ATC Africa Partners MTN Nigeria to Boost Connectivity with Green Energy Sites

ATC Africa, a branch of American Tower Corporation, has formed a strategic partnership with MTN Nigeria, the leading mobile network operator in the country, to enhance wireless connectivity through sustainable practices.

So called green energy is energy that can be produced using a method, and from a source, that causes no harm to the natural environment.

The collaboration, set to commence in the second half of 2024, will leverage ATC Africa’s portfolio of over 8,000 sites across Nigeria, many of which already incorporate green energy solutions.

The agreement focuses on providing new tenancies for MTN Nigeria and includes the development of future sites in accordance with ATC Africa’s specifications for environmentally friendly infrastructure.

This initiative underscores a shared commitment to sustainability by both companies, as highlighted by the CEOs—Marek Busfy of ATC Africa and Karl Toriola of MTN Nigeria.

The partnership aligns with American Tower’s global expansion strategy and its focus on investing in macro-tower opportunities.

With nearly 225,000 communication sites worldwide, American Tower is well-positioned to support the growing demand driven by advanced mobile technologies and bandwidth-heavy applications.

Service providers are increasingly deploying additional equipment to expand network coverage and capacity, particularly to accommodate the surge in global mobile data usage.

American Tower’s international presence has been bolstered by recent acquisitions, including 69 communication sites for $65.7 million across several countries such as the U.S., Canada, France, Poland, and Spain within the nine months ending September 30, 2023.

In 2022 alone, the company acquired and constructed approximately 7,405 communication sites globally. The significant addition of around 31,000 communication sites from Telxius’ European and Latin American tower divisions in 2021 further expanded its portfolio.

Despite facing challenges like customer concentration and high interest rates, American Tower reported a robust financial performance in Q3 2023.

The company saw organic tenant billings growth of 6.3% year-over-year and total tenant billings growth of 7.3%. Moreover, shares of American Tower have recently outperformed industry trends with an increase of 8.6% over the past month compared to the industry’s decline of 1.3%.

This partnership between ATC Africa and MTN Nigeria marks a significant step towards sustainable growth in Africa’s telecommunications infrastructure while catering to the increasing need for improved network services driven by next-generation technology demands.