Partners will jointly run training for 200 communities
American Tower unit ATC Africa has agreed to let the Airtel Africa group use its comms sites and product development capacity in Kenya, Niger, Nigeria and Uganda in support of Airtel Africa’s network rollout.
The telco Airtel Africa has a presence in 14 countries in Africa, primarily in East Africa and Central and West Africa, offering mobile voice and data services as well as mobile money services both nationally and internationally. American Tower first came to Africa in 2011 and it now has 23,000 sites across Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda. Its customers include the top mobile network operators (MNOs) in each nation.
All new site development under the agreement will comply with ATC Africa’s new green site specifications to cut reliance on fossil fuels, while advancing American Tower’s progress toward achieving its ‘science-based targets’ (SBTs). The partnership should reduce exposure to fuel price volatility for both groups, said a joint release. Both groups will provide training on comms and IT to underserved communities as part of their respective kiosks and Digital Communities programmes. Their joint aim is to train at least 200 groups in regions of under development in the coming years.
ATC Africa has invested $300 million in energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy installations and energy storage systems to lower its on-site reliance on fossil fuels. The company has also earmarked additional investments to fund the use of future energy saving devices.
“Our commitment to new and renewable sources of energy to power our sites protects the industry, our customers and consumers from ongoing and future volatility in fuel prices,” said Marek Busfy, SVP and CEO of ATC Africa, “Airtel Africa’s environmental goals are aligned with ours and as we expand on the African continent, we remain committed to reducing emissions in tandem. Our Digital Communities programme can meaningfully improve quality of life in our markets through connectivity.”
Airtel Africa CEO Segun Ogunsanya, said Airtel Africa’s corporate citizenship prevailed upon it to extend coverage to increasingly remote areas. “Meeting this obligation is necessary in order to establish a sustainable partnership with a like-minded industry player. We continue to invest in infrastructure and distribution networks across the countries where we operate to support their economies and communities,” said Ogunsanya.