Orange Hands 2,000 Towers in African Markets to IHS

France Telecom-Orange has signed a 15-year deal to hand over the management of over 2,000 base stations in two African countries to IHS, a pan-African tower operator.

Under the terms of the agreement, which involves more than 2,000 sites in Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon, the towers will remain the property of the Orange subsidiaries.

Through IHS' tower sharing model, available space on these towers will be marketed to other mobile operators whilst Orange subsidiaries will benefit from access to available slots on towers that IHS currently owns in both countries.

To further expand the network and meet local demand, IHS has committed to building new hybrid solar and generator power sites, thereby cutting diesel consumption at these sites by up to 70 percent.

Solar-only sites are favoured in rural areas with low consumption where delivering diesel is more expensive.

Marc Rennard, executive director in charge of Africa, Middle East and Asia for the Orange Group, said: "Sharing passive infrastructure is a compelling opportunity for Orange to offer a better service to its customers in Africa and the Middle East through improved network coverage and reliability.

It also allows us to drive efficiencies, reduce costs and manage the particular conditions in emerging markets such as the cost of energy and accessibility of sites. This agreement leaves open the possibility for Orange subsidiaries elsewhere in Africa and the Middle East to look into similar partnerships." Rennard said