Philippine telco giant PLDT Inc., sold another batch of cell tower assets that made them over Php9 billion, giving them more budget to spend on network upgrades in 2023.
The new batch of towers was sold to Unity Digital Infrastructure Inc., which is an independent tower operator that’s backed by the Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. and Partners Group.
PLDT announced that its wireless subsidiaries Smart Communications Inc. and Digital Mobile Philippines Inc. signed the Php9.2 billion deal to dispose of 650 towers.
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The said towers are mostly located in Visayas and Mindanao. With this, PLDT expects the internet services in these areas will improve as Unity promised to broaden the reach of the said tower assets.
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Moreover, Smart and Unity came into an agreement using identical terms, which includes the rates and tenor, as the tower deals they entered in April. The transaction states that Smart will lease back the telco towers for up to 10 years via competitive terms as the anchor tenant.
During this, Smart will put up 200 additional towers in the coming years to up their network presence and improve customer experience across the country.
PLDT CEO Alfredo Panlilio said that the towers will be transferred to Unity before 2023 ends.