NAIROBI: Kenya's Safaricom and Telkom Kenya are looking to combine forces on a joint management consortium to take over control of mobile phone service towers in the country and eventually sell them to two possible companies that are looking to enter the market. Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers, a South African infrastructure equity investment fund manager recently set up offices in the country and has left mobile operators scrambling to boost their profile and infrastructure operations in the country. Helios Towers Africa, the private equity-backed telecommunications towers manager, plans to enter Kenya and Uganda after it was granted the first license by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority to independently operate a network of telecom towers in the country earlier this month. This puts the two private equity funds (AIIM and Helios) in competition for the towers set up by Safaricom and Telkom Kenya. In July, Safaricom and Telkom Kenya their plan to set up a joint tower management company, the first of its kind in Kenya. The tower company would seek a separate network facilities licence from industry regulator Communications Commission of Kenya to allow it operate an open access model, according to the partners. The shared tower model ensures accessibility and affordability of communications service through increased efficiency and competition to the users. In return, the private equity funds look to profit from leasing back the towers to the mobile phone service providers. “We are looking for any open opportunities; we are in talks with various telecos,” Helios chief executive Chuck Green explained. BM
