Asean-based independent telecom infrastructure firm EdgePoint Infrastructure, through its subsidiary Edgepoint Towers Inc. (EdgePoint Philippines), is still keen on acquiring more tower assets from the incumbent telcos as it aims to become a leading tower company in the country.
EdgePoint entered the Philippine market last April through a sale and leaseback agreement for 2,934 towers in the Luzon Island group with Smart Communications Inc. and Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc., both units of PLDT Inc., for P35 billion.
“Yes, I think we‘re always welcome to acquire,” said Suresh Sidhu, chief executive officer of EdgePoint.
Following the sale, Smart is leasing the towers from EdgePoint Philippines to serve its mobile communications and high-speed internet connectivity needs in the region.
The handover of all the towers is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023.
To date, 2,232 tower sites have been handed over to EdgePoint Philippines.
Sidhu said the company’s focus is to build additional towers in the country and it is currently identifying locations for the towers.
“Our market position as an independent towerco aligns well with the DICT’s (Department of Information and Communications Technology) common towers policy that seeks to enhance connectivity while easing mobile network operators from the heavy capital expenditure required for building communications towers, allowing them to focus on improving services and reaching more underserved areas,” Sidhu said.
Internet users in the Philippines have more than tripled in the past decade, from 23 million in 2010 to 76 million in 2022, and significant investments are needed to meet the demands of this growth.
The Philippines has a dense number of users per tower which affects overall user experience and the country needs a large number of new towers to fill the gap.
EdgePoint said it is ready to bring in investment, innovation, best practices and expertise to the Philippines to address the nation’s connectivity needs.
