NEARLY 3,000 towers acquired by infrastructure firm EdgePoint are now being rapidly converted and put to good use as common towers, aiding in speed of digitalization in the country. About 2,600 of the 2,934 towers that PLDT had sold to Edgepoint are now in in full operation or ready for utilization.
“The math is simple. The more towers are available in a specific location, the more that telco operators can use their own technologies to be able to put more people online, more businesses on digital,” Suresh Sidhu, EdgePoint Infrastructure CEO and founder said in an exclusive media interview recently. He stressed that sharing the vertical real estate for tower infrastructure is more difficult than it is on paper.
EdgePoint Infrastructure Philippines’ started operations only in April 2022 and since then have invested heavily not only in tower acquisition but also in the review of what they termed as “passive assets.” From this review the company reported that there has been major changes in improving the security of the towers–which have since been protected by access control management system platforms and smart locks. This is one part of the ecosystem which has enabled EdgePoint to quickly deploy both antennas and radio equipment in their acquired towers. By tracking operations in each of the nearly 3,000 towers accountability and traceability are enhanced. This in turn give telcos the confidence to quickly deploy and share towers.
“We can’t stress enough the importance of strategy of infrastructure sharing not only as a way of maximizing resources which can in turn push digitizalization. Local telcos have adopted into this environment, but we are still both widening our reach in deepening our systems to create a real sustainable ecosystem,” Sidhu added.
Last April Suresh emphasized that its focus was on delivering its core business of tower acquisition and refurbishment which is already in place. The next step is to expand outside of Luzon and look for towers in the Visayas and Mindanao as soon as they reach 100% in their current tower business.
The next steps for the company may include tower fabrication–which is done outside the country but could be best done with the local skills and manpower. It may follow that to better improve the operation of the these towers, cooperation with telcos and tech firms for edge computing, private wireless, as well as indoor coverage for condominiums and other vertical spaces may be possible.
“The investments are substantial and are all geared to major strides in digitalization of businesses and bringing telco services closer, much closer to the customers,” Vincent Araña, CFO of EdgePoint Philippines emphasized. Without revealing any figures, he said that innovation is the investment stressing that delivering the benefits of 5G throughout the country “remains to be the focus of EdgePoint,” and that the company’s strategies revolve around providing the best “footing for our mobile network operators.”
EdgePoint Philippines CEO Alexander Kiel corroborates with Araña saying that the company has grown from a team of 5 to 100 employees with another thousand working as subcontractors and service suppliers. And the number continues to increase exponentially.
“Our expansion not only means buying more towers. It also means creating more job opportunities and enhancing the telco services to the public,” Kiel said responding to what exactly will the company do in terms of business growth opportunities. “There is so much demand for improved Internet and other digital service in the Philippines, the only way to do that is activate all our current acquired towers then move on to acquiring and refurbishing more towers.” Though common towers are shared by all telco providers and even other technology users needing a vertical elevated structure such as radio repeaters and weather or air quality monitors.
To achieve their goals, EdgePoint executives are calling on government to consider tax breaks on raw materials like steel and aluminum used for tower construction, as well as incentives on starting localized businesses for tower construction and fabrication. The tower fabrication currently is mostly done in Malaysia or China and sections or parts of updated tower structures are shipped over and assembled here. Kiel stressed that in the past to achieve their operation goals, local sourcing is crucial.
“We’ve always looked at localization as part of our ecosystem,” Kiel said pointing to the other countries where EdgePoint is doing business, their supply chain is as local as possible.
“EdgePoint is quickly reaching that point where we can create a functioning ecosystem that is going to be not only self-sustaining but also environmentally friendly, efficient and even more reliable than we are now. We are here to help the Filipino nation, by enhancing digitizing of services and sectors, to which a strong tower infrastructure is necessary,” Sidhu concluded.
