Telco Safaricom announced it is negotiating an infrastructure sharing agreement with the incumbent operator Ethio Telecom in Ethiopia. Anwar Soussa, MD of Safaricom Ethiopia, said the two parties are currently working with the Ethiopian Communication Authority (ECA) to work out the details of the partnership.

“Ethio-Telecom and ourselves both have a commitment to Digital Transformation Agenda. We are currently working together to establish a ‘win-win partnership’ to achieve this. We are currently negotiating on national roaming and infrastructure sharing in line with the telecom proclamation and regulation framework overseen by the ECA,” the MD said.

The two parties need to agree on some key issues such as tariffs, the load-bearing capacity of the towers, the actual space within sites, tilt and height of the antenna, and the negative effects on quality of service when antennas are shared as well as the different standards employed by the equipment provider.

Safaricom acquired a global license in May 2021, as part of the government-initiated liberalization process of the Ethiopian telecom market. The company plans to launch operations in the country in April 2022. However, the operator is aware that the time available cannot allow it to roll out its network to the desired extent. Relying on the extensive network built over the past 20 years by its rival seems the best choice to immediately reach the maximum number of subscribers with its services once its network is launched.

If successful, the deal will save Safaricom some capital investment. Last year, the company announced the disbursement of $8 billion to improve its network over the next decade. For Ethio Telecom, the success of this agreement means additional financial resources but also the risk of seeing its market share drop in the face of the strong competition that Safaricom is showing in Kenya.

Isaac K. Kassouwi