Safaricom has signed a network partnership with Ethio Telecom, granting it access to the giant network of Ethiopian State monopoly telco, and finally being able to roll out services across Ethiopia.
Under the deal, Ethio Telecom will provide Safaricom Ethiopia with access to cell sites, masts and other active elements such as network roaming. Safaricom will use both the US dollar and Ethiopian local currency the Birr as payment currencies for infrastructure access.
As The East African reports, network sharing is a strategic solution for new entrants into a market already dominated by an incumbent operator or in mature developed markets.
Site and mast sharing and network roaming are the most common forms of infrastructure deals due to their relative technical and commercial simplicity.
Last month, Safaricom also signed a five-year lease agreement with Ethiopia’s state-owned power utility, Ethiopian Electric Power enterprise (EEP), to share dark fiber-optic infrastructure.
The shared infrastructure will be part of Safaricom’s network to provide telecommunications services in forms of voice, data, video, text, messages, and conferencing.
EEP has already built a network of Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) cables and Safaricom will utilise these instead of building new ones.
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