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Today it was announced that global investment firm KKR is investing in Pinnacle Towers, a company that aims to build the Philippines’ leading independent telecommunications tower platform. Pinnacle, the parent company of Frontier Tower Associates Philippines Inc (FTAP), specializes in custom built telecommunication tower projects …
Today it was announced that global investment firm KKR is investing in Pinnacle Towers, a company that aims to build the Philippines’ leading independent telecommunications tower platform.
Pinnacle, the parent company of Frontier Tower Associates Philippines Inc (FTAP), specializes in custom built telecommunication tower projects.
The coronavirus pandemic has seen mobile broadband use skyrocket in the Philippines, a country that was already experiencing steady growth in demand for connectivity, making the tower’s infrastructure more valuable than ever.
“The telecommunications sector in the Philippines has grown rapidly in recent years amid increasing demand for connectivity,” said David Luboff, partner and director of infrastructure for Asia Pacific at KKR. “This has caused an imbalance of resources and the need to expand the existing infrastructure to allow operators to provide better service and coverage to their customers. Our investment in Pinnacle reiterates our commitment to address this need and support the Philippines’ transition to a digitally connected nation. We look forward to helping the Pinnacle team bring the benefits of a more digitally enabled economy to the Filipino population, especially in growing regions like Visayas and Mindanao. “
The FTAP itself is one of the first independent tower companies in the Philippines to receive a provisional certificate to own, build, manage and operate one or more Passive Telecommunications Tower Infrastructures, after the government began assigning such licenses in September to help boost national connectivity.
Philippine telecom companies have been under pressure to expand rapidly in recent months, and the government has repeatedly asked them to improve services across the country. Recently, the volatile president Rodrigo Duterte rebuked telecommunications companies, threatening to shut them down if they did not change their ways.
Since then, the sector has done everything possible to accelerate its growth. Globe, for example, increased its own tower portfolio by around 900 in September through numerous partnerships. However, there is still a long way to go: the government has said that the country needs around 50,000 new telecommunications towers in the coming years to reach the same level as its Southeast Asian neighbors.
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