What happened this month in APAC Towers? (June 2023 news roundup)

Well, that's all folks. After 16 editions, this will be the final monthly towerco news roundup (from me at least - go follow Natalia Gorokova !) as I make the move over to Capacity Media. As of publication we are just shy of 1,100 subscribers, which is waaaaay more than I ever expected this to reach. Big thanks to everyone who has liked shared or even just read the roundup.

Anyway, this was a great month to go out on! Indara and Waveconn have both selected digital twin partners, the race to acquire ATC India picked up steam and good news for the Philippines as PLDT announced a resurgence in network investment rollout.

We also got some really exciting news out of Japan's JTOWER (you'll have to read to find out what) and Ascend acquired TowerVision to become one of the largest pureplay towercos in India.

Australia: Indara and Waveconn both select digital twin partners

Indara has announced a partnership with vHive which it claims see its infrastructure portfolio benefit from AI-powered drone technology: leading to faster, more effective, and more sustainable servicing of their digital infrastructure portfolio. Using a digital twin, Indara will be able to offer more intelligent designs remove manual processes from co-location requests and reduce the number of visits a site will need, among other benefits.?

Meanwhile, competitor Waveconn unveiled a partnership of its own, this time with Australian vendor SiteSee. Waveconn's digital twin roadmap encompasses more than just 3D models, with the towerco claiming it’s about integrating this innovative technology throughout their business operations and value chain.

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Bangladesh: EDOTCO Bangladesh hits 25,000 tenancy milestone?

The sixth largest towerco in the world, EDOTCO, has hit a major milestone in Bangladesh, securing 25,000 tenancies. As of their Q1 results, EDOTCO reported 15,447 owned towers and 3,775 managed sites in the country, with 24,380 tenancies at that time. As such the next three months has saw them add over 600 new co-locations. At the time of the Q1 results, Bangladesh accounted for 44% of EDOTCO’s 54,318 tenancies across all nine of its markets.??

The milestone was celebrated with an event held at the iconic BKSP in the Bangladesh National Sports Institute in Savar, Dhaka, with BKSP Director General, Brigadier General Md Shamsur Rahman present at the guest of honour.?

India: Ascend Telecom Infrastructure acquires TowerVision

Consolidation alert! Ascend Telecom Infrastructure has acquired TowerVision, which owns about 10,000 towers in India. The combination of Ascend's portfolio with the incoming TowerVision sites gives Ascend a tower count of approximately 18,000 sites.

India: I Squared Capital and StonePeak in battle for ATC India acquisition?

Private equity firm I Squared Capital have emerged as the frontrunner to buy a controlling stake in American Tower?with ambitions to purchase 90% of the company, sources have said.?

?StonePeak Partners is also in the running, with binding bids due as early as next month. TowerXchange previously reported that Brookfield were interested in the portfolio as well, but would only be interested in a full buy out. Brookfield have since announced that they are considering a stake sale in their own towerco in India, SummitDigitel.??

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Indonesia: Cheng Seng Hoe appointed to Centratama Board of Directors?

Centratama, the Indonesian subsidiary of EdgePoint Infrastructure, has appointed its CFO Cheng Seng Hoe as a member of its board of directors, following an AGM held on May 26th. Daragh O’Neill, the Group CFO of EdgePoint was also appointed to Centratama’s board of commissioners.?

Centratama is the 4th largest towerco in Indonesia, with over 10,000 sites. It also runs the largest portfolio of in building solutions in the country.?

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Japan: JTOWER partner with Commscope to provide outdoor active sharing equipment??

JTOWER has announced it has selected CommScope to be its partner in providing network operators with greater access to shared broadband infrastructure. Through the partnership, JTOWER will provide outdoor infrastructure sharing for network operators using CommScope’s RF technologies and solutions such as antennas, filters (duplexers) and coaxial cables.?

In Japan, 5G networks are currently being rolled out by various network operators, and JTOWER's solutions will enable telcos to develop its base station infrastructure more efficiently,” stated Yusuke Kiriya, senior managing director & general manager of Infrastructure Sharing, JTOWER. “We have high confidence in CommScope’s long years of global experience, high level of expertise and flexible support that is tailored to our requirements.”?

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Malaysia: Axiata’s new CEO re-opens the door to EDOTCO sale?

In an interview with The Edge Malaysia, new Axiata CEO Vivek Sood stoked the flames of an Edotco sale. Sood commented that a controlling stake in the towerco was no longer a priority for Axiata, pointing to the merger between its flagship Celcom brand and Telenor’s Digi as an example of its new value driven approach.?

“We are not putting any new capital into Edotco, they need to get new investors or go to the bank to borrow money,” Sood said. In line with this, he confirmed Axiata is preparing for a dilution in Edotco if a new shareholder is to emerge.”?

Read more about Sood’s plans for EDOTCO in a report from our sister brand Capacity Media.?

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New Zealand: Connexa closes 2Degree’s tower buy out?

Connexa has closed its acquisition of 2Degree’s towers after securing regulatory approval last month. The assets acquired by Connexa and divested by 2degrees comprise 1,124 mobile tower sites throughout New Zealand, including a number of in-flight sites to be delivered by 2degrees in 2023. The addition of 2degrees’ towers means Connexa’s tower network comprises more than 2,350 towers throughout New Zealand.?

Following this latest acquisition, Ontario Teachers’ shareholding in Connexa rises to approximately 83% and Spark’s shareholding dilutes to around 17%. Under the terms of the deal, 2degrees has entered into a 20 year-agreement with Connexa (plus rights of renewal) to secure access to existing and new towers. This includes an additional tower build and co-location commitment of 450 sites for 2degrees over the next 10 years.?

?Philippines: PLDT accelerating network deployments?

Good news for the Philippines tower industry, which has seen a slow start to 2023 in terms of new build sites, as PLDT have announced intentions to commit ‘CAPEX guidance for 2023 of PHP80 billion-PHP85 billion [US$1.42 billion-US$1.51 billion] and includes investments in capacity to support growing mobile traffic and to support demand for home broadband,’ according to First Vice President Eric Santiago.?