing a
towers into specialist hands and have started tremendous job, and making this recognised as a
Our model is a good one, and we’re proud of Indus seeing good results in uptime and energy efficiency. proper, solid industry. You are to the tower industry
Towers as a concept. We recommend that MNOs Towers are not the MNOs’ cup of tea; they have a what the GSMA is to the telecom industry!
don’t make their own towercos, but that they either different mindset and low level engineering projects
sell their towers to specialized tower companies or don’t fit with a marketing mentality – they’re chalk The Asia Meetup is organised really well, and
consolidate them with other MNOs in one portfolio. and cheese. Singapore is a good venue for our annual
We would love to see towercos like China Tower symposium. You’re providing great service to the
Company – this is a must-happen – and we would be We didn’t do it ourselves under Infratel because we towercos as an independent body and highlighting
delighted to share our experience. realised an operator-led towerco model would not issues surrounding the industry. There is so much
have been accepted by many stakeholders in Africa. more to be done in the tower industry. We’ll see
TowerXchange: How satisfied are you with the a lot of developments in the coming years, such
outcome of your African tower divestiture, and TowerXchange: We’re looking forward as diversification into transmission and Wi-Fi
are there a handful of towers yet to be sold, or to welcoming you back to the 3rd Annual provisioning. I look forward to participating in the
will those be retained? TowerXchange Meetup Asia - how useful did you third edition
Cam Towerlink: Increasing
TowerXchange: Please tell us about Cam
Towerlink and its background.
connectivity in Cambodia Yusoff Zamri, CEO, Cam Towerlink: We came to

Cambodia in 2014, focusing on the tower business,
Yusoff Zamri discusses Cam Towerlink’s ground-breaking project to connect providing services including tower rollouts,
power solutions, IBS, COW (Cellular on Wheels)
Angkor Wat and BTS hotels. We have a staff of ten all based
in Cambodia, and we are founded by a group of
Continuing our coverage of the Cambodian tower
three shareholders in Malaysia, which also created
market, we recently caught up with Yusoff Zamri, CEO
an IT company called Mutiara Teknologi, which
of Cam Towerlink, a new entrant to the Cambodian
was responsible for rolling out the 999 emergency
tower market, and discussed their first project providing
service in Malaysia. After the success of this large
wireless connectivity to the Angkor Wat temple grounds,
project the shareholders wanted to explore other
a UNESCO World Heritage site, for the first time. With
opportunities outside of IT and in other markets,
over 23 years of telecoms experience covering both the
and decided to invest in the tower industry.
operator side with Celcom, Hello Axiata and Uzmacom,
and the vendor side with Lucent Technologies,
TowerXchange: What can you tell us about your
Schlumberger Network Solutions and ZTE, Yusoff is now
recent project to provide connectivity at Angkor
responsible for launching Cam Towerlink’s services in
Wat?
this competitive telecoms market.
Yusoff Zamri, CEO, Cam Towerlink: Companies

Keywords: Asia, Asia Insights, Build-to-Suit, BTS have been trying to provide coverage within the
Hotel, Cambodia, Cam Towerlink, Cootel, edotco, restricted area of Angkor Wat since 2007, and no-
Emaxx, Fibre, Market Overview, Qb, RAN sharing, one has succeeded until now. I know this as I was
Regulation, Seatel the CEO of Hello Axiata from 2007-2009 and I was
Yusoff Zamri, CEO, Cam Towerlink
not successful back then. For Angkor Wat we are
rolling out camouflaged tower structures around
the temple site to provide a good signal for visitors.
We have approval to deploy six towers to start
< Cam Towerlink’s project to provide connectivity at Angkor Wat with on the temple grounds, and then our plan is
< Cam Towerlink’s future plans for expansion in Cambodia to expand into the surrounding area and provide
< The impact of the recent telecoms law passed in Cambodia coverage within the temple itself. More than likely,
< The next opportunities in the Cambodian tower market this will require a camouflaged BTS hotel solution.
We’ve started the initial deployment now and this
should be up and running by June. The project also
includes 30km of fibre, which will connect all of
the sites into a ring. We’re talking to six potential
tenants, and we expect to have an average of four
tenants per tower once the expansion takes place.
We plan to add a common antenna for all tenants
on the towers; this would be the ideal scenario but
it would depend on all operators agreeing to have
the antennae pointing in the same directions. We
expect to have this finalised and operational by June
as all of the operators are keen to start providing
coverage on this new site. I believe this is a good
start for Cam Towerlink.
“ We’re talking to six potential

tenants, and we expect to have
an average of four tenants
Angkor Wat, April 2008, pre-coverage!
per tower once the expansion
TowerXchange: What will be the next project for that are interested. We are of course looking at
takes place. We plan to add Cam Towerlink? areas covering the whole of Cambodia as well.
a common antenna for all
tenants
“ Yusoff Zamri, CEO, Cam Towerlink: We have
started initial surveys into the surrounding Angkor
Wat area; we’re looking at over twenty potential
sites which are spread over a wide area, but we
Concurrently we are looking into acquiring any
tower assets we can in Cambodia, and there are
assets available around the country.
TowerXchange: What can you tell us about the

need approval from the authorities managing the telecoms regulation that was passed in Cambodia
temple. We’re engaged in ongoing discussions recently? What has the impact on the market
with the authorities, and with the operators been so far?
step forward that it has finally been implemented.
TowerXchange: How is the tower market in

Cambodia? Do you see demand increasing?
Yusoff Zamri, CEO, Cam Towerlink: edotco and

Cam Towerlink are the only towercos in Cambodia
at this point; edotco is the leader with over one
thousand towers. Cam Towerlink is just getting
into the market with the Angkor Wat project, and
the plan is to expand into other areas soon, and
also to acquire assets. We have been in talks with
Viettel who have some assets to dispose of, as a
result of their takeover of Beeline last year.
There are also three new Chinese operators in

Cambodia, Seatel, Cootel and Emaxx, that are all
in expansion mode. Some of them are building
towers and we are in discussions with them about
potential partnerships. We are of course talking
to the rest of mobile operators (Viettel, Mobitel,
Smart and Qb) to see how we can support them in
Cambodia.
TowerXchange: What do you expect to happen

next in the Cambodian market?
“Coverage” Angkor Wat style!
Yusoff Zamri, CEO, Cam Towerlink: The new The Cambodian government is actively promoting Yusoff Zamri, CEO, Cam Towerlink: It depends how
telecoms law was passed in January of 2016. It’s tower sharing and wants to see it implemented the implementation of the new law progresses
generally perceived as good news, and it gives the like in Malaysia, and to have the collaboration of and remains to be seen how the regulator wants
government guidelines for managing telecoms the operators and towercos. There is a lot of legacy to proceed. It will take time but the regulator is
in Cambodia. Now the government can properly infrastructure in urban areas, and the government definitely more ‘gung-ho’ since the law was passed.
regulate this industry and can levy fines or jail is pushing with this new law to have this updated or It’s not perfect, but now they have a real platform
terms for non-compliance, so it’s being taken quite replaced and to reduce overlaps. The New Telecom to regulate the telecoms industry in Cambodia
seriously. Law had been discussed since 2007, so it’s a major which can only be an improvement
Lessons learned from yesterday Suresh Sidhu, CEO, edotco
Suresh Sidhu, visionary CEO of edotco, was
once again the opening keynote speaker at the
for the Asian towerco of tomorrow second TowerXchange Meetup Asia, hosted at the
prestigious Marina Bay Sands Hotel on November
Highlights from edotco, Bharti Infratel and American Tower’s keynotes at 24 and 25, 2015.
the TowerXchange Meetup Asia 2016
Sidhu emphasised that the mobile industry was
The 2015 TowerXchange Meetup Asia featured being shaped by multiple forces:
three visionary keynote presentations on the
tower industry, it’s origins, the challenges < Infrastructure: tower asset divestitures and
we face today, and opportunities to expand shared networks
the scope of the towerco business model – < Technology: spectrum scarcity and the rise of
in partnership with customers. Here are unlicensed spectrum; as well as data growth driving
the highlights from the presentations made demand for cell site densification and infill sites
by Suresh Sidhu, CEO, edotco; Akhil Gupta, across Asia
Chairman, Bharti Infratel and Amit Sharma, < Commercial pressures: declining operator
Executive Vice President, President - Asia, profitability compounded by the need to invest in
Suresh Sidhu, CEO, edotco
American Tower Corporation. network expansion to meet demand
< Regulatory: increased scrutiny on QoS, with
telecoms seen as a critical source of revenue
Keywords: 3G, 4G, ARPU, Active Equipment, Active Infrastructure, American Tower, Asia, Asia
Insights, Backhaul & FTTT, Bankability, Bharti Infratel, CAGR, Co-location, Co-locations, Core Network, MNOs are up against major challenges. Long term
Deal Structure, Densification, EBITDA, Energy, IBS, India, Indonesia, Indus Towers, Infrastructure growth in demand for mobile data has surpassed
Sharing, MLAs, MNOs, Malaysia, Managed Services, O&M, Opex Reduction, Passive Equipment, QoS, the capacity traditionally available from spectrum
RANsharing, RMS, ROI, Regulation, Small Cells, Smart Cities, Towercos, edotco in many markets. MNOs are reusing spectrum at
smaller and more targeted sites to mitigate the
shortage. Key challenges with deploying smaller
Read this article to learn: sites include access to locations (which have very
< Positioning towercos as Nation Builders specific requirements), power and backhaul – each
< Enhancing services and adding value for our tenants of which can be addressed by sharing.
< The 123,000 towers for sale across Asia
< Beyond BTS and co-location: energy, monitoring, fibre, IBS, small cells and smart cities MNO’s subscribers are seemingly more loyal to OTT
< The Indian towerco model: sharing towers, sharing savings providers like Google and Facebook than to their
carrier. Meanwhile, regulations continue to shape
1 More and more operators are looking at dives?ng their towers
the industry: the old approach to providing access is Over 100,000 towers are coming to market in Asia and the Middle East
essentially gone and operators face challenging QoS
issues targets. At the same time many developing
# total towers for sale # towers for sale # towers sold/carved
countries need access to funds and the mobile 123
(current or imminent) ('000)
x
('000)
x
out ('000)1
industry is often the single biggest industrial 378 # total towers sold/carved
contributor the GDP; tax revenue expectations out to date ('000)1
are high. There are even some markets where the

Kazakhstan 3.9
regulator has revenue targets.
China 120.0
How can the MNOs respond to this pressure? One

answer lies in the financial re-engineering offered Kuwait 1.5
by partnerships with the tower industry. Bangladesh 6.0 5.3

Jordan 2.1
The tower industry also faces new challenges Iraq 4.1 Thailand 15.0
including consolidation of MNOs and regulatory Pakistan Cambodia 1.5

KSA 14.7
hurdles in their newer markets. Towercos need to 18.7 Malaysia 3.9
redefine what makes them successful. Increasingly Bahrain 0.4
“
Afghanistan
2.0
India 68.0 213.5
Sri Lanka 2.2 Indonesia 17.3
Myanmar 1.3
To date there have been over

Note:1 1 Publicly announced tower transactions/carve outs since 2005 4
Note: Publicly announced tower transac1ons/carve outs since 2005
400,000 towers transferred from Source:
Source: SP SP Capital
Capital IQ, Mergemarket,
IQ, Mergermarket, TowerXchange
TowerXchange
MNOs to towercos around Asia,

the discussion at a customer level is moving from build to suit and colocation focused tower model
and there may be as many as
another 100,000 for sale as the
towerco model is established in
new countries” – Suresh Sidhu
“ pure economics to instead focus on the real value
delivered to clients and their end-users – this is
becoming a significant part of sale and leaseback
discussions.
“The towerco business appears to be extremely

and increasingly consider a range of potential
enhanced services, from energy solutions, tower
monitoring, fibre resale, and passive and active
O&M, to developing new solutions such as IBS, small
cells and BTS hotels.
stable but it pays to be a little paranoid in spite of To date there have been over 400,000 towers
this,” said edotco’s Sidhu. Forward-thinking CXOs at transferred from MNOs to towercos around Asia,
towercos worry about sustainability of the existing and there may be as many as another 100,000 for
sale as the towerco model is established in new want to address, like marginal rural markets, but if
countries. As this process continues there will successful these solutions could extend from rural
be a sea change in how the industry operates as to core network coverage.
operators embrace the model and start focussing
resources away from infrastructure management. In the traditional model, towercos are more
Towercos will take on this role and structure the inwardly focused on assets as opposed to services,
focus on infrastructure to provide the best end-user on the conversion of capex to opex, and tend to
experience. focus of rental of space on traditional ground based
towers. Suresh suggested eight refinements to make
The requirements of infrastructure sharing are towercos successful in tomorrow’s world:
huge, and demand for solutions is increasing faster
than the capability to meet it. The industry needs 1. Scale within country but also scale across
to respond; MNOs that have divested their assets multiple footprints
will be happy to start building their own towers 2. Delivery of operational improvements made
again if they feel that we aren’t keeping up with transparent through uptime, SLA and low TCO
market demand. While some towerco executives are metrics
preoccupied with delivering 85% margins, others 3. The ability the structure strategic deals,
are more focused on meeting their clients’ desire leveraging balance sheets beyond a pure focus on
Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel
for end-to-end solutions; our tenants want the most co-locations
efficient assets possible and are more interested 4. Embracing new technologies such as small cells, Gupta’s keynote began with an examination of
in solutions for the specific challenges they face. BTS hotels and camouflage sites the origins and the future of the tower industry,
Increasingly MNOs don’t feel the need to own the 5. Enhancing the scope of towerco services to reminding the audience that it is still young, and
towers. include RMS, O&M and power where appropriate the concept is still controversial to many MNOs
6. Standardising processes to propagate best who consider their towers a source of tremendous
There will be continued consolidation, and edotco practice competitive advantage. It is interesting to note that
also predicts increasing involvement in active 7. Engaging regulators and other national zoning restrictions played a part in the birth of the
infrastructure sharing. RAN sharing is prevalent stakeholders to position towercos as a true towerco model as they forced some of the initial
in Europe, where some towercos have seen their partner to the country, and to position telecom cases of infrastructure sharing. After this came
share of tenancies fall by 20-35% as a result of infrastructure as fundamental to Nation Building the development of monetisation and financial
network sharing. RAN sharing is coming to Asia 8. And finally to drive the development of human engineering for tower portfolio management, and
and has been launched in Malaysia and Indonesia. resources across the region, building capabilities the first instances of the sale and leaseback model.
Meanwhile, what role could innovations like Google and enhancing skill sets The real tower industry had its birth in Asia in India
Loon and Facebook Aquila play in extending between 2007 and 2008; when astonishingly the
rural connectivity? Innovations often start by Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel three largest competitor MNOs agreed to cooperate
addressing opportunities nobody else appears to Renowned ‘tower tsar’ of Bharti Enterprises, Akhil and create Indus Towers, still the world’s largest
“
towerco outside China. Operators found that while
they competed on the front end they could work
together on the back end.
The tower business model started to win over major

stakeholders and many MNOs were convinced that
How many industries can say they make money when an existing
it was the right thing for their business to transfer
towers their towers into this emerging new class
of infrastructure company. Operators are mainly
focussed on sales and marketing and developing
new services for their end users; however
maintaining uptime is the main focus of towercos
customer pays less? But that’s how it works; the success of Indian
tower companies depends on clients paying less and not more
– Akhil Gupta
“
and it is a thankless, low tech, time consuming,
24x7x365 job. In some cases there were huge
problems with MNO captive towers in a huge mess,
poorly maintained, with “band-aid” solutions being to spend millions of dollars why not spend it on Towercos have two main objectives; first they
used. batteries and generators instead of towers and are focused in the disarmament of operators –
give the money to towercos? Instead of spending seeking to disarm their manpower and make it
India had and still has low ARPUs, and the MNOs US$20,000+ to get a new tower up and running why economically unfeasible for them to build their
and realised that the opex savings could be not just lease a spot on an existing tower? own towers. Secondly, towercos need to promote
immense when adopting the towerco model. Indian This was the main idea behind the leap of faith that non-discriminatory sharing so that all tenants feel
telecoms was and is experiencing huge growth, was taken; it became imperative to come up with a comfortable. Towercos can’t have single tenant sites
and before the advent of the towercos two thirds of solution that was win-win-win for the incumbent, as they are unprofitable, and every time operators
capex went into passive infrastructure. Faced with the towerco and the new tenants, and this is the perform a cost benefit analysis of build versus
all of these factors, MNOs found that the easiest basis of the Indian towerco model. Incumbents lease, building a new tower is never justified,
solution was to relieve themselves of the capex could have an automatic reduction of 20 - 22% on and the same with loading new equipment on
requirement, and focus their time and resources on energy charge and rental for every new tenant towers themselves. The towerco MSA is the same
what they do best. In spite of their objections the that joined the tower. For the towerco a tower for all tenants, except if they are a large customer
operators could not continue to oppose this shift becomes profitable as soon as the second tenant with larger tower portfolios they receive a larger
and in the end only delayed the inevitable. is added, and their speed to market is the same as discount. The result of this model in India is that
the incumbent; there is no discrimination. How practically no operators build their own towers and
There was a great need for improvement many industries can say they make money when many towercos have all of the operators on their
considering it was common to see four towers an existing customer pays less? But that’s how towers. Over the last six years our co-locations have
in one 50 square foot plot; the tower industry it works; the success of Indian tower companies increased at a CAGR of 8%, revenues at a CAGR of
emerged from this. If the operators were going depends on clients paying less and not more. 11%. EBITDA margins have been increased to 42.9%
and profit after tax has grown at a CAGR over 50%.
Stable tower growth
The beauty of the model is that it doesn’t require
more towers, it requires more tenants.
Towers
CAGR
83,368 85,892
There is a lot of discussion about what the future 79,064 82,083 3.05%
78,442
holds for the tower industry; the demand for data 73,921
is great while there will continue to be a strong FY 10 FY 11 FY 12 FY 13 FY 14 FY 15
need for more coverage. Towercos are definitely
benefiting from technology; every time a base ...coupled with an increase in co-locations
station gets loaded with traffic the radius changes;
Closing
Co-locations
the moment traffic comes this starts shrinking and 1.69 1.81 1.90 1.91 2.01 2.12 share
it makes network planning go haywire. Towercos factor
allow clients to install 3G equipment and then 4G
182,294 CAGR
equipment; it’s like opium and the speed to market 142,086 149,908 156,608 167,202
124,819 7.87%
we provide encourages them to rollout quickly. The
increase in traffic determines when they will be FY 10 FY 11 FY 12 FY 13 FY 14 FY 15
forced to put up new towers, and, as long as they
maintain the number of tenancies, the industry will and once they can be connected to a transport pricing wars like those that have happened between
continue to grow. network the most efficient service can be delivered. operators, citing regulations and the government’s
Long distance fibre like towers is part of the involvement. Towercos can’t get too greedy and try
Towercos need to keep the operators disarmed infrastructure and the MNOs should not concern to make profit at the cost of customers. It is positive
of all things tower related, and need to do this as themselves with it. High capacity microwave to have many operators, but it’s good to have a
our clients’ requirements change. We are seeing links are another possibility, and at some stage few that are strong and financially stable and can
an increase in the number of indoor DAS sites; it submarine cables for international connectivity; all respond quickly to market changes and adopt
was Gupta’s view that some towercos may start of these should become a focus of towercos. innovative new technologies.
deploying their own infrastructure to enter this The government of India is also promoting the
market, but this could cause a problem for the creation of smart cities and these come with The tower industry is stable compared with
tower industry. It is important for towercos to substantial capacity requirements which will need other technology-related industries with more
remember that they should not compete with their shared infrastructure. This will be a huge project unpredictable revenue models, falling margins,
own customers on Wi-Fi or DAS; whatever they do it and towercos are in a great position to play a part. irrational pricing, currency fluctuations, and the
should be based on the model of open sharing, and It represents a great opportunity to get involved in risk of technological obsolescence. Infrastructure
on a white label basis. managed services that are agnostic to operators. management may not be as exciting as founding
There will be a new market for infrastructure or investing in a dotcom, but it’s good to be in an
Transmission is also critical, and with the growth and this is a wonderful opportunity for towercos. industry that has solid, profitable cash flows. The
of data more towers will require a fibre connection, Towercos do, however, need to avoid irrational tower industry has an important role to play and
US$15bn into network upgrades and spectrum
Strong financial performance (Consol.)
auctions.
CAGR Currently the prevailing tenancy ratio in India

Revenue
10.6% is around two, and this is expected to increase to
(INR Mn) 85,081 94,521 102,720 108,267 116,683
70,297 2.5 in the next five years; meaning there will be
FY 10 FY 11 FY 12 FY 13 FY 14 FY 15 approximately 225,000 new tenancies, representing
huge room for growth. Amit Sharma predicts that
EBITDA Margin
this period of growth should last between three and
50,108 five years.
EBITDA 44,118 CAGR
31,288 35,269 38,103
(INR Mn) 24,185 15.7%
37.1% 40.7% 42.9% However the tower industry also faces challenges,
34.4% 36.8% 37.3%
not least of which being regulation. To date it
FY 10 FY 11 FY 12 FY 13 FY 14 FY 15
seems that some regulators want us one day, and
don’t want towercos the next day; regulators are
of two minds about the role of the tower industry.
EBITDA CAGR
Regulations can put restrictions on what towercos
(INR Mn) 5,515 7,491 19,924 51.1%
2,530 10,025 15,179 can and can’t do, limiting the amount and flavour
FY 10 FY 11 FY 12 FY 13 FY 14 FY 15 of equity available, and sometimes limiting the
scope of their business. In the long term this is not
(1) Revenue and EBITDA are excluding Other Income (2) EBITDA margin % has been calculated on Sharing revenue sustainable, but in the short term it doesn’t seem
that regulatory restrictions are going away.
a potentially bright future, but success or failure launched, and the entrance of a greenfield operator
depends on our behaviour. Towercos can’t afford (Reliance Jio) is prompting incumbent operators Licensing, license fees and royalties are another
to get involved in wasteful competition, or become to significantly upgrade their networks. Capex is aspect; many countries treat the tower sector as a
too greedy; if operators were to suffer while expected to increase between 30-50%, but MNOs goose that lays golden eggs, but they don’t apply
towercos make money it would be disastrous; don’t want to invest most of that in steel and much creativity into promoting its growth; instead
there is a need to resist temptation and work cement – and that’s where towercos can help. At the they focus on how they can wring more out of the
together on this going forward. same time ARPUs remain quite low in this market; industry, as we have seen in markets where they
this is somewhat offset by rural mobile penetration are attempting to introduce licensing for towercos.
Amit Sharma, Executive Vice President, which is at 20% currently and is expected to treble This is happening both in Africa and Asia. In some
President - Asia, American Tower Corporation over the next five years. With smartphones using cases every municipality wants a piece of the
According to Amit Sharma, the growth rate of five to ten times more data than non-smartphones towerco pie and this can lead to one time fees for
the Indian market is now arriving at “the sweet it’s plain to see where the increase in demand tower deployments, and in some cases ongoing fees
spot;” 3G hasn’t really taken off, 4G is being will come from. MNOs across India are putting which can add 10, 15 or even 20% on to the cost
“
efficiently by one or other stakeholder. There are
still efficiencies to be achieved and redundancies
to be eliminated, and towercos are often better at
identifying and acting on these than MNOs.
Towercos need to widen their scope; provide

maintenance of backhaul and active infrastructure;
The tower industry needs to act together to achieve they need to identify opportunities to offer white
label services such as Wi-Fi. Services like this can be
enhanced industry-wide best practices; no towerco is a
standalone business – Amit Sharma
“ deployed by operators, but they will require more
DAS small cells; again the neutral host, sharing
model will work best to achieve this.
Finally, we have to run our operations even more

efficiently. There is still room for improvement.
Choosing the right energy solutions can make a
difference; there are challenges such as pilferage
that need to be overcome, and above all issues
of a tower which is passed on to the towerco and need to find a solution to these additional costs related to uptime and operational efficiency that
its clients. Regulators don’t see this as an issue as before the model is compromised.. escalate customers costs need to be eliminated.
they are charging a proportion but this goes against Towercos should extend the scope of what we do,
the grain in some countries where the regulators To address this, the tower industry needs to think but do so in partnership with our customers, not as
are also trying to develop and make connectivity about its role in the ecosystem in three, five, and a land grab.
ubiquitous. ten years from now. MNOs are becoming consumer
facing, service delivery focused organisations. The tower industry needs to act together to achieve
As operator margins are increasingly getting This leaves the tower industry to run both passive enhanced industry-wide best practices; no towerco
squeezed, MNOs are looking at every element of the and perhaps active infrastructure on a massive is a standalone business, and events like the
ecosystem and seeking more efficiency. In many scale, and we must evolve further and become an TowerXchange Meetup can play a critical role in
cases the cost of capital is very high, which puts the even more efficient minutes factory; the cost per facilitating this. India and Southeast Asia are on a
tower industry between a rock and a hard place: megabyte needs to decrease. The dividing line roll and many are making the move from voice to
the customer expects their lease costs and opex between MNOs and towerco needs to go. It makes data; we have to work together on robust network
to decline but the towerco model needs escalators no sense for the MNO to send a technician to visit quality and coverage, increase the number of
to absorb these additional levies and taxes.The a site to confidure the base station, then three days tenancies to deal with the challenges presented by
towerco model works: financial investors gravitate later for the towerco to send a technician to service cost pressures, regulatory limitations and license
toward the predictable returns we generate, so we the diesel genset: these jobs can be done much more fees
edotco 360: An update on
TowerXchange: How have things progressed since
the acquisition of MTC in December?
edotco’s operations in Myanmar Oliver Coughlin, MD, edotco Myanmar: By virtue

of the detailed planning that took place pre the
acquisition the transition has been very smooth,
Oliver Coughlin shares insight the development plans of edotco Myanmar
professional and very positive. The dynamics have
changed somewhat due to the fact that Digicel was
edotco has been busy more of an operator and edotco is a pure towerco.
consolidating its new footprint in I think that Digicel spotted a great opportunity in
Myanmar since the acquisition of Myanmar, and edotco spotted a great company in
MTC last December. We caught up MTC.
with Oliver Coughlin, MD of edotco
The acquisition has been extremely positive for our
Myanmar for an update on how
customers, staff and the future of company. edotco
the merger was progressing, and
is investing in this market for the long haul with the
what new developments we can
goal of being the largest towerco and we’re happy
expect to see over the next few
to be a part of it. edotco also brings a lot of value
months. including the capacity to monitor sites with echo;
their methods are very useful and well proven in
Keywords: Asia, Asia Insights, other markets.
Build-to-Suit, Co-location, Digicel,
Digicel MTC, edotco, Energy, M&A, TowerXchange: Do you have any further updates
MTC, Myanmar, New License, on whether edotco will be providing co-locations,
RMS, Telenor, Tenancy Ratios, build-to-suit, transmission, fibre and operations
Towercos, Viettel, Who’s Who and maintenance in Myanmar?
Oliver Coughlin, MD, edotco Myanmar
Oliver Coughlin, MD, edotco Myanmar: All operators

in Myanmar are aggressively seeking co-location due
Read this article to learn: to both the speed of rollout and the savings gained.
< How the acquisition of MTC has progressed since December From a co-location perspective edotco Myanmar
< Which services edotco plans to offer in Myanmar continues to have the highest tenancy ratios in
< edotco Myanmar’s plans for organic and inorganic growth Myanmar, currently at 1.84 and heading for 2. This
< When to expect further consolidation in the Myanmar tower market is mainly due to the quality and location of our 1,250
tower portfolio, and 98% of our infrastructure is
“
specifically designed for multi-tenant occupancy; finalise these within the coming weeks. It is
we have successfully co-located all of the operators. important to note that edotco provides power to
We can give each client immediate access to operators as standard practice in a number of
approximately 34% of the population as we have existing markets such as Bangladesh and Malaysia,
built towers in all of the main cities and large towns therefore we in will benefit hugely in Myanmar
in Myanmar, and we have also built on the main from our colleagues’ experience in these other edotco has clearly stated that
transit routes between the commercial centres markets.
its intention is to aggressively
across the country.
TowerXchange: Telenor continues to build new increase its portfolio in
With regards to build to suit, we are in discussions
with a number of operators with a view to
providing BTS solutions. edotco Myanmar has a
great track record of building quality infrastructure
in Myanmar, therefore we have the capability,
sites at a steady pace; how will this affect demand
among towercos?
Oliver Coughlin, MD, edotco Myanmar: Telenor have

been very successful in Myanmar and I am pleased
Myanmar, and this will be
achieved by organic and
inorganic growth opportunities
“
the resources, expertise and the financial backing to say that we have a very successful co-location
to expand our portfolio and this is our absolute agreement in place with Telenor. We obviously
intention. The time-frame will depend on successful hope to expand the services we provide Telenor
conclusion of contract negotiations in the coming and indeed all operators in Myanmar in the coming TowerXchange: We predict that there will be at
weeks. months. least one towerco acquisition by the end of 2016;
what are your thoughts on this? Are there some
edotco also has a proven track record of providing TowerXchange: How will the arrival of the fourth opportunities for inorganic growth?
services such as transmission fibre and O&M in a operator impact the market in Myanmar?
number of markets in Asia and it is our intention to Oliver Coughlin, MD, edotco Myanmar: edotco has
offer these services across Myanmar in the coming Oliver Coughlin, MD, edotco Myanmar: From a clearly stated that its intention is to aggressively
months as well. consumer point of view, competition is good. edotco increase its portfolio in Myanmar, and this will
Myanmar is ideally suited to provide any new be achieved by organic and inorganic growth
TowerXchange: How is edotco adapting its power entrant with rapid access to approximately 34% of opportunities. We do expect the towerco landscape
provision model for the Myanmar market? the population by virtue of the location and quality to change in the coming years and we will evaluate
of our existing portfolio; considering our proven every opportunity on its merit. Myanmar is a tough
Oliver Coughlin, MD, edotco Myanmar: edotco track record in building high volume rollout across market and requires a lot of capability, resources
Myanmar clearly understands that the provision the Union of Myanmar we look forward to any and financial backing from those that would like to
of power is a pre-requisite to receiving an order future opportunities with new entrants, although remain competitive. I have seen other companies
for BTS in Myanmar; accordingly we are at we understand this is a major undertaking for the enter this market with high aspirations, but the
the advanced stages of discussions with power regulators and the applicants and will take time to realities on the ground dictate that some will be
providers and system integrators and should finalise. looking for exit strategies in the short to mid term
edotco 360: the deployment of the TowerXchange: Congratulations on your recent
appointment; could you tell us about your new
role?
first carbon fibre tower in Asia Oliver Coughlan, COO, edotco: I’ve moved on from
edotco Group’s newly appointed COO Oliver Coughlan talks about his new role the role of Managing Director, edotco Myanmar
which I held since the acquisition of MTC last year.
TowerXchange recently caught up My new role is now as the Chief Operations Officer
of edotco Group, reporting directly to the Group
with Oliver Coughlan, COO, edotco
CEO. The role is based in edotco headquarters in
Group, to learn about his new role in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and I share responsibility
the group, and to hear about edotco for Cambodia, Malaysia and also Myanmar.
pioneering the first carbon fibre
tower in Asia; a light weight yet high This new role offers the best of both worlds -
I’ll have the opportunity to get involved in the
tensile strength solution whichis 40-
development of other markets, and at the same
50% faster to install while offering a time maintain my involvement in the Myanmar
20% reduction in TCO. market, which is great as I’ve enjoyed my time
there.
Keywords: Asia, Asia Insights, As the company continues its growth and
Bangladesh, Cambodia, Carbon Fibre expansion of our footprint across the region, the
Towers, Colocation, CXO, edotco, management team needs additional support.
The role will also cover the integration of new
Interview, Malaysia, MTC, Myanmar,
technologies, combining the responsibilities of a
Opex, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
COO and CTO, inasmuch as a towerco requires a
Oliver Coughlan, COO, edotco
CTO.
Read this article to learn: I’ve held the role of CEO and CTO for other
< The scope of edotco’s new COO role companies in different markets, including
< edotco’s plans for organic and inorganic growth across the region Myanmar. I have over twenty years of experience
< The benefits of carbon fibre towers for new rollouts in telecoms and the tower industry, during which
< edotco’s plans for deploying carbon fibre towers in its markets I’ve had the opportunity to learn about different
countries and its cultures. I will draw upon this
“
forces of nature especially wind conditions;
< Reduced installation time; overall it is 40-50%
faster to install a carbon fibre structure;
< High durability as it is highly corrosive resistant,
contributing towards lower maintenance costs
over the lifespan of the structure.
We are pioneering the use of carbon fibre structures in Asia, to These features will result in a 20% lower total
cost of ownership (TCO). As edotco gains more
provide a solution that addresses requirements and concerns of experience in the deployment of carbon fibre
the telecommunications ecosystem from MNOs, governments,

regulators, landlords, end-users and communities
“ towers, customisation requirements will lessen,
bringing the company closer to its target of a 40%
TCO reduction.
TowerXchange: Which markets are you looking

at next for deployment?
Oliver Coughlan, COO, edotco: The next carbon

experience to achieve my main objectives - the governments, regulators, landlords, end-users and fibre tower to be installed will be a rooftop
expansion of edotco’s footprint, and supporting our communities. structure in Bangladesh, where it will provide a
customers with timely and cost-effective service. solution to building constraints. This is the next
The ground-based carbon fibre tower installed deployment we have planned, but the carbon fibre
TowerXchange: Could you tell us about your in Puchong, Malaysia is the first such tower in tower is truly an ideal solution that will be made
new project on the deployment of carbon fibre Asia, by edotco. Carbon fibre structures harness available for new builds across our footprint as one
towers? the inherent properties of the material to offer of our core products. The aesthetically pleasing
unrivalled benefits: carbon fibre tower is also a green solution as it
Oliver Coughlan, COO, edotco: At edotco, we < 70% less weight than conventional steel emits less carbon dioxide during its production
are always experimenting with materials and structures, reducing foundation requirements by process.
innovative solutions to address the challenges half while providing a high strength to weight
of the telecommunications infrastructure ratio. A smaller footprint also requires less This solution affirms our commitment to enable
industry. We are pioneering the use of carbon materials; connectivity in our countries of operation
fibre structures in Asia to provide a solution < High rigidity with tensile strength ten times by establishing high quality shareable
that addresses requirements and concerns of greater than steel, allowing load bearing with telecommunications infrastructure for network
the telecommunications ecosystem from MNOs, the structure able to better withstand harsher operators
How Indus Towers is enabling a TowerXchange: Congratulations on your new
role; what is your vision for the future of Indus
digital workforce and a Digital India

Towers?
Bimal Dayal, CEO, Indus Towers: Let me start by

New CEO Bimal Dayal discusses innovation, towerco consolidation, green towers, saying where we are at Indus Towers and how I
and the progress toward Smart Cities view our current situation, then we can talk about
where we are heading.
Renowned joint-venture towerco Indus Towers, a
partnership between Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and I’ve been asked many times since my appointment
Idea, continues to set the standard for operational as CEO what changes I have planned. I have
excellence and innovation in the tower industry. We been part and parcel of setting the course of this
spoke with recently appointed CEO, and TowerXchange company along with BS Shantharaju. We have set
advisory board member, Bimal Dayal to learn about ourselves on a great course already, and the plan
the company’s approach to workforce digitalisation, remains the same. We’re calibrating the course
continuing green tower initiatives, and the role of naturally, but the direction we’re heading is fine.
towercos in the race to 4G and Smart Cities in India. If anything, I’d like to speed up our progress; we’re
on course but we’d like to get there faster. I would
Keywords: 3G, 4G, Asia, Asia Insights, Capex, Co- like to guide the organisation and foster innovation
locations, Energy, Hybrid Power, India, Indus in each department of the company and with every
Towers, Infrastructure Sharing, Market Overview, step we take. We continue to drive business growth,
O&M, Opex Reduction, Towercos, Batteries Lithium, strengthen our commitment to green towers, foster
VRLA, Outdoor Equipment, Health & Safety, Network a culture of safety among our employees and the
Rollout, Energy Efficiency, ESCOs, Renewables, entire ecosystem, and we’re achieving robust
Bimal Dayal, CEO, Indus Towers Skilled Workforces financial growth.
We have introduced a lot of innovative new ideas,

Read this article to learn: sometimes as a matter of survival, sometimes
< How Indus Towers enables and empowers their and their partners’ workforce simply because there was no-one else prepared
< The progress of Indus Towers’ green towers initiative and collaboration with RESCOs to do it. For example, our fixed-cost energy model
< How towercos are supporting the rollout of 4G has become a de facto standard within the Indian
< The impact of petroleum products currently being excluded from the GST framework tower industry, and we have achieved a large scale
< Driving the development of Smart Cities as part of the Digital India project
conversion from indoor to outdoor equipment on
our towers.
“
One of our lesser known achievements was the providers), provided the regulators clear the
digital enhancement of our workforce. We have decks for us to participate. IP-Is and their partners
provided smartphones for all employees, including have taken a collaborative approach toward
our field technicians, and can now receive real- problem solving, and have supported the rollout
time updates on their location, confirmation of of successive generations of technology on existing
completion of preventive maintenance tasks, and infrastructure, while also building more. There is
further reinforce health and safety best practices. This was the third year no parallel situation where so much reorganisation
We have a large workforce, including our partners,
and we have enabled the staff responsible for
site acquisition, deployment and O&M who
are continually on the move and in touch with
landlords; we ensure that their safety is paramount.
that Indus Towers has been
awarded the Great Workplace
award by Gallup
“ of networks and spectrum has happened, as has
taken place in India.
The capability of IP-Is gives confidence to a lot of

our operators to acquire spectrum: we’re taking a
collaborative approach to reduce time to market
For a company involved in a business which and accelerate return on investment in spectrum,
many might not think of as ‘glamourous’, we have and we’re integrating the new product innovations
managed to do a lot of important soft work with our customers demand. We’re even starting to
our workforce and partners. This was the third TowerXchange: What are some of the main improve the skyline, with the emergence of lighter
year that Indus Towers has been awarded the Great changes in the Indian tower market in the year towers in India, supporting both the macro and
Workplace award by Gallup, and we rank number since we last spoke? small cell network layers.
41 on the list of Great Places to Work in India; this
is an improvement from a position in the mid- Bimal Dayal, CEO, Indus Towers: We have been TowerXchange: Congratulations on passing the
sixties in the last ranking, which is a significant observing a theme of consolidation, with ATC and 50,000 green site landmark! How are India’s
achievement for a company that’s only 8 years Viom coming together and creating a good new towercos progressing towards the government’s
old. Handling equipment is a people business, and monolith. target to lower carbon footprints?
people are our most important asset.
We are seeing increasing regulatory engagement; Bimal Dayal, CEO, Indus Towers: At the end of
One aspect I’m personally very passionate about considering the tower industry can do more to bring March 2016, Indus had converted 50,641 sites to run
is the role of towercos in Smart Cities. When the down the cost of telecoms development. We hope diesel free. Crossing the 50,000 green site landmark
first cities came to the table, Indus Towers played the regulatory environment will continue to become is a big deal because as our tenancy profile grows,
a prominent role, and what we envisaged will more conducive to investment. conversion to green towers becomes more difficult
soon come to pass. Towercos are getting more as power consumption goes up; green sites require
clarity around Smart Cities, we’ve had some initial Digital India and its proposed Smart Cities represent larger energy storage capacity, for example.
successes, and the latest tenders confirm that we’re a large opportunity for towercos. Rural connectivity
on the right track - there is a lot in the pipeline is becoming more meaningful for IP-Is (IP-Is are I see this as Indus Towers’ agenda, more than the
regarding smart cities. companies licensed in India as infrastructure government’s, although we will comply with or even
“
surpass any requirements. Going diesel-free will be
a certainty at some point but the timeline remains
unknown. Whether it takes three, five or more
years, we aim to stop handling diesel completely.
We will look at converting more sites to renewables

as an alternate substitution agent, but the business
case remains marginal for many sites at present.
TowerXchange: What has been your specific

Going diesel-free will be a certainty at some point but the timeline
remains unknown. Whether it takes three, five or more years, we aim
to stop handling diesel completely
“
progress in converting multi-tenant sites to
green sites?
Bimal Dayal, CEO, Indus Towers: We have converted open avenues to partner with RESCOs or makes it a huge amount of capacity building underway to
many single and dual tenant sites, and are even possible for Indus to become a provider ourselves. make sure that when the battle for the 4G customer
starting to convert three-tenant sites. We evaluate occurs between operators, then there is enough
the case for upgrading each site on its own merits, So far the RESCO proposition hasn’t worked well, capacity to provide good end user experience. Well-
focussing on three dimensions. First the uptime but with the changing regulatory environment I see connected backhaul is critical for good 4G service.
cannot be compromised by the conversion; second, scope for deeper partnerships between IP-Is and
the energy solution needs to be sustainable; and RESCOs to take big steps in the next two years. Indus Towers does a lot of what we call ‘projects’:
third, it must lower the operating cost of the site. ranging from as little as one antenna being added or
I’m confident that we will be able to not only TowerXchange: It has been suggested that India removed, to fibre being brought into a site. In 2014,
maintain the pace of our green programme, but also will need to double the number of cellular a busy year, we did 133,000 projects. In 2015 we did
add renewables into the mix. PoS for the 4G era. How is the development 216,000 projects including everything from 2G, 3G
of 4G progressing in India, and what are the and 4G to microgrids. Growth is increasing year on
TowerXchange: To what extent has Indus Towers opportunities for towercos? year and, with another spectrum auction coming
partnered with RESCOs, and what needs to up, more network realignment will be required.
change for RESCOs to play a larger role in Indian Bimal Dayal, CEO, Indus Towers: 4G is progressing
telecoms? faster than what may be visible or discussed in The 4G acceleration is having a big impact; to
India. The device base grew nine times from 5mn to sustain each 4G node a great deal of activity is
Bimal Dayal, CEO, Indus Towers: Our engagements 45mn in 2015. The entry level price for 4G handsets required at the backend, which IP-Is are providing.
with RESCOs have been limited and have not has dropped by almost 50%. The new 4G operator The rollout of 4G has been at a breakneck speed – it
increased, which is somewhat disappointing. will be a major catalyst and driver; all the major may be an unprecedented scale and speed of rollout
The energy control regime is opening up - net operators are accelerating their 4G rollouts in – and it has necessitated effective co-operation
metering and open access are critical - which will deeper territories than initially planned. There is between the MNOs and IP-Is.
“
which will dampen the positive impact of this
taxation reform. Electrical equipment and the
partner ecosystem will see their tax burden reduced
under GST; the movement of goods will improve.
The consolidation of IP-Is will mimic MNO consolidation; there

will always be a handful of small, independent niche players, but
eventually the Indian market will be consolidated into maybe four
larger towercos
“ I feel we are seeing some initial bumps in the road
from GST which will make the cost of operations go
up in the near term, but personally I have faith that
within two years IP-Is’ overall tax burden will go
down.
TowerXchange: Indus Towers has been very

innovative in its approach to developing Smart
TowerXchange: The Economic Times recently consolidation; there will always be a handful of Cities; what are the new developments in this
suggested Indus Towers may be a prospective small, independent niche players, but eventually the area?
buyer in the current round of Indian tower Indian market will be consolidated into maybe four
industry consolidation – what criteria would you larger towercos. Bimal Dayal, CEO, Indus Towers: We have been
use to evaluate prospective acquisitions, and articulating it very clearly: we have the capability
how do you see the structure of the Indian tower TowerXchange: How does the cascading effect to provide the passive infrastructure for any Digital
market being redefined by M&A? of multiple layers of taxation – including Backbone in the planned smart cities, and support
the recent decision to keep diesel outside all service branches on the digital highway.
Bimal Dayal, CEO, Indus Towers: In the Indian tower the GST framework – affect the economics
market, much of the large scale consolidation has of tower industry investment in India’s ICT Indus Towers is present in 17 of the 22 proposed
taken place with the acquisition of Viom Networks infrastructure? smart cities and we are engaging to define what
by American Tower. There are a few smaller players can be done jointly, and what role Indus can play
left in the market, with 10,000 towers or less, which Bimal Dayal, CEO, Indus Towers: GST is a principle Smart Cities are not only about doing it yourself,
will increasingly become targets for consolidation. to relieve multiple taxes levied at each stage of but about striking partnerships to provide services
consumption; from import to consumption. GST is such as waste management, parking management
With any investment one must examine the a carefully planned, great initiative with positive and surveillance. Led by IP-Is, many consortia will
potential payback, the health of the sites, and their intentions; a great reform. For the next step we need be formed to setup and service Smart Cities; and
future potential. M&A is a game of synergies given to look at the fine print when central GST is passed. it’s not just about setup, but running and sustaining
the scale of our footprint. Any potential acquisitions Smart Cities over a long period. We are keeping our
must have a good fit with our rollout strategy; The taxes paid on diesel by industrial consumers fingers crossed; the progress has been satisfying
there must be a need from our clients for those such as the railway, aviation and telecoms is very so far and we can take a big step forwards in the
locations. The consolidation of IP-Is will mimic MNO high. Petrol and diesel are excluded from the GST, Digital India agenda in the next 12-24 months
Indus Towers on supply chain TowerXchange: Since you joined Indus Towers
in 2012 the company has achieved some of the
highest standards for efficiency in the industry;
management and operational excellence can you share some detail on how you achieved
this?
Supply Chain VP Deepak Sharma shares some insights into how his company improved
business partner satisfaction and set new industry standards for efficiency Deepak Sharma, Vice President Supply Chain,
Indus Towers: Shortly into my new role at Indus
The world’s largest and most renowned joint-venture towerco, Towers, management conveyed to me that I had to
Indus Towers has been hard at work efficiently providing passive take my team through a complete transformation
infrastructure on a non-discriminatory basis to Indian telecom to keep pace with the breakneck speed with which
operators and wireless broadband service providers since its India’s telecom industry has been moving. Thanks
founding in 2007. The company has consistently achieved high to the support and guidance of the Management
rankings among other industry leaders in India for the efficiency Committee of Indus Towers, we have carried out all
of its operations. We spoke with Deepak Sharma, VP Supply Chain that we set out to do.
to learn some of the methodology driving these achievements.
With over 23 years of experience managing end to end supply In early-2013, we embarked on a three-year
chain & logistics including sourcing and operations for companies transformation journey with the team. We met at
including GE, Schneider and Aditya Birla Group, Deepak now an offsite location in Goa to chalk out the vision,
handles services sourcing, business partner relationship the mission, and the journey roadmap. The goal
Deepak Sharma, Vice President Supply management, demand and supply planning, warehouse & logistics, was to achieve global-best KPI benchmarks, and to
Chain, Indus Towers SCM process design and pan India SCM operations at Indus Towers. meet all internal and external stakeholder needs
and expectations by providing effective, flexible,
proactive, cost-effective and extended supply-
Keywords: Asia, Asia Insights, Energy Efficiency, India, Indus Towers, KPIs, Opex Reduction, Spectrum,
chain and logistics models through technology,
Supply Chain Management, Towercos
innovations, value-added services and collaborative
efforts, all within a period of three years.
Read this article to learn: Team SCM coined the slogan “One Team One
< The roadmap that Indus Towers developed for supply chain management Dream” for the first year, 2012-13, “Go Beyond” for
< The importance of working with clients and vendors as partners 2014-15 and “Go Global” for 2015-16. A slogan is a
< How Indus Towers achieved highest ever score of 4.33 out of 5 in Partner’s ( vendor’s ) great communication and accountability tool which
Satisfaction survey reminds you of your target and the heights to be
< How Indus Towers optimised the operation of its warehouses achieved.
As part of its roadmap, the SCM team designed a percentile in telecom) Another major objective of the programme was
programme that it termed as 5P – People, Partner, < Improve the Function’s KRA to L5 (Outstanding) to create a gender-balanced team. The ratio of
Process, Price, and Performance. The team decided level, and women in the SCM team was very low to begin
that thereafter, everyone would only use the term < Contribute to Customer Satisfaction Survey with, so concerted effort was made to hire more
‘Partner’ for all vendors and suppliers in all the (Achieving 100th percentile in telecom) women into the department.
communications.
To enhance people’s performance a 4D-virtuous A Women’s Forum was also formed for women
We strongly believe in ‘People First’ and hence cycle was initiated with the following goals. employees across the county where they could
we prioritised People over Performance, as great < Set a Direction connect over video conference and discuss the
performance can be achieved only when people < Skill Development (including professional, challenges faced by them at work. The Circle SCM
are happy. Satisfied people will be encouraged to interpersonal and excellence training through Heads took the responsibility of addressing these
improve partner satisfaction and together they will collaboration) challenges. All such initiatives led to creating
work to deliver customer satisfaction. < Performance-based Delivery a productive and happy workforce across the
< Distinguish ranks.
The team decided on the following as parameters
of success. For ‘People:’ in two years the company Direction: Together we crafted a Vision for Delivery: We started conducting monthly and
would work on the issues of the SCM departments’ themselves as ‘Excellence thru’ Collaboration’. The quarterly reviews and started giving constructive
employee satisfaction survey (ESAT) results and entire SCM Value stream was studied, and necessary feedback. Team was tracked against clearly
ensure that it is the highest in the telecom industry. improvement projects were undertaken to set the defined parameters and KPIs.
For ‘Partner:’ the partner (vendor) satisfaction right direction of movement. The team also digitally
results should be the highest in the telecom documented the complete work process, guidelines, Distinguish: Drawing from my past experience
industry. For ‘Price:’ substantial capex savings, and job description; and urged everyone to study where I had organised cultural shows to connect
implementation of innovative sourcing processes. and follow the steps as recorded in the document. the workforce, I along with my team initiated
For ‘Process’ the team would generate value through a pan-India SCM Meet in April 2014, where
Process Excellence and undertake an overall Development: We facilitated many in-house and rewards and recognitions were introduced for all
warehousing and logistics transformation. And for external training programs along with the Process subsequent years.
‘Performance’, they would win global awards for the Excellence team. Another initiative called ‘Coffee
company. with Boss’ was launched which gave an opportunity Now all the supply-chain team members get
to all the managers to meet one-to-one with their together once in a year to celebrate their success.
As part of Mission People, the team set for itself the subordinates and discuss everything which the They organise shows like stage plays, fashion
target of becoming the number one in the industry subordinate wanted to share, whether personal or shows, and dance performances that bring out
by achieving the following bold targets of: professional. The aim was to meet each subordinate the fun and creative side of all the team members.
< Employee Satisfaction Survey (Achieving >4.5 out every quarter and ensure that every single concern
of 5) raised by the subordinate was addressed within that For one particular mega event, the team invited
< Partner Satisfaction Survey (Achieving 100th quarter. members of the top management – they were
Critical partner
Critical to quality Partner issues Voice of partner
requirement
No structured
Standard / formalised Delays in issue
platform to discuss
review mechanism resolution
issues
Structured
communication Clarity of business
No structured No future visibility /
on platform with requirements &
mechanism contract review
partners update contact
Higher TAT and

On-time payment Payment irregularies
payment delays
Critical business Critical for

Voice of business Business issues
requirements processes
Simplification / Process
Circle to circle
standardisation of standardisation across
variation
processes circles
Design and
Improve partner Low performance on Meet Indus KPI implement contract
performance Indus KPIs requirements governamce
Improve partners’ Higher TAT for change Quick in adapting the

agility implementation change
amazed to see all the company’s employees service – and they took care that there were no TowerXchange: You emphasise the importance
participating with much aplomb in all such fun- integrity issues. of working with vendors as partners; can you
filled and creative events such as fashion shows and explain some of the benefits of this approach?
stage plays. The spirit of the team was infectious. With all these initiatives as part of ‘Mission
The idea behind such initiatives is that when people People’, the team has been able to achieve an SCM Deepak Sharma, Vice President Supply Chain, Indus
are happy, they will focus on their jobs and will Employees E SAT Survey Score of 4.54 which is the Towers: A healthy partnership is key to the success
keep the partners and customers happy. We saw a highest ever in the history of the organisation for of not just a project, but of the entire business. The
complete turnaround in their approach to customer SCM. partner relationship needs to go beyond being just
these key parameters were evaluated, we found the
scenario to be gloomy and unexciting. Not living up-
< Top level relationship governance to the customer’s expectations lead to low customer
ly
Apex CEO CSCMO & < New business initiatives satisfaction.
ar
level Corporate SCM
Ye
< Process governance
contract Head To overcome the challenges, brainstorming sessions
governance < Senior relationship governance
and gap analysis were conducted in a CFT (including
< Setting strategic direction,
buinsess objectives, timeframes Partners). Here we kept the Low Customer
l
ua
Department Head, < Innovation Satisfaction (C-SAT) score against the Partner
nn
Corperate contract Fucntional Vertical Satisfaction (P-SAT) Survey Report. We realised that
Bia
< Partner liaison, problem resolution,

governance Heads for the last 3 years the P-SAT score had been almost
continuity
< Partner development - improving stagnant.
performance and capability
ly
Circle CEO, Circle < Negotiation of changes, new terms, Further study of the ‘voice of the partner’
ter
Circle contract Function and SCM new services highlighted following set of concerns: there was no
ar
Head, Buyer + user < Risk assesment & managment

Qu
governance platform for dispute resolution, KPI sign offs were

group delayed, payments were late, POs were delayed, and
< Performance reviews (service
delivery, SLA, KPI, people issue resolution was slow.
ly
< Feedback and communication

nth
Basic - performance & < Capturing change and reqmt

User group The voice of the partner was studied and compared
Mo
< Contact administration

administration (KPI review) with the voice of the business which clearly
< Payments, incentives/penalties
identified the missing communication between the
partners and Indus.
transactional to become a long-term relationship. to get their reaction to a new growth strategy.
The partner relationship also has to include making As the outcome it was decided to devise an
their resources available to you to expedite a critical At Indus Towers our major work is outsourced and ‘Effective Contract Management Programme’ to
path project effort or to help test out a strategic dealing with over one hundred major infrastructure ensure effective contract delivery and to monitor
concept. equipment partners and more than five hundred its effectiveness through a scorecard to increase
and fifty managed services partners. Our KPIs are partner satisfaction and improve our KPIs.
Becoming a trusted partner means that one of delivered through all of these critical partners.
the best calls of the week from an organisation is An elaborate platform was formulated and
unexpected and begins with the words, “Do you Our customers evaluate our services on the implemented a ‘Four Tier Contract Governance’
have a minute? I’d like to bounce something off you following key parameters: the quality of across India.
and get your reaction.” It’s when an organisation implementation (FTR, first time right), the build time
invites the partner to the office or dinner and wants of sites, and the network uptime. In 2012 – 13 when Contract Governance was rolled out to the majority
of the partner categories, and for each category of
partner detailed key focus areas were identified. Historial Best in Telecom Best in B2B
Partner issues were clearly identified and jump industry industry
prioritised based on the risk exposure. Necessary
4.33
course corrections and procedural changes were 4.1
implemented to sustain the benefits of the actions 3.99
taken and avoid repetition.
3.36
Over three years a total of 4,000 meetings were
conducted with over 10,000 concerns raised and
resolved; partners were happy as their concerns
2009-10 2013-14 2014-15 2015-6 2015-6
were being noted and monitored for resolution.
These meetings have helped to identify major and < Our action: Clear guidelines to partner and team Significant improvement in Indus Towers’ KPI’s
long pending areas of improvement which were were circulated not to work without a PO. Complete helped us to achieve a historic Customer Satisfaction
directly linked to organisation performance. Some of value stream analysis of the P2P (Procure to Pay) score of 91%
the concerns having a major impact include: cycle was put in place, formulated to ensure the
availability of the PO on time. For P-SAT Indus Towers is at the 100th percentile in
On-time payment to partner the Indian telecom industry ( IMRB Surveyed ) and
< Concern: Delayed payment to a partner was Delayed KPI sign off the 100th percentile in the B2B Segment in India
leading to dissatisfaction in that partner due to < Concern: Huge gap and delay in KPI sign off (IMRB Surveyed).
difficulties in the management of working capital leading to partner payment deduction and delay
and constraints on business expansion. in the payment. The major reason identified for Our transformed partners have not only made us
the delay was lack of clarity on the field and asset best in the telecom industry but among the best
< Our action: A focus group was formed to tracking. companies in B2B industry; I appreciate them and
achieve on-time payment. Today’s we are paying thank them on behalf of Team SCM!
our partners on-time on ~95% of occasions, a < Our action: System automation implemented
considerable improvement over 53% in 2012. To through i-Map and WMS and improved TOC which TowerXchange: You encourage high levels of
ensure its sustainability we pay interest on delayed clearly provided the field data leading to a reduction teamwork in your company; what are some of the
payments. of KPI sign off pendency. ways you support this?
PO delays Through the Contract Governance Platform we Deepak Sharma, Vice President Supply Chain, Indus
< Concern: Delay in providing the PO to partners eliminated transformed vendors into partners. This Towers: I am deeply connected to Indus values and
even after work completion which clearly impacts not only lead to a turnaround in partner satisfaction believe that these values have helped us realise all
their payments and work reconciliation. but also defined deliverables to map performance. the goals that we had set for ourselves. We have a
catchy acronym, ‘EXCITE’, for the company’s value
system. These values are:
Excellence - Ensure best-in-class processes and

a continuous improvement culture that provide
scalability and the highest quality at an optimum
cost. FY 15-16
Customer - Be the preferred partner to our
customers with the highest levels of responsiveness Go global
and agreed services, consistently. Be a global face. Win global
recognitions and become a
Integrity - Maintain and promote the highest benchmark for the rest of the
standards of professional conduct by being fair,
FY 14-15 world.
honest and transparent in all actions and decisions.
Go beyond
Teamwork - Think and work together beyond self,
Dream big, set big targets beyond the industry and prove that
functional boundaries, hierarchies, businesses and
even sky is not the limit for One team.
geographies. Actively encourage mutual respect,
sharing and collaboration.
FY 13-14
Environment - Be responsible and sensitive toward One team, one dream
the environment – and the communities –where we Formation of team rather than working as individuals. Dream as one team,
work. Uphold the highest standards of health and understand pain areas of internal and external customers and set relative
safety at all times. targets and roadmap with Milestones. Work together and achieve the same.
Create credibility and respect.
I strongly believe in teamwork, and the
achievements of Team SCM would not have been
possible without it. team members. This team is headed by CSCMO of recognition, and a lack of consideration for team
Indus Towers. SCM’s constraints within the organisation.
We are spread across fifteen circles covering fifteen
states of India which brings huge diversification In year 2012-13, there was a lack of interconnectivity These were indications of a lack of teamwork; we
from state to state and culture to culture. Other between the team members, leading to work also realised that while all other functions used to
than the corporate office which consists of around being done in the isolation. Other demotivating meet to communicate with their team members and
27 team members, every circle team consists of six factors included low performance, no rewards or set the work in the right direction, it was unheard
of in Team SCM. There was a clear need to set the implemented for people development and team < Team and family get-togethers. Team building
right direction for the team and communicate the building in which I was directly involved to ensure exercises
expectations clearly with them. the team was connected together: < Bouquet and chocolates to each employee spouse
on individual and team success. Birthday and
It was in the year 2012 that the SCM heads of all Forum For Female (F3) wedding anniversary wishes to family members
the circles met together for the first time. All of us < Induct Female team members to have gender
decided to set directions for the team and plan the balance We started organising the pan-India SCM Meet
strategy to work together. The India SCM Head meet < Providing an open, safe, healthy and growth- which was never conducted in the organisation
was planned where inputs were given by all the driven atmosphere where we focus on team building and the review of
team to formulate the strategy by setting the vision < Launched Forum For Female where people can our initiatives and our mission.
for Team SCM listen every Quarter
Today we proudly say that we are part of Team
Considering the four major stakeholders of SCM Coffee with Boss SCM and happy to work together, win together and
function (employees, internal customers, external < One to one structured but informal discussion celebrate together.
suppliers and internal suppliers), the team came up with reporting heads
with ’Excellence through Collaboration’ as the team’s < Resolution of professional hurdles at the office TowerXchange: Can you share any specific
vision. In addition, we set three annual slogans to and if possible personal success stories to share some detail on the
communicate to the teams. < Giving and getting constructive feedback on a process?
quarterly basis
We completed the value stream mapping of < Indicating training requirements Deepak Sharma, Vice President Supply Chain, Indus
our function and identified several areas of Towers: In 2012-13 we had 55 warehouses where
improvement. Multiple initiatives and projects were Individual and Team Development major concerns were identified in operations
rolled out to improve the efficiency of the teams < Quarterly individual performance / KRA review including non standard processes, compliance
working on: < Monthly Circle SCM Heads review issues, multiple service providers, reverse
< Weekly team reviews and knowledge sharing logistics, inventory in-accuracy, security issues,
< Relevant and innovative product development sessions conflicting ownership, redundant transporters,
< New material requirement forecast process resource capability issues, and poor environmental
rollout Support and Training standards.
< Purchase requisition automation < Identification of individual training needs and
< Material requirement planning process roll out arranging with the help of HR. Job skill and soft skill To transform these warehouses we initiated a new
< Warehousing process manual related training programmes mission and commitment specifically focussed
< Site return process locking in the ERP < Development of refresher and handy training on warehouse operations called “World Class
< Scrap disposal process modules Warehousing and Logistics”. We committed to
creating safe, automated, process driven, productive,
Furthermore, other programmes were initiated and Collaborate and Celebrate Success as One Team cost effective and green warehouses with the highest
Results
ESH
Our seven warehouses were certified, licensed,
< Fire safety training for all partners and the team
and awarded the industry’s first and highest
< Security briefing to all visitors and employees
warehouse certification, by CII for WAREX – The
< Mock fire drills Warehouse Excellence Certification. Indus Towers
< Medical check-ups for the team is a part of the first highest number platinum
< Other various safety related training certification in a first attempt in India. This
certification exemplifies our value of excellence. It
< CCTV implementation for surveillance and theft control
is an honour for us to be recognised as above, not
< Sensitive location protection only as the first in the telecom industry, but also a
< Initiatives towards vehicle transaction in the warehouses uses carbon neutral vehicles first amongst all industrial sectors!
< MBRC discharge energy used for office and repair centre electricity
As part of our transformation journey, we had
< Use of natural light/ Solar energy / LEDs
applied for seven warehouses which were audited
by the CII Team. Out of seven warehouses audited
Process People Partner by CII, four have achieved platinum and three
gold.
< Warehouse layout using ergonomics < Team building < Partner management
The certification proves our robust, core
< Pallet standardisation < Skill development < Compliances management
warehousing functions, facility and processes. We
< Site return material management < Individual review < Partner changeover competed with industry leaders, including TAFE,
< Scrap disposal < Reward and recognition Lucas TVS, Aditya Birla and Tata Steel amongst
< Recreation many others. Other companies that have applied
for WAREX and are under assessment are Maruti
< Retention
Suzuki – Spare Part Division at Bangalore and
Mahindra Logistics.
levels of standardisation and innovation to serve To initiate transformation we gave the project the
our customers with best in class experience. It success mantra of: Also our Warehouses are awarded as Green
was agreed that the key features would include full warehouse of the Year in ELSC Leadership award.
automation, a best-in-class distribution network We implemented our 5P approach for warehouse
to provide on time delivery in forward and transformation keeping EHS (Environment, Safety I would like to give a special thanks to the
reverse logistics, optimal inventory management, and Health) first. We identified missing processes following people who helped make these
accessibility and security of stock, and value added and other requirements for mapping business and achievments possible: Mr Shantha Raju- Ex CEO;
services for our clients. quality. Mr Bimal Dayal – CEO; Mr Mandeep Sachdeva-
Description Before transformation March 2016 Reduction
Warehouses (in No’s) 55 18 69%
Areas in lakhs (Sq ft) 39 22 44% Meetup Europe 2017

5-6 April, London
Cost (INR Crores) XX XX 28%
CSCMO ; Mr Vivek Kumar – CHRO; All CCEOs, RDs,

Functional Heads and each member of Team SCM.
lot over the past few years; what are some of the
next changes that you anticipate?
Meetup Americas
TowerXchange: How are you and your Deepak Sharma, Vice President Supply Chain, Indus
2017
team keeping up with the pace for telecoms Towers: There has been a conspicuous growth 7-8 June, Boca Raton
development set by the Indian government? and enhancement of the telecom infrastructure
in the recent past. For instance, there has been a
Deepak Sharma, Vice President Supply Chain, Indus change in profile of consumers characterised by
Towers: As India’s leading telecom infrastructure a large young population and rising middle class Meetup Africa
company, it is our responsibility to service the
community we work in with utmost perseverance.
with increasing spending capability and higher
adaptability to technology.
& ME 2017
We believe that a robust telecommunications 3-4 October, Johannesburg
infrastructure is a precursor to a country’s sustained Additionally, in a recent, International
socioeconomic growth, with benefits permeating Telecommunication Union (ITU) forum, there
across sectors, citizens and geographies. Therefore, were discussions around building a case for four
our efforts are always backed by directions set new spectrum bands as part of its 2025 vision. Meetup Asia 2017
by the Indian government, be it allocation of With the recent push by government of India for
spectrum resources for residential and enterprise renewable energy, more specifically solar power, 12-13 December, Singapore
intra-telecommunication requirements or the ecosystem is likely to get a stronger impetus.
recommendations on improving telecom services in The telecom industry is looking at solar power
underdeveloped or developing regions. becoming more viable as a result and there is
likely to be more adoption of such sources by the www.towerxchange.com
TowerXchange: The tower industry has changed a industry
OCK Group’s vision to build
TowerXchange: As this is our first interview with
OCK Group, could you share some background
on your company - how the business is financed,
a pan-Asian tower company your credentials in Malaysia, your vision to

form a tower company across multiple Asian
Founder Sam Ooi shares insight into their footprint in Malaysia, entry into Vietnam, countries?
and contract with Telenor Myanmar
Sam Ooi, MD, OCK Group: OCK Group Berhad is
Having drawn considerable attention by Malaysia’s foremost telecommunications network
securing a contract to build 920 towers for service provider, listed on the Main Market of Bursa
Telenor Myanmar late last year, Malaysia’s Malaysia Securities Berhad.
OCK Group has shaken up the Asian tower
market once again with its acquisition Since its incorporation in 2000, the Group has
of Southeast Asia Telecommunications evolved from a maintenance and engineering
Holdings Pte Ltd (SEATH) and their (“M&E”) company to a full turnkey solutions
1,938 towers for US$50mn. This is the provider with four key business divisions covering
largest tower transaction to date in the telecommunication network services, green energy
Vietnamese market, and we caught up and power solutions, M&E engineering services
with Sam Ooi, MD of OCK Group to find out and trading of telecommunication and network
more about his company, this exciting new products.
deal, their activities in Myanmar and their
Ooi Chin Khoon, MD, OCK Group
pan-Asian vision. With more than 2,600 employees, OCK remains
dedicated to its vision of becoming the service
Keywords: 4G, Acquisition, Asia, Asia Insights, Cambodia, China, Consolidation, Construction, partner of choice for telecommunication services
Indonesia, Lease Rates, LTE, M&A, Managed Services, Market Entry, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mobifone, across Southeast Asia. We serve the majority of
Multi-Country Partner, New License, New Market Entrant, O&M, OCK Group, Rooftop, SEATH, Towercos, the telecom companies in Malaysia. The Group has
Vietnamobile, Vinaphone, VNI, Who’s Who been strategically expanding its presence across
Southeast Asia and continues to position itself in key
emerging economies such as Myanmar, Cambodia,
Read this article to learn: Indonesia and China.
< OCK Group’s credentials as a listed full turnkey service provider
< The business case for OCK’s acquisition of SEATH and their 1,938 towers in Vietnam TowerXchange: Please tell us about your role at
< How OCK Group proposes to sustain a competitive lease rate in Myanmar OCK and the experience you bring the team.
< OCK Group’s plans for future growth in Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia and beyond
Sam Ooi, MD, OCK Group: I founded OCK in 2000,
drove it towards listing on the Main Board of Bursa
Malaysia, and led its development into the foremost
telecommunications service provider in Malaysia.
Our Group CEO Yap Wai Khee joined OCK in early

2015. Wai Khee has over 21 years of experience
in strategy and commercials, with 16 years in
the telecommunications industry. He has acted
in senior management roles for several telecom
companies within this region. At OCK, we have a
highly experienced management team with many
years of experience in the telecoms industry that
has contributed to the company’s success.
TowerXchange: How does the tower construction

and leasing business fit into your business
model?
Sam Ooi, MD, OCK Group: Our telecommunications

network services business is the largest contributor
to OCK Group’s revenue, and it our intention to
grow this business further by expanding our
construction and/or leasing of telecommunication
towers.
We were granted with a Network Facilities Provider

(Class) license by the Malaysian regulator, and own
133 sites in Malaysia.
We started to expand overseas by securing a master

lease agreement for the construction and lease of
up to 920 towers in Myanmar last year and were
granted a Network Facilities Services (Class) license
by the Myanmar government. And just last week we
announced our entry into Vietnam.
“
TowerXchange: Congratulations on the (“steel and grass”) whereas in Myanmar a full
announcement of OCK Group’s acquisition of service (“tower and power”) is the norm. Which
SEATH. What attracted your company to invest business model are OCK most comfortable with?
in this portfolio and in the Vietnamese market? And will you source and maintain your own
power equipment in Myanmar or outsource to
Sam Ooi, MD, OCK Group: We have been evaluating SEATH is the largest independent third parties?
the telecom tower industry in Vietnam, as this tower company in Vietnam, and
country is expected to have one of the greatest it is a profitable business; it will Sam Ooi, MD, OCK Group: We are capable of
mobile broadband growth rates within the next few
years, coupled with the rollout of 4G/LTE network
later this year/next year.
immediately contribute financially
to OCK Group, and allows us to tap
into the Vietnamese market
“ providing a complete suite of services to our
customers, and we are comfortable with any
arrangements which may be unique to a particular
country.
SEATH is the largest independent tower company
in Vietnam, and it is a profitable business; it will OCK performs network operations maintenance
immediately contribute financially to OCK Group, and/or managed services to approximately 25,000
and allows us to tap into the Vietnamese market. discussions with existing tower companies in towers in this region, and we are assessing the
Vietnam as we feel the tower industry is highly market in Myanmar too.
TowerXchange: Can you share some insights into fragmented. In addition, the upcoming launch of
the portfolio you are acquiring from Vietnam 4G in Vietnam will also increase demand for new TowerXchange: Considering OCK Group’s
Infrastructure Ltd (VNI)? We understand they towers in Vietnam. presence in Myanmar and now Vietnam, are
have 1,938 sites - what is the mix of ground there plans for further expansion in the region?
based towers to rooftops and any DAS or TowerXchange: OCK has come to market at a Which other markets are being evaluated?
microcell poles? Who are the principal tenants very competitive lease rate in Myanmar - what
on those sites? innovations will you use to ensure you can build Sam Ooi, MD, OCK Group: We own tower assets in
and maintain towers at this price point? Malaysia and Myanmar, and with SEATH, we will
Sam Ooi, MD, OCK Group: Most of the towers are own tower assets in Vietnam too.
guyed mast towers which may be ground based Sam Ooi, MD, OCK Group: OCK is a full turnkey
or on rooftops. The key tenants are Mobifone, solutions provider, and we are able to leverage OCK is a full turnkey contractor in Cambodia, where
Vinaphone and Vietnamobile. our expertise from other countries into Myanmar, we are involved in tower construction and fibre
resulting in a lower cost to build and maintain rollout. In Indonesia we focus mainly on managing
TowerXchange: Could you share some insight towers. These benefits are passed on to our valued active and passive infrastructure for telecom
into OCK Group’s plans for further acquisitions customers. networks.
or new builds in Vietnam?
TowerXchange: We understand that towercos We will continuously evaluate opportunities within
Sam Ooi, MD, OCK Group: We are open to explore in Vietnam provide just the structure and land the ASEAN region
TowerXchange is not just about towercos and tower strategists. One of our top priorities is to provide a platform
Exhibition
for proven passive infrastructure equipment and solutions providers to introduce themselves and their
activity. From static asset manufacturers to RMS and turnkey solutions providers to hybrid energy solutions,
these companies play a critical role in ensuring the profitability of towercos and MNOs and the safety of their
preview
employees.
In this section we gather interviews with the top service, solution and equipment manufacturers who will gather
at the TowerXchange Meetup in Singapore this December.
192 Abloy
195 Acsys Technologies
200 Ascot Industrial
205 Elektroskandia
207 Enatel Energy
211 EnerSys
216 FG Wilson
219 Flexenclosure
222 GS Yuasa
225 Infozech
229 Invendis Technologies
233 IPS
237 IPT Powertech
240 Miteno Communication Technology
243 Siterra
246 Tarantula
250 TOTAL
256 Vinson & Elkins
An integrated approach to
TowerXchange: Could you introduce us to
Abloy? Which countries are you active in?
telecom site security Edward Lee, Business Development Manager, Abloy

South East Asia: We are a Finnish company, and
ABLOY’s expansion in the telecom tower industry we are a leading manufacturer of electric locking
systems and architectural hardware. We develop
ABLOY is one of the leading manufacturers of locks, locking easy to use locking solutions to satisfy the needs of
systems and architectural hardware in the world. They are also end users. Abloy has a global presence spanning
a leading developer in the field of electromechanical locking over 90 countries in all continents. Our presence
technology. The company has been providing security locking in Asia is represented by our direct sales offices
solutions to telecom companies globally since the early 1970s, in China, India and Singapore where Singapore is
with increased presence in the Southeast Asian market since 1987. the regional co-ordinating office for the Southeast
Asian market.
With the evolution of the telecommunication industry, the
company has also streamlined its product offering and developed TowerXchange: Who are your main clients?
new locking solutions using the latest technology available to meet
the challenging demands of providing telecommunication services Edward Lee, Business Development Manager,
to end users. In this interview, Edward Lee, Business Development Abloy South East Asia: Our main clients are in the
Manager for Abloy South East Asia and Alan Goh, Business high security and infrastructure segment where
Development Manager for Abloy OY (Finland) introduce the we provide solutions to professional end users
Alan Goh, Business Development company, its footprint, products and strategy in relation to their such as banks, government institutions, transport
Manager, Abloy OY (Finland) security solutions and services in the telecom tower industry. and logistic companies. Essentially, we supply to
installations with a wide network of applications
Keywords: Abloy, Southeast Asia, Interview, Access Control, Urban vs Rural, Fuel Security, Site including utilities and telecommunications
Visits, Shelters, Fencing, Batteries, Diesel Generators, MNOs, China, Singapore, Bangladesh, India, companies. In the telecoms industry we work
Philippines, Thailand primarily with the operators. Telecom tower
companies is a relatively new concept in Asia
for us, although securing telecommunication
Read this article to learn: equipment has been one of our major strengths.
< Abloy’s footprint and client base The route to market has changed and we look
< Key security issues in remote telecom sites and how to solve them forward to grow as a partner of choice with all
< Abloy’s cutting edge solutions integrating mechanical and electronic technology telecom tower companies, as we believe we have
< The need for a change in mindset: a joint approach to site security the technology, know-how and capability to service
them.
solutions differ between Asian countries? And
between Asia and other regions Abloy serves?
Edward Lee, Business Development Manager, Abloy

South East Asia: Currently, our primary business
clients are telecom companies located in India and
Bangladesh. Other countries, where our locks have
been deployed in traditional landline installations,
such as Philippines, Thailand and Singapore
are exploring and starting to move towards the
independent towerco model. We understand very
well, that every country has their own culture
and management processes, and hence we know
that it is very important to customise our products
and solutions according to our customers’ specific
requirements, and not roll out a standardised model
across the region.
TowerXchange: What kind of security issues is recommend Abloy as their preferred security locking Most of the sites we serve in Bangladesh are located
the region exposed to? And how can Abloy help solution partner. in remote areas, although we do operate in urban
solving them? areas as well. In the city there are many options
With regards to remote sites, these are high risk for protecting expensive equipment. For instance,
Alan Goh, Business Development Manager, Abloy OY areas and most of these sites hold very expensive some telecom companies store their equipment in
(Finland): Security issues that our telecom clients and important equipment and consumables that residential areas near the site rather than on it.
usually encounter are related to the size of their are required to keep the site itself operational. Remote sites have limited options.
operational sites; managing the various groups of Hence, they are subjected to theft and pilferages
people and individuals with access to them. They with most incidents resulting in loss of fuel, cables, In India, our focus has been on mobile network
need to integrate an efficient locking mechanism into generators and batteries, often rendering the sites operators rather than tower companies. A tower
their current processes. Often many of these sites non-functional, resulting in performance downtime company runs a site with two or three network
are in remote areas and they are subjected to harsh for the clients. A reliable locking solution, enhanced operators, and each of the them contracts us
environmental conditions and they need to ensure with technology and process management – individually to provide a locking solution for
that these sites are well secured and also when they which Abloy offers, creates a stronger barrier and their equipment. We are working towards getting
need to be accessed, they have to be certain that the resistance for intruders and saboteurs. tower companies to understand the importance
locks will work when access rights are granted. Over of a consolidated security system, taking into
the years, our clients have continued to choose and TowerXchange: How does the demand for security consideration that each tower is likely to have
multiple vendors. We are also learning how we our clients in the telecommunications industry have system of the status of the site. Setting the lock
can work and collaborate more effectively with been purchasing our master key solutions and some to fail secure is a plus point in terms of power
tower companies in this region. The opportunity are using electronic locking solutions. consumption. With this setting, the lock does not
to network with key players in the tower industry consume any power at all unless an authorised user
through TowerXchange Meetups is extremely useful Mechanically, Abloy’s patented and controlled key presents his or her card to gain access. As such,
to us. profile with detainer discs technology is bump proof our electromechanical lock is “greener” for the
and virtually pick-proof. Our high product quality environment, creating savings in power consumption
TowerXchange: Why have tower companies been and reliability is also ideal for harsh environmental versus other locking devices that require constant
slower to adopt your solutions? conditions. Not forgetting the endless master- power supply to them.
keying capabilities from our comprehensive range
Alan Goh, Business Development Manager, Abloy OY of locking products that include padlocks, door Testing standards have been raised and Abloy
(Finland): There are probably a couple of reasons. cylinders, cam-locks, cabinet locks and key deposits. electromechanical locks are tested not only for
One would be that tower companies are unaware their mechanical durability and resistance. The
of our solutions, as our brand has traditionally To further enhance the mechanical solution, our individual electrical components encased in our
been associated with mechanical locking, although electronic technology known as CLIQ provides more electromechanical locks are tested as a complete unit
they are highly reliable and secure. We welcome flexibility in key control for infrastructure projects under the new EN14846 standard, where a complete
the towercos to experience our high-tech electronic which are geographically dispersed. test is done instead of testing the component parts
locking solutions. Secondly, towercos currently rely separately, thus ensuring the best product life cycle
on operators to each adopt a locking solution for CLIQ technology allows for audit trails so you can see of our electromechanical locks to our customers.
their own equipment, whereas we firmly believe events and times of occurrence from all locations.
that there are many advantages to be enjoyed with a Easy-to-change access rights are based on time and TowerXchange: Did the entrance of towercos
joint approach to site security. We are most willing calendar; e.g. enabling cleaners to be automatically in the telecom industry change the way Abloy
to discuss further with the towercos and deploy pilot granted access only at predetermined times. CLIQ works? And if so, how?
trials with them to understand how they can save on technology provides unique identification for every
operational costs over a specific period of time and opening through encrypted communication. The Alan Goh, Business Development Manager, Abloy OY
the possibility of monetising their investment in our integration of mechanical and electronic technology (Finland): We understand that telecom companies
solutions. is double-checked and secured with Abloy Protec2 are divesting their assets to tower companies and
CLIQ wherein the CLIQ technology is further tested we have to adapt our business approach to reach out
TowerXchange: What are telecom companies on top of the mechanical durability and resistance to attract new clients; namely the towercos. There
typical requirements for site security? force of our product. is likely to be exponential growth and we are quite
excited about this. Abloy is ready to ride on the wave
Alan Goh, Business Development Manager, Abloy OY However, if our client wishes to have an immediate of opportunities in this fast developing sector, by
(Finland): We offer many different security products communication with various sites, Abloy’s partnering closely with towercos to implement the
for telecom companies, and these are usually tailored electromechanical locking solution can offer a best possible high-tech electronic security locking
to fit the needs of each individual customer. Most of variety of monitoring signals to inform the security solution for them
How to improve cell site TowerXchange: Please can you provide an
introduction to Acsys and why they are now
looking to expand beyond access control?
productivity and workforce management
Michael Sothan, Vice President, Americas, Acsys:
Data is the key to productivity Acsys was originally a general access control and
workforce management solution provider. In the
To date, monitoring of workforce activity on cell sites has been reliant on the company’s early days we did a lot of work with the
use of disparate systems, paper records and word of mouth. Acsys, best known government and military sectors but after seeing
in the telecoms sector for their access control systems, is now expanding their a strong fit in the telecom infrastructure space, we
focus to develop a platform which integrates access data with data points developed a telecom-centric access control and
workforce management system specifically for the
from multiple third party systems, offering infracos the opportunity to better
sector which has now become well recognised by
track activity and productivity on site. TowerXchange spoke to Acsys’ Michael
the industry.
Sothan to understand the platform, what data it can capture and how it is set to
revolutionise productivity at telecom cell sites.
Whilst security is always a concern for tower
owners, and we are aware of very high rates of
Keywords: ARPU, Access Control, Acsys, Brazil, Business Case, Capex, Change vandalism in some Latin American countries like
Management, Energy Efficiency, How to Guide, Installation, Investment, Job Brazil, the market is shifting towards an increased
Ticketing, KPIs, Managed Services, Monitoring & Management, O&M, Opex focus on efficiency and opex reduction. With
Michael Sothan, Reduction, QoS, RMS, ROI, Rooftop, SLA, Site Level Profitability, Site Management customers demanding ever more data at lower
Business Development
System, Site Surveys, Site Visits, Skilled Workforces, South America, Uptime costs, ARPU is being driven down and capex on the
Global Accounts, Acsys
increase operators are putting more focus on their
bottom line, looking at ways to make savings.
< How Acsys is expanding their focus outside of security to better monitor workforce patterns at In order to improve efficiency on site one must first
cell sites understand what is happening on site; to date it has
been hard to get a clear picture on this. There has
< Which third party systems and metrics can be integrated to develop a holistic picture of cell site
been a real lack of data detailing what is going on –
operations
even to the extent of knowing for certain whether a
< How data can be used to develop job based KPIs and SLA clauses to monitor and improve
job has actually been done! If a job is being done, it
productivity is useful to know factors and metrics such as when
< What trends are starting to be observed on optimal completion times for key maintenance tasks it was done, who did it, how long it took, did it take
< How Acsys’ system is being adopted and customised by infracos longer than it has in the past? When you start to
obtain and interpret this data you start to develop a
increasing visibility and control of their operations.
Infracos have been putting in place processes
to oversee what is happening but where a lot of
inefficiencies have been coming in is that these
separate processes are not integrated. There have
been a lot of gaps in the data and as such guess
work has had to take place. This has made enforcing
their processes a real challenge.
Putting in place the Acsys system means that

each time a job is being done there is real time
data correlated with that job which can then be
integrated with further data points. This not only
allows for the creation of more effective processes
but, perhaps even more importantly, allows for
their enforcement.
TowerXchange: How have you worked with

meaningful picture of site operations. Michael Sothan, Vice President, Americas, Acsys: It clients to develop the solution and what has been
has been very much an ongoing evolving process their reaction to the system?
Operators deploy lots of different pieces of software but something which we have begun to shift our
such as OSS systems, trouble ticketing systems, focus more heavily towards in the past year. Michael Sothan, Vice President, Americas, Acsys:
billing systems and remote site management As we work with clients they give feedback on
software systems to monitor what is happening TowerXchange: Prior to such a platform being what data they would like to capture to enable us
on site, but these systems don’t talk to each other. developed by Acsys, how have tower owners been to create them a tailored system. Generally what
Acsys’ solution, while focused on managing physical able to monitor operations? most of the clients really want is an increase in the
activity on-site, is to provide an open platform data generated about their O&M and an increase in
which can integrate with one or all of these third Michael Sothan, Vice President, Americas, Acsys: the efficiency of their O&M. Key questions they’re
party systems to give a more holistic view of site What we’ve realised is that whilst the telecom looking to answer include the obvious; who is on
operations. This fills in the vacuums of data that industry is a very high tech industry, when it site and what asset are they accessing? This is
have existed and presents a complete picture of comes to O&M they have relied on a very piecemeal critical for tenants who want to monitor their active
what is happening at your cell site. and low tech approach. Infracos have been infrastructure, to the less evident; which vendor is
amalgamating multiple types and sources of data doing the job more efficiently? What is the average
TowerXchange: How long have Acsys been from digital records to paper based reports right time spent on site? How many sites can be serviced
working on this software? through to word of mouth – all with the aim of a day under routine or preventative maintenance?
“
In terms of the appetite for such a system, we have
realised that companies are much more willing
to budget for and buy a solution that increases
productivity in their operations. Security is an
essential component to a towerco business but it is Clients are interested in a number of factors. The most critical, but possibly
not something that people are excited to purchase. the most overlooked, is very simple - a hard verification of if a vendor
When we can provide a solution that saves people
money by reducing their opex, it becomes much
more interesting for the client to invest in it.
visited a site. Without this, how does the infraco, or MNO, know that an
assigned task was completed? It all links back to SLA adherence – if you
can’t verify whether the visit was even made it makes it impossible to
“
TowerXchange: Have you developed the solution enforce the SLA clauses you put in place
in partnership with third party software
providers? Can most main systems be integrated
into Acsys’ solution? in data and look to create a customized solution to Next would be vendor time to site and time on site.
fill in those gaps. They want to gain a hard verification of how long
Michael Sothan, Vice President, Americas, Acsys: it takes a given vendor to reach a site, especially in
With a lot of work still under development, I can’t The strategy is not to create a pre-made system the case of emergency maintenance, and also how
name all the vendors that we are working with but to be able to discuss on a project by project long a given supplier or contractor spends on site.
but what I can tell you is that we are working with basis what each client is using and which gaps Even if the client is not paying on an hourly basis,
a number of major remote monitoring system they are finding, so that we can create something they need to have a clear picture of this. If you
providers from across the U.S., Europe and Asia. customised. are putting in place service level agreements you
With several of them we have already completed need to be able to monitor this in order to be able
integrations and a few have already been deployed TowerXchange: What kind of metrics are clients to enforce the clauses you put in place. Vendors
in the field. We’ve also been working with some looking to obtain through using Acsys’ system? also need to know they are being monitored. This
of the major ticketing providers and are now creates a greater sense of accountability which
beginning to look at specific billing softwares and Michael Sothan, Vice President, Americas, Acsys: naturally increases quality.
larger scale ERP platforms. Clients are interested in a number of factors. The
most critical, but possibly the most overlooked, Another useful feature of this is that you can
The idea is to keep our system as open as possible, is very simple - a hard verification of if a vendor develop job based KPIs, working out how long it
using open APIs and web services which allow for visited a site. Without this, how does the infraco, or should take, on average, to complete a specified
integration. The challenge is that we cannot simply MNO, know that an assigned task was completed? task. This allows you to better plan your routine
make a pre-made system, because every client is It all links back to SLA adherence – if you can’t maintenance and also enables you to budget more
using a different mix of softwares and vendors. verify whether the visit was even made it makes accurately, setting aside a set amount of time for
Instead, on a per project basis, we work with each it impossible to enforce the SLA clauses you put in a contractor to do a job, and avoiding overtime
individual client to see where they are finding gaps place. payments when they go outside of this.
As well as assessing response and service times or gives us an indication of the number of sites that a
vendors you can also use this to benchmark the client should be able to have serviced in a day.
equipment itself. For example, if you take a diesel Another example I can give is in Africa where we ERP
Enterprise Resource Planning
genset you can look at the number of call-outs did a study on three different vendors carrying out
that it needs on an annual basis and compare the oil filter changes. One vendor was taking 20 minutes MRP
Manufacture Resource Plan OSS
Trouble Ticketing Software
MTTR following a fault. This enables you to make to do the change, a second took an hour and a third
more informed decision making when it comes to took two hours. When the client inspected the sites
equipment procurement. it became clear that the vendor that was doing the HRM Cloud
TTS
job in twenty minutes was frequently not changing
Remot site monitoring
TowerXchange: From deployment of your the filter at all, whereas the vendor taking one hour
systems to date, has Acsys started to observe was doing a good job. From this we could elucidate RSM
DATA
BILLING
benchmarks for given tasks and is there that the required time to do an oil filter change was
anything that you can share? one hour, much less and the job wasn’t being done THE KEY TO PRODUCTIVITY!
properly and any longer and the vendor should be
Michael Sothan, Vice President, Americas, Acsys: more efficient.
We try to be as consultative as possible in working SMART PHONE ANY PHONE
WITH APP & SMS WITH SMS
with our clients but the amount of data that we TowerXchange: How much analysis is required to
have access to depends on how independent our extrapolate meaningful findings from the data? CODE ?
client wants to be. In some instances they prefer to Is there a degree of automation? OR OR
keep everything in-house whilst in others we work

very closely with them in analysing their data. At Michael Sothan, Vice President, Americas, Acsys:
the moment the amount of information that we There are certain elements which can be automated,
can share is dependent on NDAs that are in place, for example with our system you can pre-set alarms
but we are ultimately very happy to help the client if, for example, people are on site too long or are
analyse and interpret the data they obtain. requesting access outside of their normal zone.
The system can go as far as automatically blocking
FRONT GATE CELL TOWER BTS SHELTER GENERATOR BATTERIES FUEL TANK LTE CABINET
We have however started to see certain trends access until the vendor’s geo-location is at the
in different regions. For example, in India we’ve correct site. For certain clients we have even built ready format, which means clients can utilize all
noticed that because of traffic, especially when it custom reports and automated alarms based off of of Excel’s built-in analysis tools to also analyze our
rains, there was a certain client which couldn’t get what they find critical. data.
more than one site serviced per day as they were
driving back and forth to collect keys. This problem If you want to break down findings and connect Acsys can offer a service whereby our engineers
could be rectified by installing our mechatronic them to other data points, some of this is still being run analysis every week and send a report back
locks, taking the number of sites that could be done manually. Importantly, all of our different to the client and we are always working to add in
serviced up to as many as four! As such, this also reports can be automatically exported in an Excel- more ways to further automate the process.
being done you can enforce SLA clauses, with a
data trail in place vendors know that their activities
are being monitored. Knowing this means vendors
are now required to follow processes established
by management which they may have previously
ignored.
TowerXchange: Do any other companies have a

similar offering to Acsys?
Michael Sothan, Vice President, Americas, Acsys:

There are companies offering wired or Wi-
Fi dependent solutions which require a lot of
hardware to be installed on site. These companies
are generating a lot of data which has the potential
to be integrated but the issue is they don’t have
the reach to be able to install it on the majority of
TowerXchange: Why is it so important to with less, reducing costs and acting more efficiently. sites. A high level of expense and time is required
improve the way in which infracos can better Companies that can use tools like ours to identify to install these systems and as such, the solutions
understand workforce patterns on cell sites? patterns in workforce behaviour can than weed out are usually only being installed on a few critical
the inefficiencies, create optimised processes and backbone sites. Such systems lose much of their
Michael Sothan, Vice President, Americas, Acsys: obtain a competitive advantage, resulting in them value as they can’t correlate what is happening on
From a very general perspective if you look at becoming leaders in their field. those handful of sites with what is happening on
the advent of management science you have all the other 90% of the network. No other vendors
these innovative concepts that were developed like A more specific answer to the question is that have the ability to not only install a solution on
systems theory, value based management and lean understanding workforce patterns enables you to every single site – from critical backbone sites, to
manufacturing which have been adopted by various better manage staff and subcontractors on site, not rooftop sites to remote sites out in the middle of
industries and are being taught in the world’s top only verifying that work is being done in timely and nowhere – but also on every asset on the site.
management schools. The approach to managing accurate fashion but also enabling you to better When it comes to other mechatronic lock providers,
operations in telecoms infrastructure shouldn’t be plan and forecast work that needs to be done. we don’t see any other companies going the extra
any different. When you have an indication of how long a job mile to utilise or exploit the data that is being
should take you can put in place job based KPIs – generated by the system. They focus exclusively
We are trying to equip infracos with the skills to planning the amount of time and cost required for on the security aspect but to us that is just the
adopt lean O&M in the same way you hear about a given job, avoiding overtime payments. Similarly foundation. Pulling out as much data as possible
lean manufacturing – working to achieve more by having a definitive answer on whether a job is and making that data work for you!
Ascot: All in one, plug & play TowerXchange: Please introduce where Ascot
Industrial fits into the telecoms infrastructure
ecosystem.
hybrid generator with solar and AC/DC Dr Michele Greca, CEO, Ascot Industrial: Choosing
generators for mobile telecom sites Ascot today means trusting an organisation
with twenty-seven years of international market
experience with a brand name that means quality
Ascot’s ‘Flying Doctors’ ensure successful installation and integration
and reliability. Our typical products include hybrid
generators: AC and DC generators designed by
With eight years of experience and thousands of installations in critical markets throughout Europe, a team of in-house, highly skilled engineers in
the Middle East and Africa, the Ascot hybrid energy solution for telecom is considered one of the most accordance with our customers’ specifications,
reliable and proven hybrid solutions on the market. Ascot has been active in the South American market which work with advanced controls and energy
for many years and recently entered the U.S. off-grid and backup power market, with innovations storage, often incorporating renewable energy
from different continents driving technology innovations. Approved and widely used by the Vodafone sources.
Group, Helios Towers Africa, IHS Tower, STC Saudi Telecom, Ooredoo, Zain and Sudatel in their critical
operations, Ascot’s technology has been proven as the right product for harsh environments such as in Telecommunication companies historically
Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Sudan – as well as mountain top sites in Nevada. recognise Ascot as a leader in the sector thanks to its
innovative products and technologies for generators
Ascot’s certified performance has been proven over a decade of accumulated system data thanks to a and for the family of hybrid solutions deployed
sophisticated and efficient remote control system embedded in the Ascot Hybrid Power Unit (HPU). globally in thirty-eight countries.
This is the true know-how of Ascot competence

Keywords: Americas, South America, Peru, Haiti, Caribbean, Ascot, Energy, How To, Opex Reduction,
and flexibility. It’s only by visiting remote sites and
Power, Renewables, Site Visits, Solar, Unreliable Grid, Off Grid, Who’s Who, Wind, Opex, Capex, Fuel looking at how they are configured that we can
Security, Batteries, Energy Efficiency, Hybrid Power, Solar, LPG, Wind, Logistics apply our knowledge to optimise hybrid systems to
benefit both the operator and ourselves!
Read this article to learn: TowerXchange: How did Ascot Industrial get into
the hybrid energy for telecoms market?
< How to meet the changing energy requirements of multi-tenant tower operators
< Tailoring solutions to meet the power needs of sites with varying climactic conditions and grid availability
Dr Michele Greca, CEO, Ascot Industrial: From the
< Deploying a significant number of hybrid solutions across African and American portfolios inception of Ascot Industrial from 1986 until 2000,
< How the business case for solar and wind power is justified by logistics and the criticality of coverage our core business was developing generators for
< What it will take for demand for hybrid energy to reach the ‘tipping point’ the military, oil and gas, power plant and marine
sectors. The defence sector has been for us like
location is like a forward communication base
in war – reliability is critical and maintenance
visits must be kept to an absolute minimum. As
competition becomes more aggressive in telecoms,
battles will be won by whoever can provide the
best service at the lowest opex, so it’s critical to
improve energy efficiency.
TowerXchange: Why do telecom operators need

to reduce opex?
Dr Michele Greca, CEO, Ascot Industrial: The role

of the operators is to provide subscribers with
an always-on service, grow usage and reduce
customer churn. In order to gain more market
share than their competitors they need to have a
reliable network operating at the lowest possible
operating expense.
A decade ago when the competition was minimal,

Formula One is to Ferrari – a cutting-edge R&D to adapt it to charge the 600-1550 amp hour batteries operators expanded rapidly and the cost of phone
function we’ve applied to the telecoms sector. at cell sites, and we quickly developed and sold our calls was high. At that time operators did not pay
first hybrid solution in 2008, which was installed in very much attention to opex, concentrating on
For example, back in 1997 we developed an very harsh physical and maintenance conditions in building their infrastructure rather than finding
application to charge the huge batteries on Sudan. an optimised power solution. Very inefficient
submarines while in port. Ten years later I was energy solutions, based on standard and often
speaking with a manager at Zain who challenged Between 2008 and 2009, we installed fifteen units “disposable” diesel generators as the primary
me to produce an engine with low fuel consumption in as many countries for various telecom operators, energy source, were installed with very high
to power his cell sites. At first I thought it was so we tested the solution in different temperatures, servicing costs – especially for off-grid and weak
impossible, but from his words came the idea humidity and altitude scenarios – it was a good grid sites.
to apply the same technology we used to charge challenge that pushed us to invest in the project.
submarine batteries to charge cell site battery banks, That era is now over. To be and remain competitive
even when the generator is switched off. When we were working with the operators in the in the future, operators and tower companies
field, Ascot was fixing the problems of today and have to find and implement new strategic
Having proven our application in large scale projects of tomorrow. Ascot is well established to meet the energy solutions to enable lower opex than their
such as the submarine one, it was relatively simple specific needs of telecoms. A cell site in a remote competitors.
“
Subscriber revenue generated by telecom operators and our solution is applicable for difficult sites
has a direct impact on opex. In fact, only with lower throughout the Americas. We are active in Haiti,
expenditure and reliable service can the operator Peru, and other Latin American and Caribbean
decrease call tariffs, acquire more subscribers and networks.
generate more revenue.
Subscriber revenue generated TowerXchange: How has your offering evolved as
TowerXchange: Can you tell us more about the the off-grid tower market changes?
hybrid solutions already in the market? by telecom operators has a
direct impact on opex. In fact, Dr Michele Greca, CEO, Ascot Industrial: In the
Dr Michele Greca, CEO, Ascot Industrial: As hybrid last couple of years, hybridisation has attracted
technology is relatively new, today’s market offers
only with lower expenditure the increasing interest of the telecom operators.
different solutions made by combining different and reliable service can the They have pushed the market to propose hybrid
brands of products to form a hybrid package:
ie. X Controller and Y Batteries combined with Z
generator et cetera.
The result of that mix is the manufacturer of

operator decrease call tariffs,
acquire more subscribers and
generate more revenue
“ solutions to power their sites. However it’s not
easy to replace a traditional generator with a
hybrid solution because most of the current hybrid
solutions on the market are new and also the local
maintenance teams are not prepared to manage
each single part guarantees their part as a stand these sophisticated systems. Operators want hybrid
alone item, not associated with other components, power solutions but once installed, they can face a
hence the controllers available on the market are lot of problems if they don’t fully understand how
not specifically designed for the scope and the grid sites can include a non-penetrating tower the system works.
integration of the parts to combine into a hybrid foundation, rapid deployment multi-tenant
package - resulting in cell site energy being very monopole tower and our hybrid power system. It To overcome that resistance, Ascot offers a “plug
expensive and inefficient, and with no single point of can be constructed and commissioned in less than & play” hybrid solution, which utilises the same
accountability. one week but run autonomously for six months – a interface as standard generators - typically a
design necessity for mountain top cell sites which DeepSea Control System - that can dialogue with the
The innovative Ascot patented DC-HPU is an are inaccessible for many months throughout the internal logic of the hybrid component.
integrated “plug & play” power solution designed to year.
supply energy to telecommunication sites using up to In addition, today we include a service called “Flying
68% less fuel than the current diesel generating sets Minimal site disruption achieves speed and Doctors” which means that once our clients have
running 24 hours a day and using up to 98% less fuel environmental goals; no power lines are necessary purchased the technology we can offer installation,
when integrated with solar solutions. where they do not exist and are terribly expensive, training and operational support along with the
and the optimum RF site coverage objectives were package (for example we used this on the 1,500 sites
We have recently deployed our first fleet of U.S. achieved in one case with one off-grid site rather we recently upgraded for Vodacom). We also offer
hybrid sites including generator, solar and battery than four sites that were located near existing a package where our team and local partner will
storage for remote locations. These unique off- power. The opex and capex savings are compelling go side by side installing the machines and doing
For tower operators, we created and integrated grid because there were no other financially viable
a distribution box which just didn’t exist before, solutions until recently.
meaning the client had to supply it. Now it’s
integrated into the system so the output of the When a consumer goes out to buy a hybrid car,
machines matches the output for the tenants so you those cars are not competing with normal cars. They
can have one, two or more different tenants. It’s a are serving different needs and there is simply no
market-proven product especially in Africa; network comparison in terms of fuel consumption.
owners like Helios Towers Africa and Vodacom are
using our hybrid systems and are making referrals The telecom sector is just like the automotive
and giving references to use Ascot products as they industry – in the future no-one will use diesel (or
are so easy to install, manage and maintain. petrol) engines – hybrid power is the future. Why
don’t people use hybrid now? Price, performance
Our solution easily integrates with PV or wind and availability – and Ascot is at the forefront of
power so these energy sources can plug and play improving all three.
with our machine. We’re also offering a remote
monitoring and control system so our clients can Telecoms operators want hybrid power already, but
remotely manage the performance of our machines. like consumers changing their normal car for an
electric car, they want to know how the change will
Ascot is a manufacturing company so originally, our affect their operations. Once telecom operators are
business model was just to supply the equipment sure hybrid power works, it will only be a matter of
and leave the client to organise other details – time before all off-grid and weak grid cell sites are
namely financing packages. Now some clients want upgraded to hybrids.
a capex-based model and some want an opex model
with integration in a financial package. We can now Essentially hybrid solutions are big battery chargers.
offer both and have the flexibility to provide what Their role is to produce, store and reuse energy. As
our clients desire. the price comes down and the performance and
reliability is proven, the business case for hybrid
onsite training in order to guarantee the machines’ TowerXchange: How do hybrid solutions compare energy becomes more compelling at more and more
installation and performance. We use this team to to running diesel generators 24/7? cell sites.
identify the main difficulties faced in the field by our
clients. Our “Flying Doctors” team report back this Dr Michele Greca, CEO, Ascot Industrial: The magic There will be a tipping point where demand for
information immediately allowing us to continually number of fuel savings is 68%, achievable with the hybrid power rises very quickly. At the moment,
improve the difficulties faced in operations. For Ascot Hybrid. You can reach 98% in combination innovators are still finding competitive advantages,
example, if they don’t like the control panel we can with a Solar PV System. which they don’t want to share, but when
change it to work better for them. This helps us to innovations are collated, everyone will want it and
provide our clients with the solutions they need. Operators were only using diesel generators off- it will stimulate that big jump in demand. Investors
solutions Ascot is bringing to the market?
Dr Michele Greca, CEO, Ascot Industrial: Our
innovations are always driven by market demand.
Today the main challenges are fuel theft and the
possibility to deliver our systems to remote and
difficult areas. To overcome these challenges we
have developed a range of Liquefied Petroleum Gas
(LPG) hybrids – we now offer LPG powered engines.
In markets like Nigeria, LPG is cheap and easily

available, and it’s also far more complicated to
steal. The LPG hybrid project was developed for
the United States market and now we’re making it
available for the African market where we foresee a
lot of uses.
In terms of delivering the system to remote areas,

today we offer two solutions: a semi-knock down
product that can be hand carried and then easy
reassembled on site and a containerised cargo
aren’t afraid of those consolidated technologies. tenants right away, they need scalable modules with package which is a complete and mobile telecom
a few small extra parts for additional tenants. site; both are effective and very popular solutions.
TowerXchange: How do the power requirements
differ between single and multi-tenant cell Ascot’s tested and proven power solution for Other advantages of LPG include eliminating
sites? towercos, our modular DC-HPU for one to three BTS fuel degradation and associated damage to diesel
of up to two kW, has an engine capable of supplying generators (LPG does not degrade over time) and
Dr Michele Greca, CEO, Ascot Industrial: Towercos power to three banks of batteries, so the main more acceptable environmental aspects – we are
often have to invest in power solutions before they change to accommodate multiple tenants is just to deploying these systems into sensitive ecosystems
know how many tenants will be on the tower and add extra battery stacks. We also enable metering to such as U.S. Government public lands.
before they know their total power requirements. bill tenants for their own energy consumption. We
allow customers to right-size their power systems We continue to evolve and expand our portfolio by
So energy systems for shared sites need to be and then stack on new systems only when needed. quickly learning and adapting to the most difficult
modular, with a low initial capex investment This drives fuel efficiency and sequences capex site requirements, based on both the most rough
for single tenant sites, and a small increase in properly. and remote conditions as well as sites with the most
investment for each additional tenant. Towercos difficult environmental and government approval
don’t want to deploy the capex to support multiple TowerXchange: Tell us about the innovative LPG processes
Elektroskandia China on the TowerXchange: Please introduce yourself and
tell us about your role and background in
telecoms.
importance of supply chain management
Robert Lindell, Director, Sales & Business
for operational efficiency Development, Elektroskandia China: My name

is Robert Lindell and I’m from Sweden, but have
Robert Lindell discusses how to work with customers for mutual success been working outside Sweden since 1997 in
different regional and global roles within telecom
With competition in the telecoms market at Ericsson, Ascom, Dingli Communications and
continuing to increase, towercos and MNOs since 2014 at Elektroskandia China.
are looking for every possible edge to

I’m now the Director of Sales and Business
reduce time to market, and increase overall
Development at Elektroskandia China and I’m
opex while limiting capex. We spoke with
based in Shanghai.
Robert Lindell at Elektroskandia China
to discuss their background in telecoms TowerXchange: Please introduce your
and learn how they are partnering with company – where do you fit in the telecoms
telecoms companies and more recently infrastructure ecosystem?
towercos to increase their operational
efficiency. Robert Lindell, Director, Sales & Business
Development, Elektroskandia China:
Keywords: Alcatel Lucent, Capex Elektroskandia AB was founded in 1904 in
Reduction, Elektroskandia, Ericsson, Fibre, Sweden and was a part of ABB under the
Nokia, Opex Reduction, Solar Power, name Asea Skandia until 1997. In 1999,
Robert Lindell, Director, Sales & Business Development, Supply Chain Management Elektroskandia AB extended its footprint to
Elektroskandia China
China, Elektroskandia China has established
its leading position in integrated supply of
Read this article to learn: telecommunication installation materials, key
< The background of Elektroskandia China and its offerings components and materials related to new energy
< Elektroskandia China’s experience as a telecoms supplier ever since its startup in Shanghai in 1999. Since
< Achieving on time delivery and managing high and low seasons 2008, Elektroskandia China is part of the French
< Increasing supply chain efficiency to remain competitive privately held Sonepar Group, a leading global
industrial distributor.
Being an industrial distributor and supply Robert Lindell, Director, Sales & Business market and customer has different business
chain specialist, the products we distribute can Development, Elektroskandia China: The processes and workflows and because we are
be divided into the following areas: telecom telecom industry has high pressure to part of the global Sonepar group we can easily
network site material solutions & supply chain deliver solutions that are cost effective adopt to the customer’s needs.
management, wind power installation material with high capacity to fulfil the customers’
solutions and solar panel installation material needs and working with companies such as TowerXchange: How can a robust approach
solutions. Within telecom we distribute site Elektroskandia China can help them with to supply chain management improve the
material, cables, fibre solutions, antennas and the on-time delivery, high product quality, valuation of tower assets?
towers. managing high and low seasons and most
importantly we can help them to reduce the Robert Lindell, Director, Sales & Business
TowerXchange: The first question our readers working capital. Development, Elektroskandia China: In today’s
will want to know is ‘how proven is the competitive landscape with high volume, but
solution in the field’ – please tell us about TowerXchange: How does your solution decreased margins, the companies with the
the performance of your solution in the field help manage different stakeholders within most efficient supply chain will be the winners.
– who is using it and what results have been the tower supply chain, from tenants to Elektroskandia China has a long history in the
achieved? subcontractors? telecom world and will continue supporting
current and new customers for mutual success.
Robert Lindell, Director, Sales & Business Robert Lindell, Director, Sales & Business
Development, Elektroskandia China: Development, Elektroskandia China: TowerXchange: Please sum up how you
Elektroskandia has more than 30 years’ Elektroskandia China has a wide portfolio would differentiate your solution from your
experience working with customers like for of telecom site installation materials, cables, competitors’?
example Ericsson, Nokia, Alcatel among others antennas and towers and depending who the
and has throughout the years developed to one of stakeholders are we can support with good Robert Lindell, Director, Sales & Business
their most important partners in supplying site quality products from China or other markets. Development, Elektroskandia China: We have
material and other equipment. During the last several competitors, but no one with the global
few years we have also been working in the tower TowerXchange: How can your solution be presence as Elektroskandia and Sonepar.
industry with a lot more new customers which configured to adapt to different towerco’s
are one of the reasons why we are participating unique business processes and workflows? We have been working more than 30 years
at the Towerxchange event in Singapore. with the major telecom suppliers to provide
Robert Lindell, Director, Sales & Business our services all over the world with good
TowerXchange: How can supply chain Development, Elektroskandia China: We quality, speed and price. The tower companies
management be integrated with tower supply products all over the world from are our latest customer segment and we
portfolio management to support towercos Elektroskandia China or through our sister believe it will support our growth over the next
and MNOs? companies within the Sonepar group. Each couple of years
Enatel’s SYNERGi solution
TowerXchange: Please give us a brief overview
of your company for our readers that aren’t
familiar with you.
achieves 90% less genset runtime Murray Wyma, CTO DC Systems, Enatel Energy:
Opex and efficiency boosted with Enatel Energy’s power solutions Enatel Energy is a division of Enatel, which was
founded 14 years ago by the same personnel
Enatel Energy offers an expansive portfolio of fully customizable that created Swichtec Power Systems, a company
DC power systems and industrial battery chargers, designed to meet successful in designing and manufacturing
every power conversion requirement. Solutions offer flexibility and switch-mode power solutions, primarily for the
scalability by way of rack-mount, hot-pluggable combinations of telecommunications industry. Based on over 30
modular AC-DC rectifiers, DC-AC inverters and DC-DC converters with years’ of experience, our core business is the
advanced monitoring and control. design and manufacture of power conversion
products for the telecommunications, IT, utility,
In this interview, Murray Wyma, CTO DC Systems, Enatel Energy, talks materials handling and renewable energies sectors.
about the work that the business has done recently in Mexico, explains Headquartered in Christchurch, more than 90% of
why MNOs are likely to see energy costs go down in the future, and everything we design and manufacture is exported
gives an insight into what makes Enatel Energy’s products so unique. internationally to over 70 countries throughout the
world.
Keywords: 3G, Africa, Americas, Asia, Australia, Batteries, Central
Competing with the best in the world, our products
America, Chile, Colombia, Enatel Energy, Energy, Haiti, Hybrid
include a range of high-efficiency rectifier and
Power, Interview, Kenya, Madagascar, Mexico, Myanmar, New
converter modules, hybrid power systems, and
Zealand, Nigeria, North America, Off-Grid, Opex, Pacific Islands,
rack and compact power solutions, supported by
Renewables, Solar, South Africa, South America, South Asia,
Murray Wyma, CTO DC Systems, embedded and GUI-based software, along with a
Southeast Asia, Tanzania, Unreliable Grid
Enatel Energy range of ancillary products. We also participate
in the renewable energies sector with a range
of high-efficiency solar inverters and modular,
Read this article to learn: high-efficiency battery chargers for the material
< How Enatel Energy went about upgrading the Sinuoso site in Mexico handling equipment industry.
< About Enatel Energy’s installed global base at cell sites
< Why energy costs are coming down for MNOs At Enatel, our core focus of research and
< How Enatel Energy provisions high 9s reliability in its products development is utilizing creative, cutting-edge
< How to handle power requirements on a site with multiple tenants technology so we can offer our customer’s better
products, performance efficiency and value
“
for money. This approach ensures that we stay
committed to the continual development and
enhancement of our suite of AC and DC power
systems, intelligent modular rectifiers, DC-DC
converters, control and monitoring options as well
as motive power and solar energy solutions.
TowerXchange: Could you share some details of

one of your more challenging projects since we
last spoke?
we’ve reduced the genset runtime hours by 90%, the usage of diesel
and the CO2 emissions by 87% and the maintenance costs by 83%.
This means annual CO2 savings of 56,052kg and monthly savings in
excess of US$3,400
“
Murray Wyma, CTO DC Systems, Enatel Energy:
The Sinuoso site, located in North-West Mexico,
on the edge of the Sonora desert, is challenged by
its environment and is a fully off-grid site with 2G efficiency power range for longer periods. The ‘solar deciding on the best battery fit – a lithium battery
(including air-conditioning) and 3G cellular loads in optimization’ feature also ensures that the genset solution is currently being considered.
self-contained cabinets. does not run if solar power is available. SYNERGi
incorporates its own self-learning algorithm to track Over the month of August 2016, SYNERGi delivered
A hybrid system had previously been deployed sunrise through the seasons, to give well-defined some remarkable results. In fact, we’ve reduced the
with a mix of DC rectifiers, solar converters stop conditions to the generator to ensure it does genset runtime hours by 90%, the usage of diesel
and AC inverters, from a range of suppliers, not run unnecessarily during the ‘solar day’. It does and the CO2 emissions by 87% and the maintenance
with a third party PLC controller for supposed not require connection to external date or time costs by 83%. This means annual CO2 savings of
hybrid functionality. This was a good example references, and does not require links to weather 56,052kg and monthly savings in excess of US$3,400.
of an attempt to pull together a hybrid system, forecasting web pages. It operates autonomously.
including solar from a disparate array of different ROIs and paybacks are site dependant, but in most
manufacturers’ equipment that never worked as The SYNERGi solution is modular, requiring cases full payback on these sites can easily be
intended. The decision was made to upgrade the about a quarter of the space, and represented a achieved in less than twelve to eighteen months.
site with our SYNERGi solution with five 2kW solar harmonized, single-controller solution where all
converters, nine 2kW rectifiers (phase-balanced) the power modules work in a unified, coordinated TowerXchange: What is your installed base
and six 1.2kW inverters, to provide the necessary manner to optimize Opex. at cell sites worldwide, and what is the
efficiencies and cost savings. approximate energy mix within that installed
The battery is usually the crucial element in a base?
The SYNERGi hybrid power system cycles the hybrid system, but in this instance a reconditioned
batteries, saving diesel and maintenance expenses set of 1500Ahr AGM batteries was supplied to Murray Wyma, CTO DC Systems, Enatel Energy:
by operating the existing generator in its optimum analyse cyclic performance over time before Enatel Energy systems have been installed within
hundreds and thousands of cell sites globally, with agnostic with respect to the energy solutions owner. TowerXchange: SLAs often demand 99.5% or
numerous hybrid systems deployed through a As time progresses, we are obviously seeing more higher uptime – tell us about the reliability and
network of integrators. These systems are located of a shift from MNOs towards towercos and ESCOs. autonomy of your solution.
in Kenya, Madagascar, Chile, Tanzania, Colombia, This enables more efficient use of tower space,
South Africa, Myanmar, Nigeria, Mexico, Haiti, and energy as now many sites are multi-tenanted. Murray Wyma, CTO DC Systems, Enatel Energy:
Australia, Pacific Islands and New Zealand. Ultimately, this must lead to lower costs for the Our designers come from a long history of DC
MNOs and consumers. However, for MNOs who power in the telco space (since the mid 1980s).
All conceivable climates and conditions are already own the tower infrastructure, retaining The telco uptimes typically required are greater
encountered in such diverse geographic locations, ownership of the tower can ensure fixed levels of than 99.9999%. The best way to describe how we
everything from integrated generator solutions tower (and power) servicing cost, rather than be provide high 9s reliability is through the quality of
and outdoor cabinets to walk-in shelters and exposed to the risk of rent increases. We are also design in our products, redundancy and plurality
buildings. We see energy mixes from the normal focussed on next generation power architectures for of supply. The other factor is fail-safe operation.
single cell/single tenant sites with average loads initiatives that migrate a towerco into a powerco, No matter the state of any controller/monitor, the
of approximately 1kW through to large sites (as in allowing monetization of those traditionally core power system operates autonomously. This is a
the Sinuoso example) and multi-tenant sites of 4 or distributed stranded assets. This applies similarly cornerstone of telco DC power system design.
5kW. for an MNO looking to diversify – as some are.
We include patented features such as dynamic
Lately, we are seeing requirements for off-grid The other factor in the equation is the ease of generator anti-stall in our products to ensure higher
solutions approaching 9kW load. In sites this size, deployment and monitoring of the power solution. uptime. As a result we can raise alarms if the
the use of cyclic batteries becomes uneconomic, This is where Enatel Energy differentiates itself by generator goes into a ‘low power’ state, possibly due
often forcing the owner to once again consider offering scalable solutions that monitor and report to poor fuel quality, blocked air filter et cetera.
24/7 operation of the generators unless large full energy logging of all system parameters (loads,
renewable energy sources are available. This battery, charge/discharge, genset kWhrs, solar The other benefit of detecting the generator’s peak
could be a controversial statement, but as long as kWhrs et cetera., hourly, daily, and monthly). power capability is that we can then programme the
a genset is operating at maximum efficiency, then genset to operate at its peak efficiency during the
no amount of cyclic charge/discharge would deliver We are seeing a big increase in solar power battery recharge.
comparable fuel use in terms of overall litres per supplementation for remote sites and our easily
kWhr of energy. integrated converters offer clever functionality such Enatel Energy offers optimal dynamic phase-
as solar optimization (minimizing genset run-time) balancing where we can adjust rectifier output to
TowerXchange: Should cell site energy solutions as mentioned in the Sinuoso example. ensure the phases on the generator are balanced
be owned and operated by MNOs, towercos or (within the scope of the applied load/battery
ESCOs? For us, it is all about making life easier for the recharge).
energy solution owner, and of course, providing
Murray Wyma, CTO DC Systems, Enatel Energy: secure power with high 9s uptime to meet the most The intention of the SYNERGi hybrid solution is
As an embedded power system provider, we are demanding SLAs. to ensure that the generator will run efficiently.
A further line of defence to prevent the site in full SNMP functionality through to SNMP simultaneously and alternate their cycles to
collapsing is the ability to control load shedding. V3. This includes a full suite of traps, gets and synchronise their services.
SYNERGi has the ability for the operator to sets. This enables easy integration of third party
shed their loads and maintain critical site and SNMP managers. This is advantageous due to Users can also seamlessly include green energy
transmission capability. These features are unique their well-proven legacy and in many cases sources through solar and wind converters and take
to Enatel Energy and demonstrate Opex savings SNMP managers are already in use by our clients advantage of true plug-and-play power modules
through optimized functional capabilities which and end-users. Further to this, we have built in (rectifiers, solar and wind converters) with self-
maximize uptime and avoid unnecessary truck UDP communications for use with our craft tool setting addresses. The system also provides full
rolls. which enables set-up, log access and bootloading kWhr logging of all energy sources (grid, gensets,
facilities across a narrow bandwidth (sometimes solar and wind) on an hourly, daily and monthly
TowerXchange: How is your solution scalable 2G) sites. Designing ‘narrow band capable’ remote basis. Just as importantly, the solution can be
to accommodate the increasing power communications is essential to the developing accessed remotely through via HTTP, SNMP (v2C
requirements as multiple tenants are added to nations market. and V3) and UDP scripting.
a site?
It is vitally important to be able to maintain the SYNERGi features a one-step front-panel control that
Murray Wyma, CTO DC Systems, Enatel Energy: communications channel to the device from the provides a battery initialization (commissioning)
Allowing space for extra power modules and equipment manufacturer remote control facility. charge to enable installation technicians to set the
battery connections can be easily catered for at the Monitoring solutions, where third party site control system and walk away without the need to return
time of design for minimal cost. When a site is first systems have been added to our monitoring, limited to site. Generator start-up has adjustable settings
deployed, the system frame can be supplied with access to our equipment, blocking visibility, and the that can be based on time of day (up to two periods
a minimal number of power modules. This can be ability to change key system parameters. per day), battery voltage, battery Ahrs (battery
done through modular configurations that support capacity) and periodic genset tests (independent
the use of wind turbines and expansion shelves. TowerXchange: Please sum up how you of other settings). The start and stop functions can
would differentiate your solution from your be enabled simultaneously to provide maximum
We are also currently addressing multi-tenant competitors’? security.
metering of up to six or more.
Murray Wyma, CTO DC Systems, Enatel Energy: If a battery is stolen, disconnected, lost, or found to
TowerXchange: Should M2M technology be Enatel Energy presents the most complete, be ineffective, the system will detect the problem
built into energy systems, or should third party comprehensive telco hybrid system on the market and notify the user. Battery history can also
remote monitoring be used to provide visibility with the SYNERGi system. With SYNERGi, users be logged to enable battery warranty claims if
into performance? can automatically generate maximum power necessary. As previously mentioned, the system
tracking and anti-stall. They can automatically set can be optimized for solar use to ensure that the
Murray Wyma, CTO DC Systems, Enatel Energy: their generator loads to a predefined optimum generator does not run unnecessarily by predicting
Certain levels of M2M technology are already level and carry out dynamic phase balancing. Our the ‘solar day’ and limiting the use of the system to
built into Enatel Energy systems. We have built solution also allows users to control two generators ensure maximum possible solar harvest
Pay it now or pay it later! TowerXchange: Please re-introduce EnerSys® for
any readers unfamiliar with your company.
Making advanced lead acid batteries Cheng Heng Hong, Vice President Sales &
Marketing, Asia and Robert Pounder – Reserve
the primary energy source Power Marketing Director, Asia, EnerSys®: EnerSys®
is the global leader in stored energy solutions for
Global stored energy leaders EnerSys® present a case study comparing Diesel industrial applications in reserve power, motive
power, aerospace and defense. Our extensive range
Genset (DG) battery hybrid with 24/7 DG of quality products includes Premium Thin Plate
Pure Lead, Tubular OPzV and OPzS, Ni-Cad, Li-Ion
In the quest to reduce DG runtime and OPEX, and outdoor cabinet enclosures.
an increasing proportion of cell sites which
previously ran dual Diesel Gensets (DGs) With over 125 years’ experience in battery
24/7 are now combining Charge Discharge manufacturing, EnerSys® is the proven leader
Cycle (CDC) batteries with a diesel genset – in and innovator in reserve power batteries with
many cases with the battery bank becoming customer-centric solutions. As mobile telephone
the primary source of power. In order to networks evolve and continue to rapidly expand
understand the economics of this transition, in emerging markets, there is great demand for
and the relative merits of different energy reliable, improved power capacity solutions that
storage solutions, TowerXchange spoke to can perform in harsh conditions. EnerSys® works
Cheng Heng Hong and Robert Pounder, EnerSys
market leaders EnerSys®. in close partnership with leading companies and
offers complete answers to a diverse range of
Keywords: Who’s Who, Energy, Opex Reduction, Batteries, Energy Storage, Energy Efficiency, Off-Grid, telecom applications requiring stored energy. As
Unreliable Grid, ROI, Hybrid Power, DG Runtime, Site Visits, Asia, Indonesia, Myanmar, EnerSys part of the offering of energy storage solutions
we also provide online support tools such as the
battery sizing program (BSP). BSP is an advanced
Read this article to learn: battery sizing engine with a built in battery layout
< EnerSys®’ credibility and experience as a proven leader and innovator in energy storage configuration tool for all critical applications
< TCO comparisons of different energy storage solutions in a DG/battery hybrid context such as telecom, data center, rail and utilities. It
< The suitability of Thin Plate Pure Lead (TPPL) batteries for PSOC conditions also includes advanced calculations for use with
< How EnerSys® works with project partners to ensure that the requirements to fulfill warranty telecom including hybrid sites. Together with our
terms and conditions reflect the practical capabilities of the system and application customers we effect smart decisions which combine
< Installation examples from Indonesia and Myanmar our expertise and service with leading products
resulting in the most effective, powerful and
reliable energy storage technology available. Case study example of DG/battery hybrid comparison with DG (24/7)
TowerXchange: Please compare the TCO for a
Savings TPPL Gel Flooded
fairly typical off grid cell site running dual DGs
with a similar site where deep cycle batteries Fuel savings/year 5074.075 1 2954.49 0.58 2856.4 0.56
have been installed.
Maintenance reduction/year 12589.22 1 11326.77 0.90 11234.68 0.89
Cheng Heng Hong, and Robert Pounder, EnerSys®:
Genset replacement avoidance/year 6748.17 1 6154.639 0.91 5520.086 0.82
Compared to sites running on dual DGs, a site
with single DG having cyclic batteries as back up Total savings/year 24411.47 1 20435.9 0.84 19611.16 0.80
generates savings if the batteries were actually used
for longer duties.
While a battery with cyclic capability is important, Hybrid site TCO comparison Lead acid technologies
it is equally important to size the battery to
maximise OPEX savings balanced with a calendar
life that reflects the rate of cyclic usage and the
charge acceptance capability of the battery.
Typically a three year calendar life is desired
before a battery is replaced, therefore based on
one cycle per day the battery requirement is thus
approximately 1,100 cycles life. For EnerSys®
TPPL SBS Eon technology this number of cycles
equates to a percentage depth of discharge (DOD) of
approximately 75%.
This example gives a comparison of a site running

24/7 on diesel genset compared to a genset/battery
hybrid. It also gives a comparison of different lead
acid technologies with EnerSys® TPPL (SBS Eon
Technology) providing the greatest OPEX savings.
The result is reduced OPEX cost through reduced

generator runtime and therefore reduced fuel
consumption, extended generator maintenance
intervals, reduced storage space, reduced transport
and installation costs.
Even further reduction of TCO can be seen from a

hybrid site that employs a second input of power,
such as Solar PV. This significantly increases battery
life. Often we offer pure lead battery solutions,
which could more efficiently capture any additional
surplus energy from the sun or DG by using a higher
charge regime which will in turn increase the site
efficiency, thus less DG run hours.
TowerXchange: Where the battery bank has

become the primary instead of the secondary
energy source, what are the implications for DG
runtime, and for battery replacement cycles?
Cheng Heng Hong, and Robert Pounder, EnerSys®:

In the aforementioned TCO comparison, the battery
has become the primary power source with for
example, the TPPL SBS Eon Technology battery
providing back up for 17.25hrs (72%) per day and
genset 6.75hrs (28%) per day. In this scenario, the
number of cycles provided by the battery is approx
2,700 with 2.16 cycles per day and a calendar life of
approximately 3.4 years.
The concept is therefore to use the battery in a

cyclic operation instead of a standard float backup.
The system would typically control the discharge of
the battery every day during the night, and recharge
using the DG during the day.
Significant fuel and maintenance costs are saved,

Telecom cellular energy setup
and that payback would justify such an investment.
“
to ensure that the requirements to fulfill the
warranty terms and conditions reflect the practical
capabilities of the system and application, i.e. duty
cycle control features, system monitoring, data
reduced impedance allows the batteries to be charged in about half

the time of conventional batteries, without sustaining damaging
effects. Therefore TPPL batteries are suitable to use in a partial state
of charge condition
“ recording.
We are involved from design, implementation to a

complete end to end solution. This ensures having
the right products together with other peripheral
equipment such as the enclosure, systems,
distribution and controllers that suit the application
and environment.
How this can be made possible? This application of < Up to 1,800 cycles (50% DOD) with operating EnerSys® has a flexible approach to the primary and
battery is classed as cyclic, used in partial state of temperature up to 50C secondary control features of the Charge/Discharge
charge, which means not each cycle will return the < Recharge time < 2 hours (50% DOD, 2.4Vpc, Cycle (CDC) that allow the tower owner to optimise
battery to 100% state of charge, thus enabling more 1.0C10 re-charge current) the operating strategy to suit the limitations of the
diesel savings. < Low self discharge – 24 months shelf life system and in addition, extensive testing allows
< Up to 50% more capacity (in same foot print EnerSys® to provide the user with preferential
The thin-plate grids in TPPL batteries offer compared to tubular gel OPzV) warranty terms whilst minimising risk.
greater plate surface area and shortened ionic < 15 years design life according to Eurobat
pathways, resulting in an overall reduction in < Wide operating temperature range (-40°C to For hybrid applications, we have separate manuals
internal impedance. With lower impedance, the +50°C) which are different from ones we use for normal
TPPL batteries sustain a higher average voltage on < Made in Europe and USA float charge applications. We also educate our users
constant power discharge. Additionally, reduced on using the products, provide training and offer
impedance allows the batteries to be charged TowerXchange: Forgive my being rude, but maintenance program.
in about half the time of conventional batteries, it’s often suggested that lead acid battery
without sustaining damaging effects. Therefore manufacturers’ warranties are meaningless as There must be a reason why EnerSys® is a global
TPPL batteries are suitable to use in a partial state they require compliance with installation and leader in stored energy solutions, and remain
of charge condition. usage guidelines that are not practical in an strong after 125 years. We deliver what we promise.
emerging market context. How does EnerSys® EnerSys® manufactures and supplies the highest
In summary, the following key advantages of TPPL ensure your warranty is more meaningful? quality and most reliable products in our chosen
batteries make EnerSys® PowerSafe SBS an excellent markets and then consistently meet and strive to
choice for hybrid applications: Cheng Heng Hong, and Robert Pounder, EnerSys®: exceed our customers for service, technical support
< PSOC (Partial Stage of Charge) compliant EnerSys® works very closely with project partners and value for money. Our warranty is backed up
the SBS Eon Technology’s characteristics.
Another success story comes from our tireless effort

in Myanmar whereby over 8,000 blocks of EnerSys®
batteries were supplied to over 600 sites with
various on-grid and off-grid conditions, including
hybrid applications. These are only the orders
received from the first entry phase of installation
in Myanmar, we are working toward upcoming
projects too.
The mission was made possible through joint

efforts between distributors and EnerSys®. This
demonstrates our commitment by working closely
with users to understand and meet all technical
requirements. EnerSys® is now the preferred
supplier for unstable grid applications to the
operators and the installation base of EnerSys®
batteries has continued to grow.
Installation in Myanmar Installation in Indonesia
by sales and manufacturing locations in over 100 TowerXchange: Finally, please sum up how you to all commonly used battery technologies and
countries around the world. would differentiate EnerSys® from other energy are therefore in a position to help end-users to the
storage solution providers most cost-effective (TCO) solution technically and
TowerXchange: Please share one or two commercially.
examples of tower portfolios where EnerSys®’ Cheng Heng Hong, and Robert Pounder, EnerSys®:
energy storage solutions have been installed. EnerSys® has a global and worldwide presence EnerSys® has 17 research laboratories situated
and coverage through its own subsidiaries in all in the USA, Europe and Asia and are constantly
Cheng Heng Hong, and Robert Pounder, EnerSys®: continents – Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East looking for new chemistries, plastics, separators
As we are unable to name our customers, I can only and Asia-Pacific. and advanced technologies. It is our mission to
cite a few of these examples. ensure these new technologies are able to work
In Asia, EnerSys® has presence in seven countries together to form a battery with an expected life.
We successfully supplied over 40,000 blocks of and 18 local offices for sales and application Process improvements, measuring consistency in
EnerSys® PowerSafe SBS Eon Technology to several support. the manufacturing cycle is also a major part of the
of Indonesia’s largest telecommunication networks engineering and research teams effort to maintain
and services providers utilising the ruggedness of We have a comprehensive product range and access the higher standards that EnerSys® sets for itself
FG Wilson’s customers define
TowerXchange: Can you introduce your company
and tell us about FG Wilson?
the requirements for a new opex- Michael Milligan, Account Manager, Global
Accounts, FG Wilson: FG Wilson is a world leader
busting DG in the generator set industry. We were founded in
1966 in Belfast which means that this year, we are
New telecoms product extends service intervals to 1,000 hours and can be controlled celebrating 50 years in business. Our first products
from the NOC were mini power stations, mostly for the Middle
East, and we still market large custom generator
FG Wilson is a leading global supplier of diesel sets, but in many parts of the world we are probably
generator sets with a strong heritage of quality, better known for self-contained small power units
support and value. From 6.8 to over 2,500 kVA, which are relatively simple to buy and operate and
today FG Wilson offers a wide range of generator require a minimum of installation work. These
sets, all built in modern facilities. This interview are supported by a global network of around 300
focuses on FG Wilson’s new telecoms product, dealers.
a new packaged generator product designed
to meet the requirements at distributed cell FG Wilson generator sets are trusted to provide
sites, where the new telecoms product’s 1,000 emergency power in over 190 countries around
hour service intervals and integrated remote the world. They provide essential standby power to
communications can significantly reduce opex. critical applications such as hospitals, airports, data
centres, telecommunication networks as well as
residential properties and factories.
Keywords: Caterpillar, Energy, Energy
Efficiency, FG Wilson, Hybrid Power, NOC,
FG Wilson generator sets are manufactured at
Opex Reduction, RMS, Site Visits, Spare
Caterpillar facilities in the United Kingdom, United
Michael Milligan, FG Wilson Parts, Who’s Who
States of America, Brazil, India and China.
Since 1998 FG Wilson has been owned by Caterpillar

Read this article to learn: Inc, one of the leading US corporations and a
< Defining the requirements for a new efficient DG in partnership with customers Fortune 500 company. The brand now sits within
< How FG Wilson maximise reliability Caterpillar’s Industrial Power Systems Division.
< DG-only or hybrid applications
< Post sale service and warrantee support TowerXchange: Tell us about FG Wilson’s new
telecoms product – what makes it special?
“
Michael Milligan, Account Manager, Global
Accounts, FG Wilson: First and foremost, this is a
very customer-defined product. We spent a great
deal of time simply talking with our customers and
dealers and working through issues together to
understand what was important. There was a real
focus on product operating costs and this has led
to a packaged generator product which is ideal for
telecoms users, or indeed for any customer who
We know from past experience that rigorous upfront design, testing
and validation lead to superior reliability throughout a product’s
lifetime and that this can save customers a substantial amount of
“
money over time
operates at sites which are fairly remote. And the
product is perfect for either hybrid or generator
only applications.
Michael Milligan, Account Manager, Global together with our distributors through our Partners
To reduce operating costs, site visits for Accounts, FG Wilson: We know from past In Quality programme which provides on site
maintenance and fuel replenishment, the product experience that rigorous upfront design, testing and product performance feedback back to our product
offers 1,000 hours between service intervals, and validation lead to superior reliability throughout a engineering team.
comes with set-mounted fuel tanks of up to 2,000 product’s lifetime and that this can save customers a
litres. Being able to monitor the generator set from substantial amount of money over time. TowerXchange: Can you outline how FG Wilson
the telecom NOC maximises uptime and allows We are a volume manufacturer and we take integrates with hybrid providers?
preparation for site visits minimising servicing costs reliability extremely seriously. We have made
and ensuring that site visits are effective. multi-million dollar investments in our industry- Michael Milligan, Account Manager, Global
leading Engineering Centre of Excellence where Accounts, FG Wilson: We have incorporated a great
The product options list includes a flexible range all our new products are given intense pre-launch deal of product flexibility including control systems
of enclosures offering three levels of sound testing which include vibration, engine/alternator and remote communications to ensure that our
attenuation to help ensure that it meets local noise cooling, electromagnetic compatibility, noise, water generator set integrates seamlessly with any hybrid
regulations. ingress and rating/transient performance. Our system. We are partnering with several established
products operate in the toughest environments hybrid manufacturers to confirm compatibility
What makes this product special is that not only and are designed to perform exactly in the way our and ensure efficient and fast deployment of our
does it go further in offering much more value customers expect. products on site.
to customers with a specification strongly led by
customers, but also we have been able to offer this Manufacturing quality is extremely important TowerXchange: What warrantee and after sales
for a significantly lower price. to us and our facilities operate with rigorous support do you offer FG Wilson customers?
production quality controls, utilising the Caterpillar
TowerXchange: Tell us about the reliability of Production System and standard work processes. Michael Milligan, Account Manager, Global
your solution? Then, once products are installed, we work Accounts, FG Wilson: FG Wilson has a global
Meetup
Asia 2016
13 - 14 December,
Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
The new telecoms product with optional fuel tank
network of around 300 dealers who offer product down time.

aftermarket and warranty support for the complete
generator set package – a one stop shop. Dealers TowerXchange: Where have the generator sets
are fully trained on all aspects of the generator been successfully installed?
package and are supported by the FG Wilson central
technical helpdesk, technical libraries, on line Michael Milligan, Account Manager, Global Accounts,
systems and an extensive parts distribution centre FG Wilson: FG Wilson has installed over 600,000
which ships three million parts a year and carries generator sets since 1990 and we continue to
11,500 product line parts. develop new products based on tried and tested key
components. In every continent there is a significant A senior-level networking opportunity with 250
Our dealers will be close at hand, fully equipped population of FG Wilson generator sets working at leaders of the Asian telecom tower industry
and trained, with quick access to parts in-territory telecom sites, and there are many reference sites
to offer a fast and efficient service to solve any listed on our website. We’re now building on that Vistit www.towerxchange.com/meetup/meetup-asia
issues during initial visits, which minimises any population with this new customer-led product
Batteries for hybrid
For telecom sites in emerging markets with very
unstable or no power grid at all, batteries are
typically employed in a charge-discharge-charge
off-grid power (CDC) pattern in order to minimise the runtime of

diesel gensets. It’s a strategy that generally works,
but with a couple of significant drawbacks.
Five key questions you should ask
First, such active use can often reduce the service
In backup applications for telecom sites in developed life of batteries to just two to four years – even if
markets with stable grids, battery operation is a well- special cyclic lead-acid batteries are used. And
understood topic with expected battery lifetime of second, to keep diesel usage to a minimum during
more than ten years. However, for telecom sites in CDC operation, it’s not effective to fully charge the
emerging markets with very unstable or no power batteries during each charging cycle, as battery
power charge acceptance decreases rapidly as they
grids at all, things are not quite so straightforward.
fill up. The result is that gensets end up operating at
Thomas Rahkonen, Flexenclosure’s Chief Technology
low output power and therefore low diesel efficiency
Officer and Vice President of their eCentre talks us – thus defeating the object of using the CDC strategy
through key criteria when selecting batteries for in the first place.
hybrid off-grid power applications.
So what’s the answer? Well, let’s first take a look at
Keywords: Africa, Batteries, Energy, Energy Storage, the two main battery technologies available today.
Flexenclosure, Lithium, Masts & Towers, Monitoring &
Management, O&M, Off-Grid, Operational Excellence, Lead acid batteries
Regulation, Renewables, RMS, ROI, Site Visits, Towercos,

By Tomas Rahkonen, Chief Technology Officer & Lead acid technology has been the mainstay for
Unreliable Grid, Uptime
Vice President eCentre industrial battery applications for decades. They’re
available in 12V and 2V varieties, both of which have
their pros and cons.
< The pros and cons of 12V and 2V lead acid batteries and lithium ion batteries in hybrid applications 12V lead-acid batteries have relatively few
< Decision criteria in selecting a battery for a given site mechanical constraints; are easy to charge and can
< How to ensure warranties aren’t invalidated and the key role played by monitoring systems be configured in parallel 12V strings in order to
< Sizing considerations when deciding on a battery bank meet an exact Ah requirement. However, string
< The importance of standards and the importance of traceable test records imbalance may develop over time; they don’t
tolerate thermal abuse particularly well; and their
cyclic life per cell is not the highest, especially not
for front access blocks.
Meanwhile their 2V cousins are extremely robust;

very tolerant of electrical and mechanical abuse; are
able to approach the VRLA theoretical maximum
for cyclic life; and have “built-in” theft protection
given that 2V power is useless for domestic
applications. Further, they can be charged and
discharged with exactly the same current at all
times, with the result that the aging of all the cells
in a bank will be uniform. But on the downside, 2V
batteries require more rigid mechanical integration
with the entire bank needing to be disconnected
during maintenance or cell replacement. And they
are also slightly heavier than their 12V rivals for any
given Ah rating.
Critically though for hybrid power applications,

whether 12V or 2V it’s important to select batteries to harvest and transfer energy irrespective of their system using it. How precise is the system’s battery
designed for cyclic operation. Batteries designed charge. They can also be charged extremely fast and control? Has the hybrid power system vendor
for good power grids (which use float operation) can accept large fluctuations in charging current. conducted appropriate testing and development
are typically far cheaper but will fail fast in more with the battery vendor to make sure performance
challenging applications. However, the use of a battery management will be maximised?
system is mandatory, as lithium cells always need
Lithium technology balancing. Lithium technology is also costly – at It’s important that batteries are kept within the
least three times more expensive per watt hour (Wh) allowed temperature range as specified in the
In comparison to lead acid batteries, many people as compared to VRLA. And lithium batteries can supplier warranty. So a good hybrid system will
assume lithium must be the best battery type simply only be used where the ratio between energy storage monitor this temperature and proactively warn
because it’s the newest technology. However, it isn’t and constant power to the load is small or moderate. the operator before problems occur. And with
as simple as that. batteries constituting a significant portion of the cost
Hybrid power system selection of installing and running a hybrid power system,
Lithium batteries have a number of clear it should also safely log all usage and charge cycle
advantages. Their small size with respect to To further complicate the matter, any battery data for potential warranty claims if batteries fail
energy storage capability is one, as is their ability technology will only be as good as the hybrid power prematurely.
By example, Flexenclosure’s eSite hybrid power individual site, rather than making a generic 3. How strict are extended battery warranties?
system uses a software-defined battery charging decision at a network level. This may not be
model and adaptive algorithms, which are fine- practical from purchasing or on-going maintenance Most (if not all) warranties will typically be
tuned with each battery supplier. In this way both perspectives, so a trade-off will always need to be conditional if the batteries are being used in
the warranty period and battery performance are made somewhere. scenarios that are more challenging than their
optimised, thus maximising battery investment factory tests when new. Therefore, the exact
regardless of which battery type or brand is Overall though, for lead acid, 2V is often the charging and cyclic operation scheme must be
selected. preferred choice versus 12V alternatives but with disclosed and agreed upon in advance if the
lithium technology evolving at a terrific pace in battery manufacturer is to commit to cover long-
So which is the “best” battery? the automotive industry, it won’t be long before it term performance in the warranty.
becomes a serious option for many hybrid power
What soon becomes clear is that there isn’t a scenarios. 4. How big should the battery bank be for a
one-size-fits-all answer to the question of which hybrid power system?
battery is best for hybrid power systems. Selection Five Key Battery Questions You Should Ask
ultimately comes down to a number of different The size of the battery bank at any given site
factors, including: 1. How do I choose the right battery for different is typically driven by the size of the site load
site types? and the minimum battery autonomy time
< Which battery type best complies with the mode required. In pure off grid applications, an
of operation you need? Critical data points at a site level are the duration additional factor to consider is that the number
and frequency of any power interruptions at each of daily charging cycles must be kept below a
< Is the battery’s operational temperature range site each day. Also important is how long it takes certain value – typically four times per day –
adequate at your locations? for service personnel to reach the site in the event in order to prolong battery life. So the larger
of a power failure when the site will need to run the battery bank, the fewer the charge cycles
< Can you remain inside the limits of the maximum on batteries only, as this will determine required required.
cyclic life or energy throughput for the service battery autonomy time.
life you need? 5. What is the role of standards when selecting a
2. Is there a solid business case for deploying battery?
< Is grid power available at each site and if so, how lithium versus lead acid?
reliable is it? International standards, IEC and others are very
Lithium technology is being increasingly adopted helpful, but only if a battery manufacturer’s
< And how long will it take to reach any given site for sites with a reliable grid and limited power compliance statement is accompanied with
in the event of a grid or genset failure? interruptions, but remains technically and traceable test records confirming that all the test
financially challenging in pure off-grid applications criteria in each standard have been met. Partial
In an ideal world, you’d choose the most where a larger battery bank is needed for battery compliance is misleading and prevents fair and
appropriate batteries to install at each and every autonomy. objective comparisons between manufacturers
Lithium ion batteries could TowerXchange: Tell us about GS Yuasa and its
footprint in Asia.
eliminate the need for diesel generators Soichi Hanano, General Manager, Industrial Battery
Department, Marketing Division, International
Perspectives on a new generation of energy storage solutions Business Unit, GS Yuasa: GS Yuasa is a Japanese
company formed in 2004 by the merger of two
GS Yuasa is a leading manufacturer and distributor large, 100-year old battery manufacturers; Japan
of energy storage solutions which has been serving Storage Battery Co., Ltd., known as GS, and Yuasa
various industries for decades prior to its final merger Corporation. At US$3.5 billion in sales, GS Yuasa
back in 2004. The company has been supplying mobile is currently one of the world’s largest battery
network operators with its solutions and is now manufacturers.
actively doing business with independent towercos and
GS Yuasa manufactures a full line of technologies
ESCOs.
including lithium ion, lead acid, nickel metal
hydride, and nickel cadmium for the automotive,
In this exclusive interview, GS Yuasa’s General
industrial, telecommunications and specialty
Manager, Mr Soichi Hanano, shares his views and
battery markets. With thirty-six affiliates in sixteen
insights on the dynamics of the energy business and countries, GS Yuasa has a worldwide presence
how the company can support green targets as well as operating under the GS Yuasa, GS, and Yuasa
cost reduction initiatives. brands.
GS Yuasa’s major achievement in terms of supplying

Keywords: GS Yuasa, Southeast Asia, Japan, Southern
long life VRLA and lithium ion batteries in the
Asia, East Asia, China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan,
Asian telecommunication market come from our
Australia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Asia Pacific, Interview,
relationships with major MNOs in China, India,
Batteries, Opex Reduction, Energy Storage, Lithium, Off-
Soichi Hanano, General Manager, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia, Thailand, Hong
Industrial Battery, GS Yuasa Grid, Unreliable Grid, ESCOs
Kong and Japan, where we have been supplying
lead acid batteries for several decades and where
Read this article to learn: lithium ion is rapidly gaining acceptance.
< GS Yuasa’s footprint, client base and evolution
< Why lithium ion batteries are the right choice for off-grid sites TowerXchange: Who are your key clients and
< How the right battery can support green initiatives which products are they showing their interests
< The evolution of the industry business model and the arrival of towercos and ESCOs the most?
Soichi Hanano, General Manager, Industrial Battery
Business Unit, GS Yuasa: Our key clients in the
telecommunications sector are mobile network
operators who own telecom towers to whom we
have been supplying batteries for many years.
However towercos and ESCOs, who have started
managing passive equipment including batteries,
are becoming a very relevant part of our business.
We are aware that the independent towerco model
is widely accepted in developing countries, where
the need for cell site densification and extension is
urgent and capex intensive.
In terms of customers’ requirements, we experience

a variety of scenarios. Although our principle
service is to supply batteries for site backup, the
One of GS Yuasa solutions
choice of product depends on a combination of
factors, including peripheral devices, renewable a huge amount of interest from MNOs as well as model for managing telecom towers continues to
generation, remote monitoring, electricity condition towercos, who use lithium ion batteries as a core change.
and grid stability. power component for the telecom base stations in
areas with poor electricity networks. Today towercos are focusing intensely on reducing
GS Yuasa is a well established battery manufacturer opex as this is the primary way for them to increase
with exceptional experience of supporting new TowerXchange: What is the percentage of your profitability. GS Yuasa has had to provide much
applications. It is our strength to have a wide line- business coming from MNOs versus towercos? support to towercos in their pursuit of efficient
up of products such as long life VRLA, advanced And how big of a change the entrance of operation as we have considerable project
VRLA with superior cyclic life performance and towercos represented for your business? management experience in terms of recognising
lithium ion batteries. Our new lithium ion products and analysing telecom base station load patterns
have cutting edge performance, which allows us to Soichi Hanano, General Manager, Industrial Battery by data logging and proposing the most suitable
offer new approaches to energy storage that were Department, Marketing Division, International power system, depending on the site condition. We
not previously feasible. Business Unit, GS Yuasa: I’d say to date 60% of our then follow up with a field trial and, eventually,
business comes from MNOs and 40% from towercos. with the commercial implementation. Our approach
The lithium ion battery has especially superior However, the percentage of business coming from is particularly useful for MNOs and towercos who
characteristics for cyclic life performance, quick towercos has been increasing and we presume the have experienced site instability due to poor power
charging and deep discharging and is attracting trend will continue in the future, as the business quality.
“
GS Yuasa is working not only as a battery Soichi Hanano, General Manager, Industrial Battery
manufacturer and supplier but also proposing Department, Marketing Division, International
green power solutions that can contribute to Business Unit, GS Yuasa: Utilising lithium-ion
reducing opex as well as CO2 in the long term. batteries in unreliable or off-grid sites can deliver
The lifecycle of lithium-ion great opex savings and overall financial benefits.
TowerXchange: How does GS Yuasa address the In fact, full charge can be obtained in less than
batteries is five to ten times
environmental issues in markets where green two hours, which means that even in the case of
initiatives are flourishing?
Soichi Hanano, General Manager, Industrial Battery

Business Unit, GS Yuasa: Our batteries are usually
greater than currently utilised
lead acid technology and their
performance is not degraded,
even if they never experience a
full charge
“ frequent power outages, the need for diesel fuel
purchases and delivery costs can be greatly reduced
or eliminated altogether. For some sites we have
shown that DG capex can also be avoided which
allows companies to achieve the payback point
deployed as components of larger systems. Their within one or two years.
use in the power delivery system of a telecom
base station is a typical example. We believe that The lifecycle of lithium-ion batteries is five to ten
the environmental impact of our products should when diesel generators are involved! times greater than currently utilised lead acid
be evaluated as part of the whole assessment of technology and their performance is not degraded,
a particular application, rather than a narrow Local operating conditions can have an enormous even if they never experience a full charge. These
definition of battery production and disposal impact in the choice of the appropriate green characteristics greatly improve the flexibility of
impacts. storage solution. The lead acid battery is often operation and reduce maintenance requirements
perceived as an environmental hazard because of our products. Soon after the payback period, our
In off-grid and unreliable grid scenarios, the choice of its heavy metal content. In reality, lead is clients start realising the advantageous opex savings
of battery can strongly influence the selection exceptionally recyclable, therefore we can easily which last for many years until replacements are
of the primary energy source. Our lithium ion demonstrate its advantages as long as a safe required.
technology is allowing our clients to avoid utilising recycling infrastructure is locally accessible.
any fossil fuel based solution thanks to its high Finally, the electronic state of health monitoring
charge acceptance and long cycle life at elevated Our company is unique in our range of traditional system is an integral component of our products. It
temperatures. In some sites we are able to avoid and new battery technologies, which allows us to allows remote monitoring to be applied throughout
the deployment of diesel generators altogether by provide an unbiased view of the most appropriate the life of a telecom base station to provide long
harnessing intermittent grid supplies or renewable green solution to a particular application. term operating efficiencies. In particular it means
power sourcess more effectively. that there is no need for local input from skilled
TowerXchange: What performance and RoI technicians to maintain the operation of the battery.
Having an overall cost benefit, in addition to can be achieved with lithium-ion batteries at The optimum performance and replacement
environmental advantages, generally helps unreliable or off-grid sites? How do life-cycles strategy can be applied to every site across a whole
promoting green initiatives. Luckily this isn’t hard compare with lead acid batteries? network
Intelligent preparation and
TowerXchange: An increasing number of RMS
platforms, either as standalone systems or
use of data for more proactive

built into different equipment on cells sites
gives towercos and operators a wealth of
data with which to monitor operations. Can
network management you explain some of the challenges that are

presented to tower owners and operators by
Infozech’s iTower suite tackles the huge volume of variable data being generated this?
by diverse RMS systems
Ankur Lal, Founder & CEO, Infozech: RMS systems
The multiplicity of RMS systems, coupled with communication are increasingly being deployed by towercos and
MNOs with a view to increase site visibility. This
errors, presents a major challenge to MNOs and towercos
need is especially large with new sites (where
looking to obtain a “single source of truth” regarding their
RMS comes built in) or retrofitting existing sites.
operations. TowerXchange speak to Infozech Founder and
In the retrofit scenario, one emphasis is on
CEO, Ankur Lal to discuss how the company is working with
gaining better visibility of source of power and
customers to better handle raw data and analyse it in a
visibility of fuel consumption.
structured way to equips MNO and towercos with the tools to
take action on their sites.
Towercos believe that once they have the
necessary RMS deployed, they will get authentic
Keywords: Africa, Capex, Data Room, Energy, Energy
information and achieve a single source of truth.
Efficiency, Fuel Security, Infozech, Job Ticketing, Monitoring & On the ground there are multiple systems, some
Management, NOC, O&M, Operational Excellence, QoS, RMS, standalone and others which are integrated.
Ankur Lal, Founder & CEO, Infozech Site Level Profitability, SLA, Uptime, Who’s Who Due to multiplicity of systems and on the ground
realities, often the sought-after “single source of
truth” through RMS deployments is not achieved.
< Challenges that towercos and MNOs face in obtaining a “single source of truth” from their RMS systems Each RMS system produces data in its proprietary
< How Infozech are working with customers to improve the handling of raw data including the use of protocol. There are multiple challenges being
“smoothing” and “fill-in” algorithms and data verification against the norm faced by the towercos with an increasing number
< Key metrics Infozech recommend capturing to improve energy efficiency and cost savings of RMS platforms and collection of data from RMS.
< How Infozech’s iTower platform assists operators and towercos in capturing and analysing data in a
structured way The communication between site and server
consists of four steps:
1. RMS controller capture and relay: RMS controller we realised that this was happening due to one result in the central server starting to receive a
captures information at site and relays it. of the aforementioned reasons, ensuring you are flood of these alarm packets. If an alert is passed
getting all the data is absolutely critical. on every time such event occurs, the end user
2. SIM/ and mobile modem transfers information mailbox is flooded with messages and it becomes
from site While looking at this we also saw sites which were difficult for the user to handle. The Infozech
sending 155 packets or more a day – We found that itower (Tower Product suite) comes built in with
3. Mobile network establishes connectivity between some of the data is erroneous and did not provide “intelligent filtering” to assess if this event is due to
site and server, a consistent trend, rather it led to confusion of the malfunctioning at site, and sends only the relevant
receiving system. We explained this phenomenon as notifications to the user.
4. Server: Set up to receive information from RMS noise which was due to unpredictable events at site
controller and auto correct any transmission errors or in transmission of data and as such it resulted in 2. Fuel sensor calibration: Each site has different
us building sophisticated proprietary solutions to types of fuel tanks (of all sizes and shapes) and
In the event that any of the above four steps fail parse the data in such a way that noise reduction there are multiple types of fuel sensors which can
to work, or do not work in tandem, the desired happens. be fitted. While some newer ones like Capacitive
outcome of receiving data on server is not achieved. maybe more reliable, others are less so. RMS
Whilst this seems simple and should always work, TowerXchange: Can you share the work that vendors need to calibrate the sensor with the
in reality, due to multiple choices for each of the Infozech is doing to better prepare the raw data tank and the equipment to ensure the readings
above, getting all of them to work reliably needs that is being received by towercos and MNOs on are accurate. In the event that a sensor or tank is
focus and review. their sites? What further steps are required by changed, recalibration is required.
different stakeholders to assist in this?
TowerXchange: Please can you explain a case Besides recalibration we noticed that even the
where customers had experienced challenges in Ankur Lal, Founder & CEO, Infozech: The raw data best of sensors have fluctuations due to external
this area? packets being received by the server may contain temperature and other factors. At times, this
alarm information, data value or both. Some of the fluctuation is so significant that it may cause the
Ankur Lal, Founder & CEO, Infozech: Our customer functionality which helps us in better handling of receiving system to misinterpret the information;
experienced a case where the RMS was configured raw data are: in case of fuel, such as a normal fluctuation may be
to relay energy data every ten minutes, meaning misinterpreted as theft or vice versa. Infozech has
six times an hour or 144 times a day, as such, the 1. Handling alarm fluctuations: Alarms are developed a proprietary “Smoothing Algorithm”
expected number of data packets for energy data configured for key events such as door open, low which helps normalise the data and show the
was 144 per day. When we looked at this analysis fuel, low voltage, fire et cetera. Some of them need correct trends without fluctuations.
across sites we found a large number of sites doing immediate action while others are not so critical.
this, however for over 30% of the sites, the number At times, the information received may not be fully 3. Missing data – correction: At times the data
of data packets received was under 135 (i.e. they accurate, for instance an alarm fluctuation due may be missing in a data stream. Infozech has a
were not 95% compliant). When we delved further to a malfunctioning of a sensor or controller can mechanism to identify and highlight any missing
data parameters in the raw packet. Infozech has compromisation of the objective. This happens 3. Second (spare) gensets can be removed from
built proprietary algorithms to “fill-in” for missing because towercos are collecting data from multiple sites with lesser load by managing one genset with
data depending on the type of data missing and the sources. proper battery cyclic operation
number of instances in which it is missing. This
helps autocorrect a data stream. Infozech recommends the use of a standard 4. Periodic analysis of runtime distribution
platform which can reconcile data from any sources across the grid, battery and genset based on load
4. Business rule: When raw data is received, it based on: and battery capacity which can then lead to up
needs to be verified against permissible ranges < Type of data (instantaneous value or cumulative gradation if required.
and likely values. Infozech’s system validates value) 5. Maintenance results of battery (e.g. discharge
every raw data packet and each value in the data < Business rules applied on the data test) periodically can suggest enhancement or
packet against its defined type and permissible Infozech’s platform has been precisely designed replacement of battery bank.
value and filters out any garbage value from the to achieve this objective for towercos. Infozech
system. It is possible to configure multiple types of provides a platform where it reconciles data from 6. CPH establishment based on site category based
business rules to identify data and depict business any source or platform. The system automatically on load, temperature, colocation and other known/
scenarios. eliminates repetitive inflow of the same data, unknown factors. This can be then improved based
selecting the best value and capturing it. Users can on a feedback from the system correcting variances
Based on these findings, towercos and the RMS then have an option to approve the best value based between actual and theoretical values.
vendors should acknowledge and rectify these on their business requirement for future use.
data discrepancies highlighted by the system in a Infozech’s i-Analytics solution helps customers
time bound activity; any loss of data packet due TowerXchange: With the number of parameters carry out such analysis easily and repeatedly
to rejection of garbage values will lead to loss of that can be measured on a cell site being thus helping them take much more informed and
information and indirectly hamper other day to seemingly endless, what metrics do Infozech optimal decisions.
day processes linked with those data values. think are particularly important for tower
owners to measure that may not be widely TowerXchange: Preparing the data into a
TowerXchange: In the instance where there monitored currently? manageable format is the first step but turning
are multiple images of the same data from the data into intelligence that can be used by the
different systems, or where there is a gap in Ankur Lal, Founder & CEO, Infozech: Key things client is key. Where are we today in being able to
data, what are Infozech’s recommendations on which can be implemented as energy/cost saving consolidate and analyse all the different inputs
how to best manage this? measures include: into real intelligence? How do Infozech see this
being built upon in the short, medium and long
Ankur Lal, Founder & CEO, Infozech: The ultimate 1. Where there is high genset run hours, battery term?
objective is to treat RMS data as a single source. backup hours should be monitored
However, the challenges enumerated above 2. Where there is high grid availability, generators Ankur Lal, Founder & CEO, Infozech: “Improving
while collecting and validating data leads to can be removed by enhancing the battery bank Profitability through ‘Discipline of Action”
(TowerXchange Issue 17, August 2016), focuses Ankur Lal, Founder & CEO, Infozech: Infozech
on how to assist customers take action. Taking has been working with one of our clients to help
action is often associated with higher risk or effort. them to get more value from the data which they
Infozech’s iTower platform assists operators capture receive from RMS systems for cross functional
and analyse information is a structured way. consumption.
Once actions are taken, they are fed back in the
system for further assessment of the quality of One of the challenge faced by the client was the
action. This helps assess action effectiveness. ability to obtain accurate and complete data Meetup Europe 2017
The analysis provides trends which can indicate for energy billing from the RMS system. Major
5-6 April, London
short, medium and long term actions. One area challenges included:
which Infozech has started engaging in, is the
optimal mix of capex – opex. Often a large number 1. Missing /Garbage data packets
of capex measures, such as long lasting batteries, Meetup Americas
need effective systems which can monitor and 2. Incomplete data packets
measure energy spend and battery life over 2017
multiple years to determine: Incomplete data packets: The Infozech System
7-8 June, Boca Raton
derives the possible value based on trends in the
1. Whether the initiative itself was right (i.e. historic data. There are sites where the data is not
switching to long lasting batteries), or was it fraught available for the complete month, for instance,
with failures, site downtime issues or difficulty in energy billing cannot be done for site where data Meetup Africa
maintenance. is only available for 25 days. In such scenarios of
incomplete data, Infozech help in determining those & ME 2017
2. In case the initiative was a success which battery values based on Infozech’s proprietary algorithm
provider gave the best service – in which case “Fill in”.
3-4 October, Johannesburg
was the yield the most – this may not have been
in the lowest cost one. In absence of such analysis After applying the above functionality, the customer
companies lean towards the lowest cost alternative
which at times could even be the highest cost one.
is now able to bill the sites accurately based on the
RMS data.
Meetup Asia 2017
12-13 December, Singapore
TowerXchange: Can you share some examples We have also been providing solutions where data
where Infozech has worked with a client to get has been missing for 15 days or there is no data for
more out of the data that they are generating? the month. These functionalities can be reapplied to
What improved efficiencies, cost savings or fuel sensor data, genset run hours and other data www.towerxchange.com
timelines has this afforded the client? sets
Invendis: Expanding operations TowerXchange: Please give us an update on some
of your new projects and milestones since we
last spoke.
in Africa and Asia Satish Kulkarni, CEO, Invendis: Over the last two
How Invendis is expanding its footprint and delivering increased opex reductions years we have moved into several new countries
and territories. Two to three years back a lot of our
TowerXchange recently caught up with business was from Africa in countries like Tanzania
and Malawi. Over the past four to five years we’ve
Satish Kulkarni, CEO of Invendis to get
installed systems in over 4,000 sites in Africa; we
an update on their latest projects, plans work with almost all of the towercos in Africa. We
to expand their footprint, and successes have some business from Helios Towers in Africa,
in Africa and Asia. We discussed best and we’re about to sign a contract in Ghana and
Tanzania with them. We’re still active in Africa and
practices for inventory reduction, fighting
continue to grow there.
fuel theft, site monitoring and capturing
data on energy usage. In the Middle East we have a contract through
Nokia as a primary contractor, and we’re doing
Keywords: Africa, Asia, Asia work for them on 275 sites increasing to 1,000 sites.
Insights, Batteries, edotco, Invendis,

In Asia we recently won a contract with edotco
Logistics, Monitoring & Management, to install systems on 12,000 sites in Malaysia,
Operational Excellence, Off-Grid, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Cambodia. We are
Opex Reduction, RMS, Site Level deploying 3,000 systems in Bangladesh and 3,000
Profitability, Site Management System, in Malaysia, and then we will deploy another 6,000
Site Visits, Unreliable Grid, Uptime by the end of 2016. There is also a lot of activity
Satish Kulkarni, CEO, Invendis
in India; we estimate that towercos are using RMS
on close to 200,000 sites. We are installed on 3,400
of Ascend Telecom’s sites and we also have an
Read this article to learn: order from Intelligent Energy who are handling
< The expansion of Invendis’ footprint in Africa and Asia the energy assets on GTL’s sites. There is a lot of
< How Invendis reduces inventory cost by 20 to 25% consolidation happening now and new capex is
< How Invendis is reducing fuel theft being deployed including energy monitoring and
< The benefits of tracking individual batteries on sites optimisation. At one point 95% of our business was
coming from outside India, and now over the past
two to three years things have been changing. We measures could be taken. and power generated to get an idea of how much
are also deployed on 2,500 of American Tower’s the site requires in general, and any abnormal
sites in India, and we manage another 5,000 towers Our project in Iraq is challenging due to the activity usually indicates theft. Most of our clients
for a power equipment company. security issues and political situation, not to in Africa have said that pilferage has been reduced
mention the environmental conditions. However considerably and within eight to ten months they’ve
Over the past five or six years we’ve deployed on we had experience operating in desert conditions recouped the cost of the system.
over 20,000 sites in all of our markets. There is from a previous deployment in Oman for Omantel
consolidation happening across Africa and Asia a couple of years back. We provided automated Our systems also protect expensive batteries by
and our business will grow there as a result. There coverage of 300 remote exchanges; we’re in talks to embedding sensors on them that trigger an alarm if
are some huge potential opportunities in countries install on their towers as well to collect operational they are moved out of the site, alerting clients that
like Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar and Singapore. data which should happen later this year. they have to go to the site to investigate.
Prices for connectivity have come down and a lot
of companies and governments are switching to We’ve also handled extreme cold at -10 or -20 TowerXchange: Since a lot of fuel pilferage
green energy, batteries and hybrid solutions. We degrees in some of the more remote northern originates within the supply chain, is there a risk
feel that over the next three to four years there will sites in India. Two or three years ago about 10- of remote monitoring sensors being damaged
be a lot of interest in replacing diesel generators 15% of our clients were MNOs but now it’s mostly by staff or subcontractors? What can be done to
with batteries, and our solutions will play a role in towercos. prevent this?
managing these.
TowerXchange: We’ve heard about markets Satish Kulkarni, CEO, Invendis: This does happen
TowerXchange: Do you have any success stories where 30% or more of diesel has been stolen, and it can be difficult to manage. With remote
to share? 15% of batteries stolen. What can towercos and management the sites don’t need to be visited on
MNOs do to improve security at remote cell a regular basis; workers can go when required to
Satish Kulkarni, CEO, Invendis: In Ghana we were sites? investigate an alarm or make occasional deliveries.
able to bring down the inventory cost for the The increased efficiency of RMS means that there
towercos by 20-25%. There were some major issues Satish Kulkarni, CEO, Invendis: This is a major issue is less work to be done and fewer hours are
with the grid there and the power was down about in a lot of countries, any market where the grid is required which hits the ground crews financially.
three hours per day once every four or five days. unreliable; people can steal upwards of 160 litres It’s important to invest in the ground crews
We installed our system and it greatly increased the of fuel and if the readings are not accurate it’s hard and involve them in the security of the site, and
efficiency of the sites. for towercos to judge how much fuel has been used some companies offer rewards for reports about
and whether any is missing. tampering.
There are also difficult conditions in countries
like Bangladesh that experience annual flooding. When you install highly accurate sensors they have TowerXchange: How can data from site
The sensors that we installed on the sites were the ability to interface with the site management monitoring be integrated with maintenance
able to detect when flooding of the equipment system and update data on fuel levels in real time. workflows and job ticketing to reduce O&M
was imminent so that clients could be notified and Clients can do an end-to-end audit of fuel use costs?
“
Satish Kulkarni, CEO, Invendis: Data from the so; we categorise them based on the action needed
site goes directly to the ground crews and they to respond to them. Some are extremely critical
are notified via their phones or computers. This like fire alarms, but they all have varying degrees
constant flow of actionable data has greatly of importance and escalations that go up the
decreased opex since clients know where and command chain. It’s all differentiated by the action
why they need to do site visits. Prior to this, an that is needed to be taken.
engineer could make a scheduled site visit, identify
a problem, but not have the necessary equipment Data from the site goes directly TowerXchange: How do tower operators
to fix it since they didn’t know about it in advance. translate RMS data into actionable intelligence?
Now the multiple site visits have been greatly
to the ground crews and they
reduced and travel is always based on need. This are notified via their phones or Satish Kulkarni, CEO, Invendis: Here are two
has been especially valuable in Africa where the examples: with RMS a client can continuously
computers. This constant flow
sites are more remote, the roads are difficult, and monitor the charge and health of the batteries and
hours of travel in four-wheel drive vehicles is of actionable data has greatly identify any one that isn’t performing. When a
required.
TowerXchange: CCTV is expensive to install and

footage needs a lot of bandwidth – under what
circumstances is this investment worthwhile,
and how can costs be contained?
decreased opex since clients
know where and why they
need to do site visits
“ battery isn’t performing it’s a drain on resources;
it draws more power and decreases the amount
of power available. As soon as this situation is
identified the battery can be replaced, saving
resources by acting on the problem as early as
possible.
Satish Kulkarni, CEO, Invendis: The cameras that For the second example, all of the information on
we install on sites are activated when they detect the tower is constantly available, and if the power
movement and grab images of what’s going on goes off for 12 hours, the system will also remember
in the tower. This has helped us overcome the ensure the customer isn’t overwhelmed and can that it went off for seven to eight hours the previous
challenge of expensive cameras that are on 24/7 and focus only on alarms which require action? week. This can be extrapolated to all the towers in
require constant power and bandwidth to transfer that region and the data can tell whether there is
images when most remote sites don’t have a data Satish Kulkarni, CEO, Invendis: We provide a trend of increasing power cuts requiring more
connection. Multiple cameras running constantly complete end-to-end security including motion fuel for backup generators. Many times the rolling
would be expensive and unnecessary when a small detectors on the doors, smoke detectors, water power cuts in these places are not announced and
amount of footage can identify the perpetrators, detectors and other combinations of sensors. These it helps to have data on them to put into actionable
or let you know that it’s a false alarm caused by an provide a wide variety of parameters but the clients intelligence like this. Clients can get a very detailed
animal or a branch. don’t require all of them so the granular data is set of data on the grid situation, and once they have
collected and can be built into reports that can be nationwide deployment of RMS on their sites they
TowerXchange: How do you customise alarms to used later. Some data are critical and some are less may even be able to share or monetise it
Tower Xchange
TowerXchange brings the tower industry to you! TowerXchange Meetup calendar

TowerXchange Meetup Europe 2017,
Connect with us today and discuss available opportunities for our Meetups across Africa, Asia, April 4-5, Business Design Centre, London
Europe, Americas and China! Exhibiting or sponsoring at TowerXchange Meetups is the best TowerXchange Meetup Americas 2017,
June 7-8, Boca Raton Resort & Club, Florida
investment you can make to showcase your products and expertise in front of the global telecom
TowerXchange Meetup Africa 2017,
tower industry.
October 3-4, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
TowerXchange Meetup Asia 2017,
Email Annabelle Mayhew, CCO, at amayhew@towerxchange.com today December 12-13, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
to find out more. Visit our website at www.towerxchange.com
IPS unleashes the Off-Grid Beast! TowerXchange: Please introduce International
Power Supply to our readers – where do you fit
in the telecoms infrastructure ecosystem?
EXERON runs virtually maintenance free, and can reduce opex by 96%!
Alexander Rangelov, CEO, IPS: IPS is a 26 year
International Power Supply (IPS) has developed experienced high tech company specialised in the
a robust, military-grade off-grid power solution, R&D and manufacturing of power electronics and
which has now been refined for virtually energy conversion technologies for the areas of
maintenance free operation in telecom telecommunications, off-grid electricity, defense
applications. IPS’s modular solution is readily and railways. We are deeply specialised in the
upgradeable for the era of infrastructure design and development of complete telecom
sharing, and has the advantage of all the indoor and outdoor power solutions for both grid
components having been developed and sourced connected and off-grid applications. Our portfolio
from the same manufacturer. TowerXchange includes all kinds of power components and
spoke to CEO Alexander Rangelov to learn solutions needed for telecom infrastructure, all of
more… which are developed, designed and manufactured
by us in Sofia, Bulgaria (EU).
Keywords: Air Conditioning, Batteries,

TowerrXchange: What has attracted PTIG,
DG Runtime, Energy, Energy Efficiency,
PostScriptum Ventures and BlackPeak Captial to
Hybrid Power, IPS, Infrastructure Sharing,
invest in IPS and how are you going to deploy the
International Power Supply, Lithium,
capital?
Logistics, Microgeneration, Off-Grid, On-Grid,
Opex Reduction, RMS, ROI, Rectifiers, SLA,
Alexander Rangelov, CEO, IPS: Our investors have
Shelters, Site Visits, Spare Parts, Who’s Who
Alexander Rangelov, CEO, IPS been attracted from our unique and innovative
product: EXERON – The Off-Grid Beast. It was
invented by IPS initially for military applications
Read this article to learn: (powering communication infrastructure and
< How IPS developed and attracted investment into EXERON – The Off-Grid Beast desert camps) for providing reliable power in
< Reducing telecom opex by 96% with a 16 month ROI on a 1.5 kW load site remote and hardly accessible areas with harsh
< How dynamic control of battery charging can extend battery life by 30% ambient conditions. In the last seven years
< How IPS simplify delivery, installation and maintenance we developed the system to become a solution
< The importance of all the power systems, enclosures and A/C equipment coming from the same addressing the global electricity and environmental
problem. The fast market penetration and
manufacturer
international recognition we have achieved, the
“
IPS team’s passion and our enormous R&D ability
made our investors keen on supporting our
global expansion. The capital is invested in R&D,
business and market development, new logistic
hubs and offices around the world as well as
manufacturing facilities.
we achieved 96% telecom opex reduction and a 16 month
IPS has partners, distributors and operating
systems in 51 countries. Offices, logistics hubs
and service points are distributed worldwide at
strategic locations.
return of investment period for a diesel generator powered
off-grid site with 1.5 kW constant telecom load
“
TowerXchange: How are your solutions proven
in terms of their ability to reduce opex in
distributed telecom networks?
Alexander Rangelov, CEO, IPS: Regarding opex Alexander Rangelov, CEO, IPS: We are not limited system structure offers great scalability and
reduction, it is very important to find the to any output power. The whole EXERON system flexibility. There is only one unit (MCU – Main
optimum correlation between the opex reduction structure is based on power modules of 2 kW or Control Unit) that monitors and controls all system
level and the return of investment (RoI) period. 4 kW. So the minimum power step is practically 2 modules (rectifiers, solar charge controllers,
With one of our projects with a large telco group kW. The unique IPS communication protocol can inverters, DC-DC converters). All of them are
we achieved 96% telecom opex reduction and address up to 16,300 modules simultaneously. So, hot pluggable. The power capacity extension for
a 16 month return of investment period for a this means 16,300 modules x 2 kW or 4 kW. any power system component is easily done by
diesel generator powered off-grid site with 1.5 simply adding new plug&play power modules. The
kW constant telecom load. This result is thanks A large number of modules are used in our mini advantage of having only one MCU for the whole
to the highest integration level of the EXERON grid applications, but for telecom applications system, and sourcing all modules from only one
system components and the innovative process typical numbers would be 2 kW, 4 kW, 6 kW, or up manufacturer, is great efficiency, redundancy
and battery management. IPS developed unique to 36 kW in some special cases. and self-control. It is the base for the intelligent
software for dynamic control of the battery mini-grid systems. It is unique because the same
charging process, leading to extending the battery TowerXchange: Tell us about IPS’s Exeron EXERON technology with the same control unit
life by approximately 30%. system and how it meets the needs of towercos that is used for telco towers can be deployed as a
who need to increase the power capacity at cell mini-grid electricity solution for villages controlling
TowerXchange: What is the “sweet spot” in sites as additional tenants are added? and monitoring over 16,300 power modules
terms of the kW load on the site which EXERON corresponding to 65 MW of power. That is why we
is able to support? Alexander Rangelov, CEO, IPS: The modular call it EXERON – The Off-Grid Beast!
and manufacturing all products under the NATO unit failure, the system will continue its operation
military standard for quality AQAP 2110, so every unchanged.
single component meets higher requirements than
usual. As mentioned before the EXERON system has Following the military standards for quality during
been developed initially for military applications the development phases and manufacturing, a high
in remote areas. A big advantage is that it can system availability and robustness is guaranteed.
operate in very harsh ambient conditions with It is a clear advantage and of crucial importance
temperatures between -40°C and +80°C, heights for remote, hardly accessible and long-distance
above 4000m above sea level, high humidity and site locations, which leads directly to reduced opex
salinity, acid environments et cetera. These features costs.
are not always the case for civil applications but
have high importance for the telco companies in TowerXchange: Should remote monitoring
some areas of Africa, Asia and South America. capabilities be built in to energy systems or
should third party RMS be used to monitor
TowerXchange: How do you ensure ease of performance?
delivery, installation and maintenance of your
solutions at remote cell sites? Alexander Rangelov, CEO, IPS: Yes, the remote
monitoring is built in to the EXERON. It offers three
Alexander Rangelov, CEO, IPS: The ease of delivery options for remote monitoring and signaling: there
is guaranteed with the new manufacturing facilities are potential free contacts for signaling (event
that we have built and the logistics hubs in Africa, relays), there is an SNMP monitoring, and the third
Asia, Australia and America. one is the integrated web server in the MCU. It is
accessible through HTTP. You can monitor, but also
The ease of installation is guaranteed in a few control the functions and parameters of the system.
simple steps, since everything is included and The MCU can also monitor and transfer the signals
pre-installed in the system. The EXERON runs from different sensors that can be connected to the
basically maintenance free, however if some of the EXERON – smoke, fire, humidity, temperature, et
EXERON – The Off-Grid Beast modules need to be exchanged – it takes not more cetera: up to 16 sensors.
than ten seconds, because every single system
TowerXchange: Tower companies’ Service module is hot pluggable (rectifiers, solar charge TowerXchange: Do you see IPS being a pure
Level Agreements (SLAs) often demand 99.5- controllers, inverters, DC-DC converters, the MCU solution provider, or do you have any appetite
99.9% uptime – tell us about the reliability and – Main Control Unit, surge protection devices et to explore energy services company (ESCO)
autonomy of your solution. cetera). Another big advantage is that an outage in business models?
one of the modules or more of them cannot lead
Alexander Rangelov, CEO, IPS: IPS is developing to a full system stop. Even in case of main control Alexander Rangelov, CEO, IPS: IPS is a R&D and
“
systems with energy storage. We are continuously
developing the system and believe that this is the
only way to break limits and create innovative
functionalities and features.
IPS designs and manufactures not only the

power systems, but also the proper environment
better performance, faster RoI, robustness, advanced features
and functionality, a global all-in-one scalable solution, leading
to outstanding opex savings
“ - enclosures and outdoor cabinets with many
options, heat exchange options, but also with our
own developed air conditioning module. We have
even built a redundant air conditioner for cooling
and heating. It’s virtually maintenance free! Sounds
good?!
TowerXchange: What’s next for IPS and

EXERON?
manufacturing company, so in this aspect we are a and optimise hybrid diesel genset-battery sites, but
pure solution provider. In 2016 together with our also PV-diesel-battery sites. The good thing is that it Alexander Rangelov, CEO, IPS: We are ready to
investors we started offering also the ESCO business can start as grid connected or hybrid configuration open a new chapter in IPS’s successful history in
model, but mainly for residential applications. and then at anytime new power modules can be the next couple of months, which will be a huge
added – solar charge controllers and/or inverters. technological jump. In the beginning of 2017 we
TowerXchange: How would you differentiate IPS All within the same architecture. And under the are planning to release a new storage technology
and EXERON from competitive modular hybrid same MCU control unit. integrated in the EXERON which will offer the
energy solutions? long life and multicycle ability of Lithium-based
To mention it again, our clear advantage over batteries, but at the price levels of Lead-based
Alexander Rangelov, CEO, IPS: In just a few other solutions is the fact that we develop and batteries. Keep an eye on IPS and EXERON-The Off-
words: better performance, faster RoI, robustness, manufacture all the system modules. At the end Grid Beast!
advanced features and functionality, a global all-in- they talk to each other in the system via a unique
one scalable solution, leading to outstanding opex communication protocol, developed by IPS and TowerXchange are delighted to
savings. delivering optimal performance and efficiency. In announce IPS as the Gold Sponsors of the
addition, we have the ability to scale our power TowerXchange Meetup Asia 2016! Come
EXERON is a multi-talented beast! It can be used modules. There are a lot good solutions and and see EXERON – The Off-Grid Beast on
for grid connected sites in the way of a customised products on the market, but they have limitations. December 13-14 at the Marina Bay Sands,
outdoor cabinet with a purely modular rectifier. At Still in 2014 in Germany, EXERON won the world Singapore!
the same time EXERON can be deployed to control innovation ees Award for innovative off-grid power
IPT Powertech on what it takes to TowerXchange: Please share an update on
some of your latest offerings, projects and
developments since we last spoke.
offer guaranteed savings and T-ESCO
Khaled Habbal, VP & COO, IPT Powertech: This was
Khaled Habbal discusses how a talented workforce, commitment to local communities an exceptional year across all our geographies,
and twenty years of experience combine to deliver guaranteed 30% opex reduction including Africa, Middle East and Asia. We engaged
in two large projects for IHS in Nigeria, supplying
Over the last twenty years IPT energy efficient power solutions including
PowerTech’s business model has management and long-term maintenance, and
evolved as fast as their business has OPEX optimization exercise under a long-term
expanded geographically, and kept contract. We also signed a long-term contract with
up with all of the latest technical and Ooredoo in Myanmar, providing managed services
business model developments in power for the power of their entire network.
provision for telecoms infrastructure.
We recently spoke with Khaled Habbal, With offices in 11 countries, we serve top clients in
VP & COO of IPT Powertech to hear the region, and it is with the dedication of our 2,500
about their continued expansion into experts that our portfolio encompasses thousands
new markets, and their continued of implemented projects, delivered to more than 60
investments into their workforce operators in more than 50 countries such as Ghana,
and commitment to community Nigeria, Niger, Sierra Leone Algeria, Morocco, Iraq,
Khaled Habbal, VP & COO, IPT Powertech
engagement.
Jordan, Afghanistan and many more.
Keywords: Afghanistan, Africa, Algeria, Asia, Batteries, DGs, ESCO, Ghana, Hybrid Power, IHS, IPT While we have an operational presence in 11
Powertech, Investment, Managed Services, Myanmar, Nigeria, O&M, Off-Grid, Ooredoo, Opex Reduction, countries in the MEA, Africa and South East Asia,
R&D, Solar, Who’s Who we also have our own manufacturing facilities in
Romania and Lebanon.
Read this article to learn: TowerXchange: How is the evolution of ‘energy

< IPT Powertech’s latest successes in Myanmar and Nigeria as a service’ business models progressing in
< The evolution of the energy as a service model developing markets?
< The importance of acquiring local talent and community engagement
< IPT Powertech’s vision for global expansion Khaled Habbal, VP & COO, IPT Powertech: The
energy as a service business model is a very
interesting one. Some markets have stable, TowerXchange: Could you give us an update on transferring knowledge whereby we ensure they
widely available grid access, such as Europe, your activities in Myanmar? How are things are empowered with knowledge and experience to
North America, the Gulf region and many parts changing on the ground and what impact do you be leaders of the local organisation in the future.
of Asia and Australia. In these markets telecom expect the arrival of the fourth operator to have?
infrastructure has 99% grid connectivity and On the other hand, our group is keen on putting
there are only battery backups which are rarely Khaled Habbal, VP & COO, IPT Powertech: We CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiatives
used; there isn’t much change in these areas in established our business there 18 months ago, just at the heart of its business strategy within the
terms of energy requirements. before signing our first contract with Ooredoo. community by helping the local authorities
during the monsoon season, contributing to local
In markets like Myanmar, West Africa, Central Myanmar has interesting potential for the future, communities including material and financial
Africa, East Africa and Lebanon and others, and our growth there is stimulated by this investments.
grid stability is still a major challenge due to region’s need for energy-efficient products and
the quality of the grid and is undergoing a big infrastructure services coupled with managed Since more than 70% of sites in Myanmar are
evolution. Initially the majority of sites had services and a guaranteed savings model /T-ESCO, off grid, generators are used, creating noise
two generators, and would run 24 hours a day adapted to the local market’s requirements. and air pollution which are disturbing to local
in six hour shifts, requiring considerable focus communities. Since we are conscious about this
on maintenance, extremely high level diesel The overall performance of the network has environmental challenge, we are investing in our
consumption leading to high costs. Over the past progressed tremendously, reaching more than 99% solutions and maintenance cycles to ensure optimal
few years, the price of diesel has increased a over the past period, by providing tailor-made, reduction in generator runtime, making sites
great deal, along with pressure to comply with reliable, energy efficient hybrid and renewable more efficient in terms of cost, pollution and noise
carbon emissions standards. This has led to the energy solutions for more than 3,000 sites for reduction. We are working closely with operators
introduction of batteries and hybrid systems to Ooredoo Myanmar coupled with rollout services, and tower companies to provide power co-location
save on opex and reduce carbon footprints. Solar operation and maintenance, fueling services, power wherever possible to reduce CO2 emissions; instead
power is playing an increasing role in markets management and power sharing, all while reducing of two to three generators per tower, power co-
such as West Africa and the Middle East. DC carbon emission and being environmentally location enables the allocation of the optimal
generators, operating under variable speeds, conscious. number of generators on each site given the power
solar panels, and different battery technologies needs of each operator.
have all been combined to reduce runtime and We have established offices across Myanmar, with
make systems more cost-efficient and more more than 280 professionals who joined our team. As for the arrival of the forth operator, we are still
environmentally friendly. The most important We are very keen not only on recruiting top notch in primary stage of the discussion. We are keen
element in this evolution is the provision of people, but a lot of the best local talent. More than on proposing eco-friendly power solutions to all
proper, timely and professional maintenance 85% of our Myanmar team members are locals, existent operators by suggesting a new concept:
services to achieve a cost-efficient and optimal and we are planning to increase this to 99% over power co-location, mentioned above. This concept
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). the next two years. We are recruiting locals and focuses on sharing the same power solutions and
infrastructure between the operators, guaranteeing maintenance, and a pioneer in combining our
reduced capex and opex, while ensuring optimal product R&D to our assembly facilities, has made
TCO. IPT Powertech Group well positioned to become
a leader in the implementation of the guaranteed
Meetup
TowerXchange: And what can you tell us about savings model in Nigeria.
the project in Nigeria?
TowerXchange: Do you have any upcoming plans
Khaled Habbal, VP & COO, IPT Powertech: Given IHS
Nigeria’s size as the largest tower company in Africa,
for expansion of your footprint?
Asia 2016
we are working closely with the group in Nigeria and Khaled Habbal, VP & COO, IPT Powertech: Our
other African countries. presence in Myanmar and our success in the 13 - 14 December,
relatively short period of 18 months made us keen Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
We are engaged in Nigeria with IHS on the largest on expanding further in Asia. IPT PowerTech’s team
guaranteed savings project across the African is always seeking new challenges where we can
continent. We are proud to be the one of the largest recreate new power solutions and add advanced
suppliers of power efficient solutions and one of the features to our wide portfolio, and redefine new
main contractors ensuring the guaranteed savings added services to guarantee optimal performance
model. at lower cost possible in addition to adding value to
our customers.
The guaranteed savings model is a combination of
the design, manufacturing, supply and deployment As for the geographic footprint, we are always
of energy efficient solutions along with field looking forward to expand geographically into new
maintenance service and continuous opex and capex territories as long as that growth is aligned with
optimisation. The guaranteed savings model is a risk- our strategic direction of the business and makes
free approach ensuring the operators and towercos us able to expand and build our unique strength of
full economisation/savings while maximising combining the power expertise in telecom, service
the lifetime of the equipment. We guarantee the expertise in telecom and managed service expertise
performance and savings of our own solutions while to deliver significant cost savings for our customers
respecting the contractual KPIs and SLAs. across the world.

The fact that our group is the only solution Finally, our appetite for expansion and growth is leaders of the Asian telecom tower industry
provider in the region offering and merging hybrid driven by the hard work of our 2,500 specialists,
and renewable energy solutions with telecom the reason behind the strength, success and Vistit www.towerxchange.com/meetup/meetup-asia
infrastructure and field managed services and differentiation of the group
Miteno: A market leader in
TowerXchange: Could you introduce your
company and give us an idea of your position
in the tower ecosystem?
the Chinese tower industry Zhiyong Zhang, Chairman & President, Miteno:
Miteno shares some insight into their plans for the Chinese tower market, Miteno was founded in 2004 and formally
and international expansion came into operation in 2006 as a designer and
manufacturer of communication towers. We
With the formation of the record-breaking China gradually branched out into the operation and
Tower Company fast approaching, international maintenance of communication infrastructure.
investors are watching closely to identify Before the establishment of China Tower Co., Ltd.,
new opportunities for investment. As huge as Miteno was a leading vendor for China Mobile’s
China Tower Company may be, there are still national central purchasing, the country’s largest
independent tower portfolios in China, comprising telecom carrier. It can be said that Miteno is
an estimated 15-20,000 towers. We spoke with a market leader in China in the design and
Zhiyong Zhang, Chairman and President of one of manufacture field of communication towers.
the leading independent towercos Miteno to learn
about the independent tower market in China and TowerXchange: Could you give us some insight
Zhiyong Zhang, Chairman & President, Miteno into your business model evolution?
its ecosystem.
Zhiyong Zhang, Chairman & President, Miteno:

Keywords: Asia Insights, Insights, Interviews, North & East Asia, Towercos, Towercos, Who’s Who 4G,
Miteno was listed on the domestic GEM as an
Asia, Asia Insights, Asset Register, Bankability, Build-To-Suit, C-Level Perspective, China, China Mobile,
‘A Stock’ only four years after we came into
China Telecom, China Tower Company, China Unicom, Debt Finance, Exit Strategy, Infrastructure Sharing,
operation, a testament to the company’s advanced
Insights, Investment, Lease Rates, Leasing & Permitting, Market Overview, Miteno, On-Grid, Operator-Led
business model. Though in theory Miteno is in a
JV, Private Equity, Regulation, Tenancy Ratios, Towercos, Valuation, Who’s Who
traditional manufacturing industry, we designed
an innovative model for communication tower
provisioning, which integrates all resources
of this traditional manufacturing industry on
< Miteno’s background, development and business model one operational platform. Under this model,
< The scale and structure of the Chinese tower ecosystem we highlight our brand value by enhancing our
< Grid access and hybrid energy in the Chinese market technological edge to focus on design. Under
< The impact of the creation of China Tower Company strict management, we outsourced most of our
< Miteno’s long-term growth strategy manufacturing, which would otherwise require
heavy asset management.
“
Our business focus has gradually shifted to
communication tower operation, i.e. leasing
communication infrastructure to telecom carriers.
Miteno owns a network monitoring platform for
tower operation, which not only tracks the status of
Currently the number of privately-owned towers in China is around
the tower in real-time, but also gathers other data
through extra interfaces, such as video monitoring
and environment monitoring. When our towers
reach a certain number, this platform will yield a
huge network value.
20,000. Half of them belong to big players like Miteno, the rest of
them are scattered and operated by hundreds of private companies
throughout China
“
TowerXchange: Can you provide some
specific detail on the scale and structure of
the ecosystem of privately owned towers in Zhiyong Zhang, Chairman & President, Miteno: A availability of the electricity grid in the Chinese
China and how that segment of the market few years ago, the vast majority of communication market? Can you give an idea of what percentage
will be affected by the creation of China Tower towers in China were constructed by state-owned of towers are off-grid? Who owns the power
Company? telecom carriers. These assets were later divested equipment when a site has multiple tenants?
to the newly founded China Tower Company,
Zhiyong Zhang, Chairman & President, Miteno: allowing the carriers to co-construct and share Zhiyong Zhang, Chairman & President, Miteno: It
Currently the number of privately-owned towers the communication infrastructure through can be said that 99.9% of the communication towers
in China is around 20,000. Half of them belong administrative means. Private owners across the in China rely on fiber-optic communication and on
to big players like Miteno, the rest of them are county also have a small number of communication State Grid Corporation of China for power supply.
scattered and operated by hundreds of private assets, offering equipment lease services to telecom Power supply is never a problem.
companies throughout China. These independent carriers.
companies will benefit from the creation of China TowerXchange: The GSMA has stated that there
Tower, because leasing towers from a third party TowerXchange: What is the cost of building new are 35,000 instances of hybrid and renewable
is feasible for wireless carriers. For Miteno, we are towers compared to the cost of leasing towers in power being used in China. Are these solutions
participating as a tower consolidator, trying to lease the Chinese market? used for off grid towers? Do Miteno’s towers use
self-owned towers to more tenants. Our strengths lie hybrid and renewable energy solutions?
in tower design, manufacture and installation. Zhiyong Zhang, Chairman & President, Miteno: The
situation varies in different areas, and relevant Zhiyong Zhang, Chairman & President, Miteno:
TowerXchange: The tower industry varies statistics are not forthcoming as lease services have Hybrid and renewable energy are used in China
considerably from country to country; can you just begun. only as backup power supply. Government owned
give us an idea of how tower sharing and tower mobile carriers have strict design requirements
leasing work in the Chinese market? TowerXchange: What is the extent, quality and on towers; very few off grid towers exist. We are
introducing new backup power solutions with
better cost performance.
TowerXchange: The transfer of over one

million towers to China Tower Company is
unprecedented in the global market. What
impact do you think this will have on the
Chinese tower market?
Zhiyong Zhang, Chairman & President, Miteno:

There are three major positive impacts. First,
it changes the KPI assessment mechanism of
telecom carriers so that they can fully focus on
their core business. Second, it shifts infrastructure
investment from capital expenditure to operating
expenditure in recognition of the third party
leasing model. Third, such recognition provides
broad space for the development of private capital,
thus creating a completely new industry chain in
China.
TowerXchange: What is Miteno’s long-term

strategy, both in the domestic market and
internationally? Do you have plans for
Visit the TowerXchange.com website
international growth?
< Access to the “Internet of People” in the global tower < A comprehensive archive of TowerXchange’s
industry – a trust web of over 35,000 decision makers interviews and analyses, searchable by topic, country,
Zhiyong Zhang, Chairman & President, Miteno: As
in telecom and broadcast infrastructure company or grouped by category (e.g. interviews or
a listed company committed to meeting the needs how to guides)
of capital market, we have made “going global”
< Independent analysis and commentaries on the
one of our strategies. Miteno’s strengths lie in the prospects for tower transactions in selected countries < The latest news and registration information about
tower design, manufacture, installation, operation TowerXchange’s Meetups.
and maintenance of the communication tower, as < The latest industry emerging market tower industry
well as in financing capacity. We will also receive
the support of national policies in exploring the
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Journal, accessible 24/7 from desktop, tablet or mobile Tower Xchange
international market
Accruent’s SaaS site
TowerXchange: Please introduce your company
– where do you fit in the telecoms infrastructure
ecosystem?
management solution delivers Bill Glass, General Manager of Telecom, Accruent:
for towercos We have developed an enterprise-class Software

as a Service (SaaS) product for tower companies
which encompasses the full site life cycle from site
Siterra helps optimise key tower management tasks, and the service is
construction to co-location and the decommissioning
constantly evolving to meet client needs of towers. Our software facilitates efficient
operations and drives strong revenue growth for
Accruent’s Siterra provides a platform much like a
tower operators and managed service providers.
dedicated ERP for towercos and MNOs – they are experts
in helping clients clean up and organise their data,
Think of us as an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
making the solution ideal as companies scale their
provider for tower companies and MNOs. We have
operations across multiple regions and countries. In the
the capacity to manage the entire ecosystem that
latest of a series of interviews exploring the capabilities
surrounds tower infrastructure.
of Siterra, TowerXchange focuses on the merits of
using a native SaaS platform, and on data accuracy and
Co-location is one area we have a special focus on;
standardisation, critical to accelerating time to market
most tower companies want to increase their co-
for tenants, and critical to driving tenancy ratio and
tenancy ratio. What makes our company unique
Bill Glass, General Manager of Telecom, Accruent valuation growth for the towerco or MNO.
is that it has the capacity to manage the entire
process from marketing through to fulfilment and
Keywords: Accruent, Americas, Asset Lifecycle Platform, Asset Register, Capacity Enhancements, operational management.
Central America, Europe, Infrastructure Lifecycle Management, Infrastructure Sharing, Job Ticketing,
KPIs, Monitoring & Management, Multi-country Partner, NOC, O&M, Operational Excellence, RMS, Site TowerXchange: The first question our readers
Level Profitability, Site Management System, Siterra, South America, Transfer Assets, Who’s Who will want to know is ‘how proven is your solution
in the field?’ Can you please tell us about the
performance of your solution the field – who is
Read this article to learn: using it and what results have been achieved?
< Accruent’s position in the telecom ecosystem and global footprint
< How Siterra helps manage the full tower site life cycle Bill Glass, General Manager of Telecom, Accruent:
< How Siterra enables working with subcontractors Our solution has strong credibility in the market.
< The benefits of a SaaS site management platform Thirteen of the top 121 tower companies listed
by TowerXchange are already current Accruent
“
cleans up and standardises data. It puts data into visibility is limited to only the assets, tasks, and sites
a much more efficient site-centric format, which that are necessary for their work.
makes it easier for MNOs and tower companies to
buy, integrate and market their assets. What’s more, TowerXchange: How can your SaaS platform be
by handling data in a digestible manner, tower configured to adapt to different towercos’ unique
by handling data in a digestible companies and MNOs can make towers available on business processes and workflows?
manner, tower companies the market faster and more cost efficiently, thereby
increasing tenancy ratios. Bill Glass, General Manager of Telecom, Accruent:
and MNOs can make towers
available on the market faster
and more cost efficiently, thereby
increasing tenancy ratios
“ TowerXchange: How does your solution help
manage different stakeholders within the tower
supply chain from tenants to subcontractors?
We are constantly developing and upgrading our
platform to suit the needs of tower companies. As
things currently stand, Siterra provides for more
than 90% of tower companies’ needs straight
out of the box. The remaining 10% can be easily
Bill Glass, General Manager of Telecom, Accruent: configured on the platform so customers can adapt it
The solution can help tower companies handle leads to meet their specific requirements. We come to the
customers. At present, we operate in twelve and administration models. In addition, the asset engagement with our customer with best practices
countries across five continents and have a register and customer portal integration that sits at available to immediately drive efficiency based on
particularly strong focus for 2016 on Europe and the heart of Siterra’s colocation solution can be used our knowledge of the industry.
Central and Latin America. We are constantly to provide up-to-date information on colocation. For
adding new portfolios for our current customers and example, a tower company may wish to inform an We’ve also developed many feature requests in
carrying out implementations in multiple countries. MNO of open towers that are available for rent. They partnership with our clients. A client will typically
will be able to do this through our portal. come to us with a request for a particular feature.
At first, many of our clients purchase our solution to Once we have developed that feature we will
use it in a particular territory. However, once they Our solution can also be used to support contract incorporate it into later versions of our platform so
have the solution installed, they realise that they and service provider management. In fact, Siterra that other customers can take advantage of it.
can achieve operational efficiencies by rolling it out uses a permissions-based model. If an operator
across all of their countries and portfolios, and we or tower company wants to give a contractor or Thanks to our focus on long term partnerships and
can support them in this endeavour. If a company service provider access to the system it can do so successful product co-development, we’ve been
wants to roll out our solution to multiple countries, very easily. The contractor or service provider can able to create a stable platform for tower portfolios.
we can help them standardise processes including then carry out a task and post a photo to provide However, we notice that many companies in the
reporting, colocation, license management, project proof that the project has been completed. Siterra market continue to invest in custom software. We
management, vendor management, and inspection offers sophisticated tools for project managers to feel that this is a failed strategy because, over the
management. efficiently review work submitted for accuracy long term, companies end up wasting IT resources
and quality. What’s more, the system has built in and limiting the potential to make long term
One of the selling points of our solution is that it security features so that each contractor’s access and efficiency gains.
“
Unlike many other solutions on the market, our SaaS
application was not built from scratch based on an
on-premises application – all of our incremental
investments have been to enhance its functionality.
Total costs for the customer can escalate quickly if
With some solutions on the market, users tend to become beholden to
professional service teams after deployment. That’s not the case with Siterra.
Once a customer has bought the solution and implemented it, they’re up
and running. They don’t need to constantly check in with our professional
services department
“ a solution needs to be re-built over time or requires
extensive support. That’s why it makes much more
sense to purchase a proven SaaS solution like Siterra.
With some solutions on the market, users tend to

become beholden to professional service teams after
deployment. That’s not the case with Siterra. Once a
customer has bought the solution and implemented
TowerXchange: How can a robust approach to buyer to use manpower to inspect four thousand it, they’re up and running. They don’t need to
asset registers and asset lifecycle management towers when purchasing a portfolio. By using constantly check in with our professional services
improve the valuation of tower assets? Siterra, buyers and sellers can perform clean department. Of course, our professional services and
searches without digging through files and records customer teams are always available if needed, but
Bill Glass, General Manager of Telecom, Accruent: to get access to the right information. We find that we are strongly of the opinion that our customers
The main benefit comes in being able to understand most buyers and sellers prefer to use Siterra to should not be dependent on us for their daily
the condition of the assets and the inventory carry out the portfolio valuation process – at the end business needs.
associated to those assets. Being able to keep track of the day our system reduces acquisition risk for
of inventory is a benefit, particularly for large, acquirers and improves return on investment for There’s also a huge amount of functionality built into
international tower companies. Smaller companies, sellers. Siterra that allows customer system administrators
on the other hand, are looking to maximise their to modify workflows, create new reports and
tower valuation for strategic buyers. That’s exactly TowerXchange: Please sum up how you manipulate site data on a large scale within the
where the site-centric focus of our software comes would differentiate your solution from your administration console. Users don’t need to receive
into play. competitors? any code or help from Accruent to make these
changes.
Our platform can provide complete access to Bill Glass, General Manager of Telecom, Accruent:
maintenance records, site information and pictures Our annual product investment is larger than In summary, our market share, our investment, and
of site equipment. This makes it extremely useful for most of our competitors’ revenues – that in itself our product functionality significantly outweigh
strategic buyers and companies that are seeking to differentiates us from our competitors. our competitors’ products, and over the last fifteen
sell their assets. years, we have successfully brought the best of the
On top of this, Siterra is a SaaS platform, so we have best when it comes to industry best practices and
For example, it isn’t really feasible for a strategic benefited from the shift towards cloud applications. knowledge
Tarantula provides the
TowerXchange: Please introduce yourself and
your background.
go-to product for all things Felix Chan, Director - Strategy, Tarantula: I have
over fifteen years of direct experience with mobile
shared infrastructure operators and towercos, working primarily in

strategy, commercial and finance roles over that
time. I started off with Vodafone in Australia,
Felix Chan explains how Tarantula integrates all aspects of site management
then went on to co-found a towerco, Insight
into one enterprise product Infrastructure, in India where I worked until it
was acquired by American Tower Corporation. I
Thanks to its highly flexible workflow platform and then returned to Australia and took on the role of
portfolio management system, Tarantula supports General Manager of the Commercial Strategy group
around 350,000 towers worldwide with a value of of NBN Co. Finally, I’ve been with Tarantula for the
approximately US$25bn and tracks over 6mn assets. past three years as Director - Strategy and CFO.
In this interview, Felix Chan, Tarantula’s Director of
Strategy, shares details about the company’s latest TowerXchange: Could you give us an update
projects and the successful utilisation of the Red on some of your recent activities in the Asian
Cube and Orange Cube solutions in the Asian telecom market? What have been the highlights of the
tower market. past year?
Keywords: Asset Register, Health & Safety, Felix Chan, Director - Strategy, Tarantula: At
Interview, KPIs, Operational Excellence, QoS, ROI, Tarantula, our mission is to help our customers
Revenue Assurance, Security, Site Management succeed. The past year has been all about this —
System, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Tarantula, working on supporting the goals of our towerco and
Felix Chan, Director - Strategy, Tarantula Valuation telco clients. To do this, we leverage the experience
of our team and their backgrounds in telecom
companies and towercos and distil this knowledge
Read this article to learn: into our products and relationships with our clients.
< Tarantula’s latest projects and the evolution of their products We don’t offer generic solutions, so we’re always
< Adapting Red Cube and Orange Cube to the Asian tower market looking for the next opportunity to create value for
< The benefits of linking contractual obligations and commercials with site inventory our customers.
< Managing multiple stakeholders onsite and adapting to different processes and workflows
This has been a pretty busy year for us; we engaged
in a long-term integration project for two of our information maintained by the individual Red Cube Felix Chan, Director - Strategy, Tarantula: We are
clients and combined two Tarantula systems into systems. constantly adding new innovations to our product
one merged solution. To do this, we consolidated capabilities, be it to cater to the dynamic industry
reports and data and merged management of the Orange Cube is another main product offering for changes, to create value for various types of markets
sites together. This was a full-on project for the telcos, and it enables monitoring of more assets, and stakeholders, or to address specific problems.
delivery team over a three-month period, during including active equipment; we can tailor this to the Asia is a very diverse region and the evolution of
which the data from all the sites was scrubbed and telco’s specific requirements. the industry varies from country to country. You
made consistent so that it could operate across have everything from very mature and stable
both systems. This requires a good knowledge of The focus on active equipment can help telcos tower markets in India to totally new and growing
the customer’s business and how they operate, review the spectrum of options available and markets like Myanmar which is just a few years
and this is a key strength of ours. When launching identify the best solution for a given area. It can old now. There are big differences in operating
a new process, there is always a risk of “garbage determine whether a new piece of equipment can and commercial environments across Asia, and
in, garbage out” if the wrong approach is taken. be added to an existing site, whether it would be Tarantula has the ability to cater to different
It requires detailed knowledge of how the client better to lease a tenancy from a towerco or telco, or requirements across a broad spectrum. We leverage
operates, and knowledge about the way the whether a new ground-based or rooftop BTS site is our telecoms experience to learn from our clients
industry works that only comes with experience. the way to go. and adapt our solutions to work around their
After integration, users from both client companies roadmap to best support them.
were able to continue working with a consistent We also undertook a client project to push data
way of working with the same data sets. collection out into the field with our mobility tool A big innovation this year involved the billing
to provide much more useful information to the module and how it ties in with our clients’
We also engaged in separate installations across engineers responsible for operations. This tool was contractual obligations and asset entitlement.
six markets for one of our key clients so that their used to complete over 21,000 actions in the field and This enables us to link commercial deals with a
group headquarters could see what was happening made life easier for our customer by streamlining co-location process and the existing capacity on
across all of them. We rolled out country-level Red the collection of data into mobile devices. This a given site. A lot of tools on the market keep a
Cube systems that can operate as independent data could then be synchronised with the system record of what assets are present on the tower, but
entities, and then on top of that we integrated a in a controlled manner to ensure that it is accurate we are able to manage the broader commercial
reporting system to oversee the activities of the six and reliable at all times. Our clients received the relationships. When a new tenant is ready to be
underlying businesses. Red Cube helps towercos immediate benefit of higher efficiency in field added, we can look at how to manage site access for
balance the management of network uptime operations with accurate data being captured at all multiple tenants, how much physical space there
versus the management of individual sites. It’s times. is on the site, and what adjustments are necessary.
part of an overall vision that enables our clients It also enables the integration of pricing from the
do everything from managing lease services to TowerXchange: We know that your products are MLA to the co-location and manages this all the
ensuring backhaul connectivity for each site. The continually evolving to meet the needs of the way through. Our product is very flexible and can
group-level reporting added immense value to the market; how has it changed since we last spoke? support companies with a big customer base and
a lot of MLAs to manage. Again this is where we is involved in what, and provides a project contact requirements. They can slim down the processes,
leverage our knowledge of different MLA scenarios; list with all stakeholders recorded so it is clear who make them more complex, and then break them
for example, I’ve negotiated between fifteen to is involved. Sometimes our clients find stakeholders down again if necessary; since the core processes
twenty of them and Udhay has negotiated even that they weren’t aware of and unauthorised are available out of the box, it’s easy to change
more. This feeds into the adaptability of the product equipment that has been installed. The product them.
for a wide range of commercial scenarios. Through enables them to do a match-back with the asset
our normal customer engagement process, we have register and identify any unauthorised equipment The biggest complexity in tower portfolio
received a lot of feedback and input in Asia and so they can decide the necessary action such as management usually involves the different legal
Europe into how the product works and this has increasing the lease rate or moving the equipment and commercial regulations in each country. Again,
contributed to its evolution. Our customers can see elsewhere. our experience in different markets has enabled
that we take the feedback from our discussions with us to create solutions that minimise problems
them, and insights into how their businesses run, The product also enables work orders such as site for end-users and this is integrated with all the
and these are integrated directly as features in our inspections, diesel checks, or asset counts to be other elements such as billing, capacity on site,
products. allocated on the mobility app; this enables proactive discounts for existing tenants, tax, et cetera. Any
management of subcontractor work and allows of these features can be dragged and dropped in
TowerXchange: How does your products help our clients to know that the work orders actually or removed as necessary to create the necessary
manage different stakeholders within the tower happened. Red Cube tracks milestones so that all overview of the project. Our products integrate with
supply chain, from tenants to subcontractors? stakeholders know what they need to do, what’s the multiple systems that towercos use, including
next, and whether any changes are required. trouble ticketing, ERPs, remote monitoring systems,
Felix Chan, Director - Strategy, Tarantula: There are and document management tools; this full data
a lot of different stakeholders in a site and many TowerXchange: How can your product be integration across all these systems enables
users that require site access. There can be many configured to adapt to different towercos’ unique towercos to maintain a single source of truth.
different protocols for this in different jurisdictions; business processes and workflows?
for instance, in some cases health and safety TowerXchange: How can a robust approach to
documents must be received to permit site access, Felix Chan, Director - Strategy, Tarantula: Red Cube asset registers and asset lifecycle management
and this needs to be managed. Contractors need to has over thirty real-world processes included out improve the valuation of tower assets?
be given time slots to access the site to avoid overlap of the box; a start-up towerco could take this and
and crowding. use it right away. Having these processes makes a Felix Chan, Director - Strategy, Tarantula: I would
good baseline to configure for different clients. They say the question is how can it not? The more you
Our products can create different user groups to could split one process into two steps, creating a know about your assets the better valuation you’re
issue approvals in line with different processes, and legal and financial component for example. They going to get. The key parameters are tracking,
provide electronic approval of requests to protect can configure processes into layers, change what managing assets on site, creating a matrix,
the integrity of the assets. This enables towercos to different roles in the company do, split one task into knowing what’s there and being able to create a
manage multiple tenants, allows them to know who two, or combine three into one depending on their direct link between these and the MLA and billing
“ The more you know about your assets the better valuation you’re
going to get. The key parameters are tracking, managing assets
on site, creating a matrix, knowing what’s there and being able to “ Meetup Europe 2017
5-6 April, London
create a direct link between these and the MLA and billing system
Meetup Americas
2017
system. One of the biggest elements in valuation is model, including towercos and telcos. To achieve
7-8 June, Boca Raton
recurring cash flow, and this can integrate all of the this, we have rolled out Orange Cube, which is a
necessary elements of site management and link product tailored to the needs of mobile network
them together: this asset belongs to that company,
this is their lease, we bill them this and this is their
operators. We’re driving project management and
asset reporting to include commercial management
Meetup Africa
interplay with the site. functionality for MNOs to help them improve & ME 2017
valuations and ROI. We have implemented partner
TowerXchange: What are your plans for growth and relationship management so that we empower
3-4 October, Johannesburg
and expansion, and what is your future vision our customers, and in turn, their customers to
for the company? succeed.
Felix Chan, Director - Strategy, Tarantula: Our focus There is a lot of growth ahead on both sides of the
Meetup Asia 2017
is purely on all aspects of shared infrastructure. infrastructure sharing model with the advent of 12-13 December, Singapore
We’ve developed Red Cube, the go-to product for 4G and later 5G. More sites will be required with
managing shared telecoms infrastructure. We’re the more capacity, more small cell coverage and all
market leaders in the towerco space and our aim is operators and infrastructure providers need to start
to get there in the telco space as well and provide thinking about the new demands of this changing www.towerxchange.com
coverage of both sides of the infrastructure sharing marketplace
Total Telecom Energy Solution TowerXchange: While Total needs no
introduction, please could you introduce
Total’s Energy Solutions department and your
Oil & Gas major uniquely combines diesel and solar into compelling Energy relationship with SunPower – where do you fit in
Solution for emerging market cell sites the telecoms infrastructure ecosystem?
Ingrid Jaumain, Head of Energy Solutions, Total

Total are uniquely positioned to provide all four of the
Marketing and Services: Total is not only one of the
critical components of the ESCO proposition. They have
world’s leading oil and gas companies – we provide
obvious capacity and accountability for diesel logistics from
many more amazing capabilities across more than
a footprint of 15,000 refueling sites worldwide. And they
150 countries.
have a global field workforce and a robust balance sheet.
In addition, through SunPower, one of the world’s top three
In terms of where Total fits in the telecoms
leaders in the solar industry, they have renewable energy
infrastructure ecosystem, of course we play a
solutions proven at off-grid telecom sites.
critical role in fuel supply, supplying tens of
thousands of cell sites with diesel either directly or
Keywords: Who’s Who, Energy, O&M, Opex distributed from our 15,000 gas stations. Our assets
Reduction, Batteries, Energy Storage, Capacity also include SunPower, a leading solar company
Enhancements, Fuel Security, Loading, Energy which has installed over 3,000 pure solar and solar
Efficiency, SLA, Off-Grid, Unreliable Grid, ESCOs, hybrid telecom sites. This gives Total a unique
Hybrid Power, Renewables, Solar, DG Runtime, synthesis; we can leverage a huge client portfolio
Dimensioning, Skilled Workforces, Microgeneration, and operational footprint in challenging countries
Community Power, RMS, Africa, Asia, Caribbean, across Africa, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, the
Ingrid Jaumain, Head of Energy Solutions, Americas and the Caribbean – countries where
SunPower, Total
Total Marketing and Services
MNOs and towercos have to tackle the challenge
of generating energy far beyond the reach of the
electricity grid.
< Total’s unique multiple energy source proposition, combining diesel, solar, and services SunPower was one of only the actors worldwide
< Total and SunPower’s track record of success at over 3,000 cell sites worldwide able to provide robust solar power solutions; when
< How can you judge which sites should retain DG backup, which should be hybridised and which they started in the 1980’s it was a small market.
should run solar-only? SunPower develops the key components of their
< Modular technology and flexible business models to make hybrid energy scalable to meet the solution in-house, including data loggers and
changing needs of multi-tenant sites and community power remote monitoring, and provides a full O&M service
for several clients. Total’s Marketing & Services, one
of the three branches of the Total Group, has a view
to providing a complete set of multi-energy services
to a customer base with diverse energy needs, from
MW power plants, commercial buildings and homes
to remote, distributed sites.
Total has thousands of people in the field, which

is critical to field operations in telecom. Given our
responsibility both for fuel supply and service,
customers can trust that our fuel deliveries are
up to international standards both in terms of
services and product quality. As an upstream
and downstream major in African countries, for
example, we can’t afford not to provide high quality
service – we have to be reliable to keep the trust
of our customers and stakeholders. Our customers
“ The unique, global footprint of

Total and SunPower, spanning
deep knowledge of diesel and
renewables, enables us to build
are able to leverage Total’s commitment to high
standards, and our commitment to better energy –
our value proposition is all about reducing energy
risk and optimising fuel operations, batteries and
Total has extensive experience of operating such
multi-product projects for the mining industry,
which faces similar challenges of providing
capitally intensive equipment with different sources
a sustainable relationship with renewables from grid connected to unreliable and of energy in remote areas. We are able to leverage
our clients, helping them to save off grid environments. multiple energy sources, from diesel and lubricants
money by showing them how
to hybridise a site, and showing
them which sites to hybridise
“ The unique, global footprint of Total and SunPower,
spanning deep knowledge of diesel and renewables,
enables us to build a sustainable relationship with
to solar.
TowerXchange: How proven are your solutions in

the field?
our clients, helping them to save money by showing
them how to hybridise a site, and showing them Ingrid Jaumain, Head of Energy Solutions, Total
which sites to hybridise. Marketing and Services: Total and SunPower are
“
already managing over 3,000 cell sites, including
thousands of sites for a really big MNO in Africa
for whom we also do O&M and fuel supply. For
some clients and some sites we supply just diesel,
sometimes it’s just solar.
My role is a new position within a new entity

created to provide optimised energy solutions
Most cell sites average loads of 1-3kW where hybrid solutions, with
a balance of anywhere between 20-80% solar versus diesel, often
deliver RoI
“
for our B2B customers. The Telecom sector is a
priority for us and we aim at providing the industry
with a consolidated, worldwide energy operator
offer, ultimately delivered through an opex / ESCO data logger has been developed in-house, based on quality of power available, drive time to the site and
business model based on the aforementioned value our extensive experience in managing the DG, solar a number of different variables. However, we’ve
proposition of optimising the full energy path. In and battery banks remotely. Data is pushed to our seen some vendors install solar on big sites where
the most integrated models, the idea is to offer platform managed in France, which co-ordinates the contribution will be very low. Based on the
ten to fifteen year operating contracts with zero alerts and field operations. real data we’ve gathered from over 3,000 solar and
capex across Africa, the Middle East, Americas and hybrid cell sites, we seldom see return on capital
APAC. We have all the bricks we need to put this all The combination of robust remote monitoring with invested at sites with greater than a 3kW load,
together. local knowledge and the right local partners are particularly on sites that are a short distance from a
key – you’ve got to know how they will react in the fuel depot.
TowerXchange: How can MNOs and towercos be field. That’s why we also have dedicated, robust and
certain that the optimal power source is running cost-effective energy GPRS monitoring, developed Small, remote cell sites are sometimes very difficult
at any given time? How can you ensure that field based on the O&M knowledge and experience in to supply with diesel at reasonable logistical costs.
technicians don’t manually over-ride power the group. Given the challenging conditions in field There is a business case for 100% solar (always with
source selection without good reason? operations, our principle is to keep systems and batteries) at small sites up to 1kW.
processes simple and easy to operate in the field.
Ingrid Jaumain, Head of Energy Solutions, Total Most cell sites average loads of 1-3kW where hybrid
Marketing and Services: I have two answers to this TowerXchange: What is the addressable market solutions, with a balance of anywhere between
question, the first of which is from a site design for 100% solar and solar hybrid cell sites in 20-80% solar versus diesel, often deliver RoI. What
perspective. It is critical to carefully design the terms of load and grid conditions? At what load gives us our credibility is Total’s commitment to
energy system to achieve the correct balance of does diesel simply make more sense? lower energy opex no matter what energy source is
solar, energy storage and diesel on hybrid sites. Well used.
designed hybrid sites rarely encounter problems Ingrid Jaumain, Head of Energy Solutions, Total
with the selection of the optimal power source. Marketing and Services: It’s difficult to give one TowerXchange: What is the difference between
The second part of the solution is monitoring. Our simple answer, because it always depends on the the cheapest solar panels on the market and
“carrier grade” solutions in terms of energy
density and longevity?
Ingrid Jaumain, Head of Energy Solutions, Total

OP” ENERGY SOLUTION
Marketing and PROVIDER
Services: Quality of product is key.
The reputation of solar has been harmed by certain
actors who damaged the market with unreliable
solar panels and who didn’t optimise site design –
they put poor quality solar products on large sites
MEDIUM SITE
where renewables don’t make economic sense. < 3 kW
solar PV
Total chose SunPower because of the quality of the
+ diesel
technology. SunPower panels can provide 38% more
BIG SITES
energy from the equivalent surface areas compared > 3 kW
to traditional solar modules. Given the space
100 %
contraints on MNO and, particularly, towerco sites,
diesel
this can be critical.
Total qualifies our products and equipment by

simply listening to our clients’ needs, designing
a relevant solution, and bringing that to market SMALL SITES
< 1 kW
through local channels, giving the customer
someone to talk to in case of problems in the field. 100 %
We already tackle complex and remote sites supply solar PV
as we are for instance present in this market in
mining, and have the intention to increase our
market footprint in the telecom segment.
Governments are rightly prioritising QoS, so the

stakeholders want to fall back to the strength and
credibility of a partner like Total, a global company
Copyright Total 2015

with a strong commitment to Corporate Social
Responsibility. We are strongly differentiated from
smaller ESCOs offering energy services, but who
don’t offer the same access to the same economies
08/04/15 10:32
“
of scale. As a worldwide big company, we are also diesel, solar, batteries and monitoring – it’s easy to
building more complete partnerships with our add more power to create the scalability required
clients, leveraging for instance on our existing for co-location and growing community power
Corporate Social Responsibilities programs, mainly requirements. We’ll always optimise site design
dedicated to access to energy. and prioritise the telecom load, with backup power
solutions with capacity to take on peak load – our
Solar generation and electricity provision in modular technology, flexible hybrid solutions are often so optimised for solar
general is highly dependent on the levelised cost and batteries that a little extra DG runtime whilst
of electricity. SunPower’s technology is reliable,
business models, the right the site’s energy load is growing toward a modular
efficient and highly differentiated, enabling
us to offer hybrid and renewable energy at a
very competitive cost per kWh. This gives us an
advantage within the ESCO / capex free model,
where finance is critical. We’re able to offer reliable
energy mix and energy
optimisation are all important
to scalability
“ upgrade can actually increase the lifetime of the
genset.
From a business model perspective, we previously

ran a programme called SunCash, a pay-as-you-go
technology guaranteed for 25 years, with a lower system similar to using phone cards with credit
degradation of product. used to regulate energy demand at mini-grid sites
so we can anticipate the maximum load we provide
TowerXchange: Have you experienced any minimal – you still need ~66sqm, 97sqm for a per day in kWh.
instances of solar panel theft? How can this risk third.” How can solar power be made scalable
be mitigated? and space-efficient so that towercos can add While community power is critical to sustainability,
multiple tenants? And how can you blend in the priority will be given to telecom infrastructure
Ingrid Jaumain, Head of Energy Solutions, Total a community power proposition with its own – that’s the business imperative and SLAs need to be
Marketing and Services: Like every other supplier, unpredictability of peak load? respected within those relationships.
we have experienced some solar panel theft, in
response to which we have developed a concrete Ingrid Jaumain, Head of Energy Solutions, Total In summary, modular technology, flexible
based racking system that is really safe. Monitoring Marketing and Services: I’d like to answer this business models, the right energy mix and energy
fuel is also key and our datalogger includes a sensor question from both a technical and business model optimisation are all important to scalability.
for the diesel tank. perspective.
TowerXchange: What has changed which makes
TowerXchange: Quoting one of the towerco From a technical perspective, we have developed it time to stop talking about ESCOs and start
CEOs on TowerXchange’s advisory board “The and standardised a modular approach in addition deploying ESCOs?
problem is that there is a finite amount of GLA to the SunPower technology advantage: for a 9
(Gross Leasable Area) at a site. A solar array kWp installed capacity you need ~50 sqm versus Ingrid Jaumain, Head of Energy Solutions, Total
already needs ~35sqm to supply a single tenant, more than 65 sqm with competitor products. For Marketing and Services: From my perspective, over
add a second tenant and the space savings are a given load you have a given combination of the last 12-24 months emerging market telecoms
have matured toward a preference to partner with With 30-40% of opex coming from energy, you need Total is a big company but we’re also pragmatic.
specialists in dedicated fields. As towercos are to trust your ESCO partner, having direct affiliates We understand that ESCO agreements typically
present in more markets, and as stakeholders want with operations in the field is a competitive start with a pilot phase with a few sites to
to reconsider their capital investments and lighten advantage. start with, which represents an opportunity
their balance sheets, the time is right to start to reassure everyone and an opportunity to
deploying ESCOs. TowerXchange: Towercos, who already own demonstrate our value proposition.
one in four of the world’s cell sites, are astute
Now, according to what the client wants we also buyers – whilst some simply demand energy at a TowerXchange: Finally, please sum up what
develop intermediary models, that’s the strength of kWh price ESCOs find difficult to deliver, others differentiates Total from other companies
Total Marketing & Services, being the operational don’t want to sign long term fixed price energy aspiring to achieve scale in energy services for
arm of the Group; we are flexible, we permanently services agreements, they want to share in the emerging market telecoms.
listen to the market and always adapt to our client energy efficiencies as technology improves.
needs. How do you think the ESCO business model will Ingrid Jaumain, Head of Energy Solutions, Total
evolve to attract towercos to engage? Marketing and Services: We have local operations
Hybrid and renewable energy technology and – thousands of people in the field in different
solutions in general are more mature. For example, Ingrid Jaumain, Head of Energy Solutions, Total countries in Africa, the Middle East, APAC, the
now everyone has an RMS, and data management Marketing and Services: Because of its size, Total’s Americas and the Caribbean.
is becoming more powerful. The tricky part of worldwide financial capacity and credibility, Total
the ESCO proposition had been monitoring O&M has some interesting assets for this market segment. We have a track record; we’re already a supplier
to guarantee service, but we have both the field of diesel to thousands of sites for fuel and solar
operations and technical skills to do this. In off-grid and unreliable grid markets, our long equipment, which means we have knowledge
term contracts are based on formulas that provide and proven technology in-house which we can
Having a trusted ESCO partner helps prospective flexibility as even we never know what the oil price leverage to build a worldwide telecom energy
towercos get a contract in greenfield markets. will be tomorrow. We will often put in place the operator proposition.
capability within a contract to revisit terms every
I took Total’s proposition to the TowerXchange two to three years – we want to stay committed Total’s unique positioning is our commitment
Meetup Asia 2014 and spoke to several stakeholders business partners – we will find a way to structure a to better energy – we are the only worldwide
in energy services in India, for example, where win-win agreement using innovative legal, business multi-energy provider spanning solar, diesel
the energy services market remains fragmented model and contract engineering. and lubricants, owning directly the technology
with no actor with both the required financial and and products. “Think global, act local” could be
operational capabilities to scale the model. Taking a Of course any capex-free solution requires a a good summary: on an everyday basis we are
global picture; many oil majors have largely exited minimum level of commitment, but I think there people “rooted in the field”, putting operations
from any direct presence in African marketing is a space for a kWh offer, and if clients want an at the core of all our business models and we are
activities whilst operating through distributors - optimised financial solution, combining a leasing also committed to better energy, preparing the
we’ve been able to purchase some of their assets. component or similar, that is also fine with us. future!
The Sale & Purchase Agreements TowerXchange: What are the key components of
a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) in a tower
& Master Lease Agreements that

transaction?
underpin tower transactions

Rob Dixon: There are of course many components
common to all SPAs, but let’s concentrate on those
components which are unique to towers deals. A
A closer look at two important parts of the contractual framework key example is the structure and content of the
for infrastructure sharing conditions to closing. First, we’ll typically have a set
of transaction conditions precedents that need to
The devil is in the detail – the detail be fulfilled before the deal can happen at all. These
of painstakingly constructed and would include any over-arching regulatory
hard negotiated Sale and Purchase requirements (for example an operating licence or a
competition approval).
Agreements (SPAs) and Master Lease

Agreements (MLAs) that define the
Secondly, we’ll typically have a set of conditions
main terms in any tower transaction. precedent that need to be fulfilled (or waived)
Jeff Eldredge and Rob Dixon, Partners at before a specific tower can be transferred. These
Vinson & Elkins, have advised on over would normally include good title, satisfactory
ten sale and leaseback transactions in ground lease arrangements (for example, the right
Jeff Eldredge and Rob Dixon, Partners at Vinson & Elkins
the last couple of years in countries to sub-lease the tower to third party co-locators
such as the DRC, Ghana, Nigeria, South and to assign leasing arrangements in security)
Keywords: SLA, MLA, Transfer of Assets, Regulations, and compliance with regulatory requirements
Africa and Tanzania. Rob and Jeff kindly
Novation of Leases, Due Diligence, Anchor Tenant (for example, building permits and environmental
agreed to meet with TowerXchange and
Privileges, Service Level Agreements, Infrastructure consents)…it’s potentially a long list!
to provide us with an overview of tower
Sharing, Vinson & Elkins
sharing SPAs and MLAs.
The buyer will require a certain number of towers
before the deal is economically viable. Typically,
Read this article to learn: therefore, the deal will be structured so that closing
< How a minimum number of towers must be included for a deal to be viable does not happen unless and until a certain number
< The conditions precedent that need to be fulfilled before assets are transferred of towers are ready to be transferred (i.e. the
< What happens to towers that aren’t transferred in the first close tower-specific conditions precedent are satisfied or
< How the MLA defines the rights of the Anchor Tenant waived).
< How critical towers are sometimes treated differently
Jeff Eldredge: One key point in the process is
and operate the sites so the towerco may agree
Phased close to manage the sites (with the operator retaining Capacity crunch
It’s common practice to have at least two phases ownership). The buyer is likely to conduct legal
of closing a sale and leaseback transaction, diligence on a sample of sites before signing the Operators err on the side of caution when it
giving extra time to finalise documentation for SPA so it will have a reasonable idea of the position comes to reserving capacity on towers for future
troublesome towers. As Alan Harper, CEO of before signing the deal. The SPA is, of course, only upgrades. But every square meter the operator
Eaton Towers explained “With Warid, 90% of one part of a sale and leaseback deal. It’s relatively reserves is a square meter less for the towerco
the towers were included in the first close, but short-lived compared with the MLA which will often to sell, and that goes directly to the value of
we take over 100% of the towers whilst the last govern the parties’ relationship for many years. the tower. When it comes to the Master Lease
complicated paperwork is finalized.” Agreement, “it’s important to help operators
TowerXchange: So tell us about the critical avoid reserving more capacity than they really
the extension of ground lease terms. Towers consideration when drafting Master Lease need for upgrades”, to use the words of one
deals can involve thousands of different parcels Agreements. senior towerco executive.
of land. Different ground leases will expire at
different times, giving uncertainty on future Jeff Eldredge: The MLA is where the real value is The MLA is an umbrella agreement which defines
costs. The buyer will therefore seek to have the for the tower company and where most of the real the operator’s rights as anchor tenant in terms
ground leases extended for a reasonable period. complexity lies in a deal. It’s a long term contract of leasing space and capacity (windload) on the
(perhaps 10-20 years) and a large value contract. transferring towers and the towerco’s obligations
Rob Dixon: As a result of that and certain other The operator needs sufficient flexibility to manage to the anchor tenant in terms of such space and
conditions taking time to satisfy, there are its needs to deploy and maintain equipment, while capacity (including the service levels which
typically a number of closings as the tower-specific the towerco needs sufficient control to maximise apply). Different rights and obligations typically
conditions are gradually satisfied. In the interim, the co-location opportunities – that’s how they build apply to different towers. For example, network
the buyer might take over the operation of the value. Thus, there’s a natural tension that needs to planners can get very nervous about sharing
non-transferred towers on a managed services be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. particularly critical towers with other operators
“
basis. Different deals are of course structured and therefore a small number of the towers might
differently – some deals go further to synthesise the be identified as exclusive to the anchor tenant. The
buyer’s ownership of non-transferring towers from service levels for different classes of towers is also
first closing. likely to vary and be closely negotiated. These will
The MLA is where the real

TowerXchange: What happens to any towers for
which the CPs cannot be satisfied?
value is for the tower company
and where most of the real
“ typically be set out in a service level agreement,
which may form part of the MLA.
Rob Dixon: There are of course other agreements

Rob Dixon: The treatment of ‘stub sites’ depends complexity lies in a deal which are important in most towers deals – for
on the deal. The operator is unlikely to have example the Build to Suit Agreement – but perhaps
the ongoing capability (or desire) to maintain that’s for another time!
See you at our future events!
Meetup Meetup
Europe 2017 Americas 2017
4-5 April, London 7-8 June, Boca Raton
Meetup Africa Meetup Asia

2017 2017
3-4 October, Johannesburg 12-13 December, Singapore
Tower Xchange
TowerXchange brings the tower industry to you!

Connect with us today and discuss available opportunities for our Meetups across Africa,
Asia, Europe and Americas! Exhibiting or sponsoring at TowerXchange Meetups is the best
investment you can make to showcase your products and expertise in front of the global
telecom tower industry.
Email Annabelle Mayhew, CCO, at amayhew@towerxchange.com today

to find out more.
Tower Xchange
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www.towerchange.

Spotlights on the Asia tower industry

191-257 TowerXchange Meetup

independent tower market in Asia

1393 2014-15 5897

each year. 7,993 6,000 Telecommunications

The proposed merger between Bharti Airtel and

Connectivity is at the core of everything we do. Providing ﬁrst-of-its-kind regional accessibility,

2016 Indonesia XL Axiata Protelindo 2,500 $250,000,000 $100,000 SLB

2014 Indonesia XL Axiata STP 3500 $460,000,000 $131,429 SLB

2013 Indonesia Hutchison STP 300 $68,000,000 $226,667 SLB

2012 Indonesia Hutchison Protelindo 503 SLB

2012 Indonesia PT Central Investindo Protelindo 152 Company acquisition

2012 Indonesia Indosat Tower Bersama 2500 $519,000,000 $207,600 SLB

2011 Indonesia Infratel Tower Bersama 595 Company acquisition

2010 Indonesia Hutchison Protelindo 1482 $165,900,000 $111,943 SLB

2010 India Aircel GTL Infrastructure 17500 $1,800,000,000 $102,857 SLB

2008 Indonesia Bakrie STP 543 $34,000,000 $62,615 SLB

2008 Indonesia Hutchison Protelindo 3692 $500,000,000 $135,428 SLB

*Crown Castle Australia (now Axicom) transaction excluded from

Contact us for a demo at sales@accruent.com

Japan: Japan is one of the most sophisticated

Myanmar: The rollout has seen Myanmar more than

Telekom Malaysia 1,000

2500 New Zealand: There are early signs of a nascent

ENGINEERED ENERGY TELECOM

Afghanistan | Algeria | Ghana | Iraq | Lebanon

Headquarters: Beirut - Lebanon | Tel: +961 1 99 25 25 | www.iptpowertech.com

An unnamed towerco is believed to be in exclusive

Philippines: There are currently no independent

tower companies in The Philippines. The glass

more favorably on increasing competition than the

GOLDEN WINNER 2015

Abloy Oy | WWW.ABLOY.COM An ASSA ABLOY Group brand

in Asian towers on private investments advisory and asset

To find out more visit www.fgwilson.com

NSB 210FT Red and Blue+ high capacity AGM batteries

Visit us at TowerXchange Meetup Asia 2016 booth 216

NorthStar ACE a revolution in battery management

Visit us at TowerXchange Meetup Asia 2016 booth 216

Rank Towerco Count Countries 21 Sinonetstone 1,800 China

1 China Tower Company 1,700,000 China 22 Axicom 1,772 Australia

3 Indus Towers 120,739 India 26 Persada Sokka Tama 1,000 Indonesia

5 Bharti Infratel* 38,642 India 28 Towershare 800 Pakistan

6 GTL Infrastructure 29,432 India 29 Sacofa 765 Malaysia

8 Protelindo 15,167 Indonesia, Netherlands 31 Touch Matrix 460 Malaysia

9 Guodong 15,000 China 32 D’harmoni 346 Malaysia

10 DIF 12,138 Thailand 33 KJS 309 Malaysia

11 Tower Bersama 11,553 Indonesia 34 Common Tower 260 Malaysia

12 Tower Vision 8,400 India 35 Infraquest 201 Malaysia

13 Mitratel 8,000 Indonesia 36 Senno Telecom 200 China

14 STP 6,938 Indonesia 37 Yidebina 200 Malaysia

15 Ascend Telecom 5,200 India 38 Perak Integrated Networks 150 Malaysia

16 Balitower 4,510 Indonesia 39 Asia Space 137 Malaysia

17 Miteno 4,500 China 40 Q Towers 120 China

18 IBS Tower 2,638 Indonesia 41 Desabina 118 Malaysia

20 SEATH (VinaCapital / VNI) 1,930 Vietnam 43 Sanyuan Tec 50 China

and services in the fifteen most active Asian tower markets

< Energy: our focus in this category is on backup

< And finally, is there much prospect for sale and

TowerXchange examines the 15 most active Asian

Afghanistan High High High High Low Medium FTS AWCC

Australia Low Medium Medium Medium Medium Medium Axicom Telstra

Bangladesh High High High High Unknown High edotco Grameenphone