Meetup Africa & Middle East 2016 - towerxchange.com

To discuss your participation, contact Annabelle on +44 7423 512588 or email [email protected]

Meetup Africa & Middle East 2016

19-20 October, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg

The 4th annual retreat for 250 leaders of the African telecom tower community

New MNO and towerco operational team passes available

Diamondsponsors:

Silver Sponsors: Bronze Sponsors:Platinumsponsor:

(Chairman) Daniel Lee Managing DirectorIntrepid Advisory Partners

Zhiyong ZhangChairman & PresidentMiteno

Akhil GuptaChairmanBharti Infratel

Michel FaivreDirecteur Programme Partaged’Infrastructure AMEA, Orange

Nina TriantisManaging Director, Global, Head of Telecoms & MediaStandard Bank

Terry RhodesCEOEaton Towers

Marc GanziPresident, Digital Bridge &Mexico Tower Partners

Arun KapurCo-FounderIrrawaddy Green Towers

James Maclaurinformerly CEOedotco

Areef KassamDirector of InfrastructureGSMA Mobile for Development

Ayman Al AdlDirector - TMTStandard Chartered Bank

Dagan KasavanaCEOPhoenix Tower International

Chuck GreenExecutive ChairmanHelios Towers Africa

Suresh SidhuCEOedotco

Malcolm CollinsChief ExecutiveCTIL

Ted ZhongCEOQ Towers International

Hal HessEVP, International Operations andPresident, EMEA and Latin AmericaAmerican Tower

Nobel TanihahaPresident DirectorPT SOLUSI TUNAS PRATAMA (STP)

Umang DasChief MentorViom Networks

Gilles KuntzCEOTowerCo of Madagascar

Maria ScottiCEOTorrecom

David MeganckFounder and COOAcsys

Tilak Raj DuaDirector GeneralTAIPA

Peter Owen EdmundsCo-founder and ChairmanRussian Towers

Kurt BagwellPresident InternationalSBA Communications

Jim EisensteinChairman & CEOGrupo TorreSur

Bimal DayalCOOIndus Towers

Inder BajajCEOHTN Towers

Riana DonaldsonManager: International Network Operations SupportVodacom

Tunde TitilayoVice ChairmanSWAP International

Jack DessayManaging DirectorMacquarie Capital

Jeffrey EldredgePartnerVinson & Elkins

Enda HardimanManaging PartnerHardiman Telecommunications Ltd.

Adeel BajwaSenior GM of Legal Affairs and Contracts, Warid Telecom

Scott CoatesCEOWireless Infrastructure Group

Carlo RamellaCOO, EI Towersand Chairman, Towertel

With special thanks to the TowerXchange “Inner Circle”About TowerXchange

Founded in 2012, TowerXchange is your independent community for operators, towercos, investors and suppliers interested in EMEA, CALA and Asian towers. We’re a community of practitioners formed to promote and accelerate infrastructure sharing. TowerXchange don’t build, operate or invest in towers; we’re a neutral community host and commentator on telecoms infrastructure.

The TowerXchange Journal is free to qualifying recipients. We also provide webinars and regular meetups. TowerXchange monetises this community through hosting annual Meetups and the sale of advertising, without compromising editorial integrity.

TowerXchange was founded by Kieron Osmotherly, a TMT community host and events organiser with 18 years’ experience, and is governed with the support and advice of the TowerXchange “Inner Circle” – an informal network of advisors

Our informal network of advisers:

© 2016 Site Seven Media Ltd. All rights reserved. Neither the whole nor any substantial part of this publication may be re-produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the prior permission of Site Seven Media Ltd. Short extracts may be quoted if TowerXchange is cited as the source. TowerXchange is a trading name of Site Seven Media Ltd, registered in the UK. Company number 8293930.

| TowerXchange Meetup Africa 2016, 19-20 October 2016, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg | www.towerxchange.com/meetups/meetup-africa2

New directions at the 2016 Meetup

At the first TowerXchange Meetup back in 2013, the telecoms passive infrastructure community had never had a dedicated meeting place. Lost in the noise of trade shows more preoccupied with apps, services and active equipment, towers had taken a back seat - hidden in the vast and disparate disciplines of the telecom world.

An established meeting point for executive level tower professionals

For the first three years, TowerXchange provided an executive-level only forum for MNO tower strategists and towerco CXOs to meet on annual basis. Roundtables held under the Chatham House rule welcomed MNO M&A executives and advisors running the continent’s major tower transactions alongside the management boards of the region’s

rapidly growing independent towercos, investors and a select number of supply chain representatives.

NEW for 2016: doors open to operational and technical teams to join parallel roundtables

Since then expertise in operating towers had stepped up a notch. Extensive experience in the field, the rise of specialist skill sets, technology developments, healthy competition and also notable failures have all spurred on big steps forward in managing telecom infrastructure. Whilst tower transactions remain high on the agenda - operational excellence has taken a driving seat.

In recognition of this, TowerXchange is excited to open up the 2016 Meetup to operational and technical teams managing the day to day running of

their tower portfolios. New roundtables and panels dedicated to best practice, technology evaluations and process improvements will run in parallel to executive level discussions - welcoming a host of new important stakeholders to benefit from the peer-led focussed networking at a TowerXchange Meetup.

Expanded geographical focus: MENA’s towers in the spotlight

As dynamics in MENA start to change, with rumoured tower sales in Saudi Arabia turning into a potential joint venture, Orange’s tower divestment in Egypt being off the cards for now, Algeria’s Djezzy exploring RANsharing as well as a potential tower divestment and new infracos emerging we are excited to welcome new faces to the Meetup

Every TowerXchange expo has sold out


from the region. Dedicated MENA focus sessions throw the region into the spotlight as the Meetup’s geographical focus expands beyond sub-Saharan Africa and into a region on the cusp of a major transformation.

Bigger exhibition and new interactive sessions

As the only event dedicated to telecom towers, the number of companies exhibiting has continued to grow. This year, 49 exhibitors will fill the convention centre, showcasing the latest innovations and service offerings which are driving operational efficiencies in the market. Plus with new technology working groups sharing product trials, success stories and frustrations being led by MNO and towerco procurement and technical teams - we enter new depths in end-user evaluations of the solutions that are in the market today.

With such exciting new features being added to the successful formula of a Meetup, 2016 is set to be the best and the busiest year yet! We are excited to welcome new faces and old friends to Johannesburg once again this October and we look forward to seeing you over the course of the two days!

Warm regards

Laura GravesHead of EMEA

Kieron OsmotherlyFounder & CEO

2015 keynote panellists: Chuck Green, Terry Rhodes and Hal HessKieron Osmotherly, Founder & CEO, TowerXchange

Laura Graves, Head of EMEA, TowerXchange


TowerXchange Meetup Africa and Middle East at a GlanceIndustry breakdown of TowerXchange Meetup Africa 2016 attendees

MNOsTowercosManaged service providers & tower buildersAnalysts, investors, advisors and strategic consultantsPlatforms for site monitoring, intelligence and controlEnergy equipment and ESCOsOther

18%

17%

11%11%

8%

29%

2%

Source: TowerXchange

Attending tower owners and operators include:

< 4 years of welcoming the who’s who in MEA towers

< 280 delegates expected for 2016

< 69 panelists and roundtable hosts

< 40+ interactive roundtable discussion groups

< 6 invite-only onsite technology working groups

< 49 exhibitors showcasing the latest technology innovations

< 13 event sponsors

< 1 networking dinner

4 6280 13

40+69 491


2016 Meetup: What’s new?

NEW passes available for towerco and MNO operational staff

Dedicated working groups, networking events, roundtables and panels for Operations Directors, Project Managers, Procurement and Supply Chain Executives, Energy Experts and Property and Site Acquisition Specialists - NEW operations pass now available - apply today!

NEW focus extending beyond macro towers

RANsharing, microcells, small cells, IBS, DAS, fibre, operator JVs: Spotlight on strategies being used to reduce network TCO

EXPANDED exhibition

50% more exhibition space than last year. Meet the leaders in energy, RMS, site management, access control, static assets, technical advisory, small cells and DAS at the industry’s most focussed solutions showcaseNEW R-ESCO working group

Contract terms, financing, technical solutions, micro-grids and alternative business models: the realities of the opex business model and the key actors making it work

INCREASED investor attendance

Following the successful launch of the TowerXchange Investors Club in London, connect with private equity investors, strategic investors, vendor finance, DFIs, ECAs, local and international debt providers and infrastructure investors with an appetite for tower and energy infrastructure in the sector

ENHANCED MENA focus

As deal flow in SSA slows, towers in MENA are set to change hands: connect with the operators, towercos and advisors at the heart of transactions and develop your supply chain in new countries

NEW technology user working groups

Held in a closed room, towerco and MNO procurement and technical teams share product trials, limitations and recommendations for improvements. Spaces for vendors strictly limited


New to the TowerXchange community? Then let us explain the unique format and focus of a TowerXchange Meetup!

What is a Meetup? At other telecom events, tower infrastructure is typically hidden away as an under-appreciated small part of a broader show. The huge audience of device and VAS influencers at other events dilutes access to the few tower experts and decision makers present. In comparison, TowerXchange has been described as a “networking club for tower geeks” – everyone you meet at TowerXchange is focused on towers.

A small number of panel discussions are used to set the scene - inviting MNO and towerco VIPs to share priorities in optimising their assets and examining transactions, rollouts and densification plans that are creating demand and deal flow for the supply chain.

The real feature of a Meetup are small roundtable breakouts - connecting you directly and and in an intimate format with peers, key decision makers and leading experts. TowerXchange’s renowned roundtable breakouts are led by an expert moderator, but everyone’s opinions and questions are welcomed. Each roundtable focuses on a specific country, financial, operational or technological issue. With the ability to attend four roundtables at each Meetup, participants can tailor their agenda to their exact needs.

What’s more, as the only event dedicated to the telecom tower industry - each Meetup boasts an exhibition of the most important suppliers and service providers supporting the industry and with participation from vendor companies strictly limited, there are at least as many buyers as sellers on site!

If your role encompasses telecoms infrastructure - this is one event you can’t afford to miss!


< Laser beam focus on towers< Intimate working groups< Direct contact with decision makers and experts< Screened ratio of buyers to sellers< Co-located exhibition

Expert panel debates

Intimate roundtable discussions


Fibre, microwave, satellite backhaulMicrocells, small cells &

DASActive equipment

Tier 1 OEMs

Mobile Network Operators

Investors: private equity, DFIs, debt finance, infrastructure funds, institutional investors

Government, regulators, universal service funds

Law firms

Group level strategistsC-suite & network planners at local OpCos

Outsourceto

Strategic consultancyDue diligenceDemand modelingAsset register audits

Independent TowercosSell co-locationsGenerate amendment revenueBuild-to-suitAchieve SLAsEfficiency programmesOptimise supplier contracts

Transfer assets to

Construction servicesTurnkey infrastructure rollout Tower design & manufactureImport, customs & delivery Site acq, leasing & permitting Installation of towers Tower strengtheningDecommissioning

Dynamic assets

Energy equipmentDiesel gensetSolarWindFuel cell

BatteriesRectifiersInvertersLine conditioningPIUs

Air conditioning Lightning protectionControllerVoltage regulatorAlternator

Managed service providers

ESCOs

Static assetsTowers & mastsSheltersBracketsEnclosuresLightingFencing

0&M servicesMaintenanceStaffingSpare partsSecurityRefueling

Energy as a service

Monitoring & managementRMSIntelligence/analysisSite managementJob ticketingAsset lifecycle platform

Access control

Subcontract

Opex modelsVendor financeDistributed generationCommunity power

Subcontract or in-house

Outsourceto

Tower Industry Value Chain

Investment management advisors

TowerXchange Meetups bring together 250+ business leaders representing the entire telecoms infrastructure ecosystem.

TowerXchange engages with MNOs who retain their passive infrastructure, and with 226 independent towercos and network sharing joint ventures which between them have acquired or built over 2,090,000 towers worldwide. TowerXchange also maintains relationships with over 500 investment and advisory firms who facilitate tower transactions.

TowerXchange explores the implications of tower transactions for the supply chain: from tower designers and manufacturers to tower construction and O&M firms. The TowerXchange community engages with every major telecom energy equipment and service provider worldwide, including an emerging class of credible ESCOs. We track over 30 different RMS and ILM solution providers, as well as leaders in access control and H&S solutions for cell sites. And we connect the passive infrastructure ecosystem with innovations in microcells, small cells and DAS as well as fibre, microwave and satellite backhaul.

The TowerXchange community is brought together by the renowned TowerXchange Journal, circulated to 20,00 tower industry leaders worldwide. The tower industry’s leaders gather annually at TowerXchange Meetups – we look forward to meeting you there!

Who you will meet

For more information visit www.towerxchange.com/meetups/meetup-africa

Towerco CXOs, strategists and business development teams< Track tower sales, BTS opportunities and tenders

< Meet with acquisition targets/ buyers

< Build MNO relationships

< 1-to-1 with investors

< Peer evaluation of towerco business models

Investors< Country, towerco and operator profiles< Risk and return expert views< 1-to-1 with investable infrastructure platforms< Deal analysis< New ESCO investment opportunities

ESCOs< Towerco and operator ESCO appetites and experience< Connect with investors< Political/ regulatory think tanks< Peer-led business case strengthening< Technology appraisals

Managed service providers< Biggest gathering of MENA and SSA’s tower owners

< New BTS, upgrade and maintenance tenders

< QoS versus price debate

< Peer-led technology evaluation groups

< Focussed telecom infrastructure expo

Equipment manufacturers and technology companies< Market forecasts for new build/ upgrade

< Operator and towerco site priorities

< Procurement/ supply chain roundtables

< Biggest gathering of MENA and SSA’s tower owners

< Competitor benchmarking

< Dedicated telecom infrastructure expo

Towerco technical and operational teams< Best practice in BTS/ upgrade/ maintenance/ co-location

< Tenant feedback and 1-to-1 meetings

< New energy solutions and models



Operator CTOs, M&A executives, strategists, network VPs and passive infrastructure managers< Passive, active and energy infrastructure sharing models

< Excellence in tower operations, energy supply and co-locations

< Peer review of towerco KPIs, SLAs and relationships

< Maximise tower valuations



Now eligible

Join NEW RESCO

association

NEWtopics for

2016

Join theTX Investors

club

Who should attend?

Roundtable hosts and panelists


60+ panellists and roundtable hosts are scheduled to lead discussions at the 2016 TowerXchange Meetup Africa & Middle East. A full speaker line up will be announced in late August – if you would like to enquire about hosting a roundtable, please contact Laura Graves, Head of TowerXchange MEA at [email protected]

Confirmed roundtable hosts and panellists include:Adedoyin Adeola, VP, Network Infrastructure, Airtel NigeriaMorenikeji Aniye, CEO, Hotspot Network LtdAndrew Arowojolu, Chief Regulatory Officer, ZainNhlamulo Baloyi, Executive, Masts & Towers, TelkomGuri Bath, Director, Global Communications Group, CitiArie Bendayin, VP, Sales Africa-Asia, Mer GroupMartin Black, Head of Procurement & Supply Chain, MillicomNicolas Brianchon-Camtagne, Supply Chain Manager, Helios Towers AfricaBill Bubenicek, Founder, R-ESCO AssociationBrian Burns, Principal, Analysys MasonSudhir Chopra, CTO, SmileJuanita Clark, CEO, FTTH CouncilZaheer Coovadia, Executive Head, Field Force Management & Network Property, VodacomMarco Cordoni, Senior Partner, Analysys MasonEric Crabtree, Chief Investment Officer, IFCMark Crandall, Chairman, Postscriptum VenturesJack Dessay, Managing Director, TMET, MacquarieHoward Earley, Managing Director, Jabil InalaBruce Ebzery, VP, Business Development, RedflowShah Faisal, Manager, Network Sharing, Telenor PakistanNathan Foster, Managing Director, Atlas TowersChuck Green, Executive Chairman, Helios Towers AfricaChris Grundberg, Head of Equity Research, South Africa, UBSKadri Hakim, COO, ieng GroupEnda Hardiman, Managing Partner, Hardiman TelecommunicationsRehan Hassan, CEO, TowershareShankar Iyer, President of International Business, Quippo InternationalDion Jerling, Managing Director, Connect AfricaOscar Juma, Manager, Operations & Maintenance/ NOC, Telkom Kenya

Solange Karwera, Senior Category Manager, Network Site Infrastructure, Vodafone Procurement CompanyHossein Khodayari, CEO, FanasiaGilles Kuntz, CEO, Towerco of MadagascarAnkur Lal, Founder & CEO, InfozechAlex Leigh, Group Director of Sales & Marketing, Helios Towers AfricaDimitris Lioulias, General Manager, Strategy, Saudi Telecom CompanyWabo Majavu, Head of Product Management, SentechIbrahim Misto, General Manager, Network Operations, MTN GhanaFlenck Mnisi, Head, Implementation, SentechJide Odekunle, General Manager/ CEO, Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory AgencySally Overall, Corporate Transition Manager, Econet PowerGulfraz Quyyum, Head of Telecoms, MEA, CitiAlexander Rangelov, CEO, IPS GroupTerry Rhodes, CEO, Eaton TowersAhmed Saeb, Principal Category Manager, Networks SCM Technology, Vodafone Procurement CompanyRob Salbego, Technical Director, Helios Towers AfricaSuresh Samuel, Managing Director, Africa, OPICMoctar Sarr, Associate Director, M&A Capital & Executive Board Member, Al Karama TowersSamuel Tanon, Business Development Manager, MillicomNeil Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Econet PowerVictor Teppah, Deputy Director, R&D, National Communications Authority – GhanaNatznet Tesfay, Africa Research Director, IHS MarkitNina Triantis, Global Head, Telecoms & Media, Standard BankGeert van Eijk, CEO, Helios Towers GhanaEdward van Kuijk, Director Global SCM Sales & Marketing, Vodafone Procurement Company

TowerXchange Meetup Africa & Middle East

Day One | Wednesday 19 October 2016

8:00 Registration and coffee

9:00 TowerXchange’s analysis of the African & Middle Eastern tower industry< Kieron Osmotherly, Founder and CEO, TowerXchange< Laura Graves, Head of EMEA, TowerXchange

10:00 A drive to operational excellence in telecom towersProcess improvements, technology upgrades and corporate strategy enhancing site uptime and cost efficiency< Moderator: Enda Hardiman, Managing Partner, Hardiman Telecommunications< Adeodyin Adeola, VP, Network Infrastructure, Airtel Nigeria< Ibrahim Misto, General Manager, Operations and Maintenance, MTN Ghana< Ahmed Saeb, Principal Category Manager, Services, Vodafone Procurement Company< Alex Leigh, Group Director of Sales & Marketing, Helios Towers Africa

10:40 Insights into operational excellence from the region’s leading managed service providersKadri Hakim, COO, ieng Group< Arie Bendayin, VP, Sales, Africa-Asia, Mer Group

11:00 Networking refreshment break sponsored by Delta Electronics

11:30 MENA spotlight: M&A, operator joint ventures and the opportunities for independent towercosAn in depth look at market dynamics in MENA and how the shape of the region’s telecom tower industry is starting to change< Dimitris Lioulias, General Manager, Strategy, Saudi Telecom Company< Shankar Iyer, President of International Business, Quippo International< Hossein Khodayari, CEO, Fanasia< Rehan Hassan, CEO, Towershare

12.10 Roundtable session I (Ballroom 2 and 3/4)< Working group A (Boardroom 4)< Working group B (Boardroom 5)

13:10 Networking lunch break

14:30 Roundtable session II (Ballroom 2 and 3/4)< Working group C (Boardroom 4)< RESCO Association meeting (Boardroom 5)

15:30 Networking refreshment break

16:00 Long term data collection and interpretation and its impact on tower operations < Chris Begent, Commercial Director, Telemisis

< Ankur Lal, CEO, Infozech< Satish Kulkarni, CEO, Invendis< Asher Avissar, Owner & CEO, AIO Systems< Howard Earley, Managing Director, Jabil Inala

16.20 Smarter access controlDiscussion with Acsys and Abloy

16:30 Consolidation of Africa’s towers and towercosTower transactions, company acquisitions, business model diversification and exit strategies in sub-Saharan African< Moderator: Marco Cordoni, Senior Partner, Analysys Mason< Terry Rhodes, CEO, Eaton Towers< Chuck Green, Executive Chairman, Helios Towers Africa< Moctar Sarr, Associate Director, M&A Capital and Executive Board Member, Al Karama Towers< Gulfraz Quyyum, Head of Telecoms, MEA, Citi

17:10 Presentation of the inaugural TowerXchange Industry Awards

17:20 Drinks reception hosted by diamond sponsor – International Power SupplyOpening remarks: Mark Crandall, Chairman, Postscriptum Ventures

19:30 TowerXchange networking dinner at the Bull Run (Separately bookable)

Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg | 19-20 October 2016


TowerXchange Meetup Africa & Middle East

Day Two, Thursday 20 October

8:30 Coffee and registration

09:00 Deeper infrastructure sharing and alternative business modelsExamination of MNO strategies and their impact on network TCO< Moderator: Brian Burns, Principal, Analysys Mason< Zaheer Coovadia, Executive Head, Field Force Management & Network Property, Vodacom< Shah Faisal, Manager, Network Sharing, Telenor Pakistan< Natsy Missamou, Sharing New Business Program Director, Orange

09:45 Finance and investment < Guri Bath, Director, Global Communications Group, Citi< Jack Dessay, Managing Director, TMET, Macquarie < Eric Crabtree, Chief Investment Officer, IFC< Suresh Samuel, Managing Director, Africa, OPIC


11:00 Energy storage optimisation< Vincent Baudelet, Business Director, MEA, Enersys

< Tsuyoshi Habuchi, Regional Manager, EMEA, , GS Yuasa< Andrew Kempster, Sales Director, Redflow< Param Singh, COO, 4energy

11:15 Roundtable session III (Ballroom 2 and 3/4)< Working Group D (Boardroom 1/2)

12:30 Networking lunch

13:30 Roundtable session IV (Ballroom 2 and 3/4)


15:00 Energy supply chain panel I< Discussion with Emerson Network Power, Eltek, Huawei and Sedemac

15:20 Energy supply chain panel IIDiscussion with IPS, Ausonia and Heliocentris

15:40 Solving the energy equation: new business models and solutions< Alex Leigh, Group Director of Sales & Marketing, Helios Towers Africa< Solange Karwera, Senior Category Manager, Network Site Infrastructure, Vodafone Procurement Company< Gilles Kuntz, CEO, Towerco of Madagascar

16:20 Closing remarks and close of event

Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg | 19-20 October 2016


2016 roundtable discussion groups

< De-risking the towerco business model: Neil Taylor, COO, Econet Power< Making the RESCO model work: Structure, financing, MSA, contracts: Bill Bubenicek, President & CEO, CCE & Founder, RESCO Association< Optimising urban networks: macrocells, microcells, DAS and IBS in Africa: Brian Burns, Principal, Analysys Mason< Fibre rollout, fibre sharing and opportunities in fibre for independent infracos: Juanita Clark, CEO, FTTH Council Africa< RANsharing: challenges, threats and opportunities for MNOs and towercos: Shah Faisal, Manager, Network Sharing, Telenor Pakistan< Middle market towercos’ niche, growth and exit strategies< Business contingency planning in the tower industry: Natznet Tesfay, Africa Research Director, IHS Markit< Supporting effective regulatory policy formation in independent towerco markets: Chuck Green, Executive Chairman, Helios Towers Africa< An independent tower market for tier 2 MNOs: Moctar Sarr, Associate Director, M&A Capital and Executive Board Member, Al Karama Towers< How to obtain a premium valuation for your towers: Guri Bath, Director, Global Communications Group, Citi< Options for expansion capital and refinancing< Important contractual terms when selling co-locations: Natalie Lamb, Senior Associate, Vinson & Elkins< Cost effectively tackling rural connectivity: Dion Djerling, Managing Director, Connect Africa < Why hasn’t renewable energy taken off and what is required to make it happen?: Stuart Kelly, VP, Market Development, Bladon Jets

Executive & strategic roundtables

The hallmark of a TowerXchange Meetup, over 40 interactive and carefully curated discussion groups of 15-20 people, each led by an expert moderator. Participants have the opportunity to partake in four groups, enabling you to tailor discussions to your business needs and connect with peers, clients and potential partners in a unique structured networking format.


< Best practice in the corporate and operational governance of service providers: Adedoyin Adeola, VP, Network Infrastructure, Airtel Nigeria< Standardisation in structural engineering to reduce capex: Ahmed Saeb, Principal Category Manager, Networks SCM Technology, Vodafone Procurement Company< Effectively designing and implementing SLAs: Ibrahim Misto, GM Network Infrastructure, MTN Ghana< Intelligent use of data for more proactive network management: Ankur Lai, Founder & CEO, Infozech< The effective transition and operation integration of towers post sale: Sally Overall, Corporate Transition Manager, Econet Power< Excellence in HSE: Shankar Iyer, President of International Business, Quippo International< Theft, security and organised crime: keeping one step ahead< Improving your asset register and accelerating the co-location process< Overcoming challenges and minimising operational costs when integrating a new tower portfolio post acquisition: Raphael Mohamed< How is the industry improving already high performing towers?< Technologies and solutions for maximum OPEX reduction and the fastest ROI: Alexander Rangelov, CEO, IPS< Optimising maintenance capex: Geert van Eijk, CEO, Helios Towers Ghana< Expediting land acquisition, permitting and landlord negotiations for new site rollout: Yonela Dlulane, National Network Property, Vodacom

Operational roundtables

2016 roundtable discussion groups

< Licensing and permitting in Nigeria and experiences in other

markets:

Jide Odekunle, General Manager & CEO, Lagos State Infrastructure

Maintenance & Regulatory Agency

< Overcoming logistic challenges: Spotlight on the DRC and other

challenging markets:

Nicolas Brianchon - Camtagne, Supply Chain Manager, Helios

Towers Africa

< South Africa: Towerco consolidation, MNO co-locations,

network rollout, small cells and fibre

< Market growth, priorities and challenges in East Africa:

Terry Rhodes, CEO, Eaton Towers

< The shape of the new Nigerian tower market:

Morenikeji Aniye, CEO, Hotspot Network Ltd

< Regulatory changes and emerging players in Southern Africa:

Enda Hardiman, Managing Partner, Hardiman

Telecommunications

< Infrastructure sharing in North Africa

< The Middle East: attitudes and motivations towards

infrastructure sharing

Senior representative, Towershare

< West Africa spotlight

Country & region focus

The hallmark of a TowerXchange Meetup, over 40 interactive and carefully curated discussion groups of 15-20 people, each led by an expert moderator. Participants have the opportunity to partake in four groups, enabling you to tailor discussions to your business needs and connect with peers, clients and potential partners in a unique structured networking format.


Working Groups, 1 to 1 meetings, networking dinner and RESCO Association

Working group

Working group A: Batteries

Working group B: Civil works and O&M

Working group C: Platforms for site intelligence, management & optimisation

Working group D: Diesel generators, power cubes and hybrid systems

Time

Wednesday12:10 - 13:10



Thursday11:15 - 12:30

Location

Boardroom 4

Boardroom 5

Boardroom 4

Boardroom 1/2

Working groups A new initiative for 2016, working groups differ from traditional roundtable sessions at a TowerXchange Meetup. Designed to enable peer-led evaluation of technologies and services by tower owners themselves, seats at the central table are strictly reserved for executives from MNOs and towercos or invited event sponsors and exhibitors.

Our priority for these sessions is to elicit the requirements and experiences of MNOs and towercos - to learn from their challenges and successes. If you are an MNO or towerco in attendance we invite you to take part in these highly constructive debates as we map out product limitations, requirements and trials and act as a focussed industry task force. Similarly, if you are in the process of evaluating different suppliers prior to making a procurement decision, the working groups will equip you with vital information and key questions to ask when assessing different vendors.

After information gathering from the MNOs and towercos, we invite selected vendors to enter the discussion, succinctly sharing their perspectives and tailored solutions/ product developments to address some of the issues raised.

All vendors have been notified prior to the event as to their eligibility to join this session. If you have not been notified, you will be unable to actively participate in the discussion but we invite you to take a seat around the edge of the room to listen to the session.

Due to the popularity of these sessions, we request that only one person per company join each working group.

Scheduling one-to-one meetingsYou can find a list of attending companies (bar registrations that came

in during the past three weeks), later in this guide. To directly contact

an attendee, we advise you to use our online networking planner

where you can search for individuals and message them directly. The

networking platform will remain live for two weeks after the event.

Networking dinnerThe networking dinner will be held at the Bull Run Restaurant (20

Maude Street), a short walk from the Sandton Convention Centre.

Those who have pre-registered will have received a wristband during

with their name badge. Please bring this wristband with you to obtain

entrance to the dinner which will commence at 7.30pm.

Please note that no walk-ins will be allowed. At the time of going to

press the dinner was almost at full capacity (100 people). To ask about

availability, please enquire at the registration desk. Please note, there

will be a charge of £50 plus VAT for the dinner.

RESCO associationIn order to facilitate the adoption of renewables in place of diesel

and to establish a common set of principles, practices, governance,

technology, and an accredited value chain to assure optimal results

for all stakeholders, the RESCO Association is being formed. The newly

forming association will be holding their first board member meeting at

this year’s Meetup and invite stakeholders to join.

Time

Location

Wednesday: 14:30 - 15:30

Boardroom 5


How can I join?


Early booking is strongly recommended

TowerXchange Meetup DinnerWednesday 19 October, 7.30PMBull Run, 20 Maude Street, Sandton3 course meal and drinksCost: £50

Continue the day’s networking in a relaxed and informal setting - the TowerXchange evening dinner is always a welcome highlight of the event and sells out ahead of time.

In 2016, we have reserved space for 100 people at the Bull Run restaurant, just a short walk from the Sandton Convention Centre. Join VIPs and delegates for drinks and a three course meal and be sure not to miss out on an important networking opportunity

A nominal fee of £50 is required to cover food and beverages for the evening. Please select the dinner option when registering online.

Prior registration is essential: Please note that the dinner will sell out and we are unable to take registrations on the day.

All previous three Meetups have SOLD OUT and with the scope of eligible attendees expanding for 2016, and pre-registrations being taken prior to the official event launch this year’s Meetup is set to sell out earlier than ever.

www.towerxchange.com/meetup/meetup-africa/apply-to-attend

[email protected]

+44 (0) 7423 512588

Group bookings now available for towercosFor 2016, operational and technical managers are invited to join our regular C-level attendance and participate in dedicated roundtables and activities. Individual passes are £1,000 - to register a team of four or more please contact Annabelle Mayhew on [email protected]

Complimentary passes for MNOsWhether responsible for M&A, strategy, network operations, procurement and supply chain, energy, site acquisition or operations - a limited number of complimentary passes exist for mobile network operators. Register online or contact Annabelle Mayhew for more information

Vendor participation limitedIn order to maintain the ratio of buyers to sellers, vendors (excluding MSPs) are limited to two full access and two expo only access passes and attending representatives must be director level or higher.

Register today to guarantee your involvement

Industry Awards 2016For over four years we have been tracking and covering excellence in telecom towers - from landmark tower transactions and the formation and growth of new tower companies to improving the uptime on sites through the adoption of improved processes and technologies.

To recognise such achievements, we are pleased to announce our inaugural industry awards which will be presented at this year’s TowerXchange Meetup Africa & Middle East on 19 October at the Sandton Convention Centre.

MNO passive infrastructure team of the year< Telenor Pakistan< Indosat Ooredoo< Vodacom South Africa in conjunction with Vodafone Procurement Company

Tower transaction of the year< IHS – MTN Nigeria< IHS – HTN Towers< IHS – Hotspot Network Ltd< Helios Towers Africa – Airtel (DRC)< OPIC investment into Apollo Towers Myanmar

Most innovative towerco of the year< Fanasia< IHS< FPS Towers< Towershare

BTS towerco of the year

< Atlas Towers

Site upgrade project of the year

< Indosat Ooredoo Jaguar Project in Java

Operational efficiency solution of the year

(non-energy)

< Towershare’s Asset Management Platform

< Vodacom Drone Site Survey Project

< Helios Tower Tanzania’s Operational

Excellence programme

< Netis Ghana

< Infozech’s Remote Operating Centre

< Siterra, an Accruent Product

< Sagemcom

< Acsys

< Tarantula

Green initiative of the year

< Huawei’s combined solar energy, high

efficiency converter and unique cooling

system

< IPS’s EXERON system to reduce diesel usage

< Ascot and IHS displacement of 2400 diesel

generators with solar-hybrid systems

< Apollo Solar, Camusat and Orange’s 100%

solar solution

< Towerco of Madagascar, WIND-IT, Ergos

Energy, DFI Telecom combine solar PV

and wind

< Bharti Infratel’s Zero Emission Network

< Emerson Network Power’s solar hybrid

solution in East Africa

Excellence in Procurement

< Vodafone Procurement Company

Tower Xchange

Shortlisted entries


Held annually in Q4, the TowerXchange Meetup Africa & Middle East is where the region’s towercos and operators assess products and services as they set their budgets for the following year.

Companies looking to access these budgets are invited to participate in a range of sponsorship and exhibition opportunities both on site and in the run up to the event.

Key products and services buyers are looking to assess include:

Raise your company profile during MNO and towerco core budget setting time


Sponsorship and exhibition opportunities

< Access control

< Air conditioning

< Batteries

< Diesel Gensets

< ESCOs

< Fibre, microwave and satellite backhaul

< Fuel cells

< Inverters, rectifiers, alternators

< Legal services

< Microcells, small cells and DAS

< Operations & Maintenance

< Powercubes

< Remote monitoring systems

< Security and CCTV

< Site management systems

< Solar generation

< Static assets: shelters, brackets, enclosures, fencing

< Tower design and manufacture

< Tower strengthening

< Wind power

Tailor your package to meet your specific goals


1. Showcase your company at the co-located exhibitionThe ONLY exhibition dedicated to telecoms infrastructure, showcase your offerings at the most focussed gathering of key clients

2. Secure a limited vendor spot in our NEW technology working groupsHeld in a dedicated zone adjacent to the exhibition, join our board of operator and towerco technical and supply chain experts as they assess products on the market and discuss procurement priorities for 2017: seats only available to event sponsors and exhibitors

3. Book a meeting room and use the one-to-one meeting schedulerSecure meetings with key clients in advance to maximise your time on site and hold confidential discussions in a dedicated private meeting space

4. Host a roundtable group and demonstrate your leadership in the fieldThe hallmark of a Meetup are our intimate roundtable discussion groups - host a table with your client base and shape the discussion

5. Arrange an interview in the TowerXchange journal and special edition distributed on siteA trusted resource for tower owners, distributed to a network of 20,000 executives globally, ensure your company gains column inches promoting your expertise and reputation in the sector

6. Benefit from a range of branding opportunities to raise your corporate profile Associate your brand with the biggest names in the industry, display your logo on event signage, host a networking event, play a promotional video

Contact Annabelle Mayhew, Chief Commercial Officer for more information

M: +44 7423 512588

E: [email protected]

“Great to have so much sectoral expertise

concentrated in one place. You can

achieve so much in a short space of time” -

Sebastien Martin, COO, Africa, Camusat

“If you want to circulate with industry

contacts in the tower industry, this is a

great forum, with focused and directed

effort to network. Superb for my first

experience and strongly recommended”-

Jean Farhat, CEO, Netis

“As always, the TowerXchange team

delivered a unique, valuable and high level

networking and knowledge sharing event.

There are few events that offer the same

one on one C level interaction” - Chris

Begent, Commercial Director, Telemisis

“The event in the telecom tower business

for the African continent” - Ammer

Masood, Network Supply Chain,

Vodafone

The African and Middle Eastern tower industry’s only dedicated exhibition50+ of the region’s leading suppliers and service providers showcase their expertise

Networking drinks reception

5.00 - 7.00PM Wednesday 19 OctoberUnwind after a busy day of panels, roundtables and meetings and join us for drinks hosted by our 2016 diamond sponsors, IPS - International Power Supply whilst taking in more of this year’s exhibition

Sponsor a breakfast, lunch or refreshment break and raise your company profile

Arrange an interview in the special edition journal, distributed to all delegates on site

Secure a private meeting room in which to host meetings pre-arranged with the TowerXchange online networking tool

Schedule an interview on site

Host a roundtable during the main Meetup

Participate in the technology procurement roundtables - reserved for procurement VIPs and sponsors

< 1:1 ratio of buyers to sellers

Hosted bydiamondsponsors:

Access to TowerXchange Meetup

Daytime Catering

TowerXchange Roundtable interactions

Video on TowerXchange TV

10ft x 10ft Turnkey booth

One time dedicated post event emailshot to all TowerXchange attendees

Logo on backdrop, signage, fliers & invites for TowerXchange Meetup

Private meeting room

Your choice of bronze sponsorship benefit

Your choice of silver sponsorship quality benefit

Your choice of gold sponsorship premium benefit

Your choice of platinum business-class benefit

Your choice of diamond first-class benefit

Bronze Sponsorship Stationary sponsor (provided by client)Gift drop (provided by client)Drinks coaster sponsor (provided by client)Business card wallet (provided by client)

Silver Sponsorship USB sponsor (provided by client) Totes Bags (provided by client)Lanyards (provided by client)Sponsorship of coffee break day two pmSponsorship of coffee break day two amSponsorship of coffee break day one am Sponsorship of coffee break day one pm

Gold SponsorshipSponsorship of breakfast (Open) day oneSponsorship of breakfast (Open) day twoSponsorship of Lunch Day oneSponsorship of Lunch Day two

Platinum Sponsor Host of private Lunch Day oneHost of private Lunch Day twoSponsorship of icebreaker drinksReception desk sponsorChampagne Roundtable session sponsor

Diamond SponsorSponsorship of Drinks Reception / Opening reception

Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum Sponsorship Benefit Options

Delegate pass Exhibitor Bronze Sponsor

Silver Sponsor

Gold Sponsor

Platinum Sponsor

Diamond Sponsor

1 pass 1 pass 1 pass 2 passes 3 passes 4 passes 5 passes

Benefits

Participation in TowerXchange Panel sessions to short list for RFPs - limited availability, contact [email protected] for details

Tower Xchange19-20 October, Sandton Convention Centre, JohannesburgMeetup Africa 2016

By invitation only: restricted to Director, VP and C-level attendees. Maximum of 2 delegate passes per company except for MNOs, towercos and sponsors

either either either

either

orororor

* Discounted rate available to Towercos, Government and Regulator representatives, 100% discount for qualifying Director - C-level execs from Operators


Towerco

MNO

Managed service provider

Energy equipment

RMS, ILM and access control

ESCO

Investor

Advisory firm

Tower design & manufacture

Others

21%

17%

15%14%

10%

5%

6%

6%5%

2%

Industry breakdown of Meetup Africa 2015

IPSIPS – International Power Supply is 26 years experienced high-tech company specialized in the R&D and manufacturing of power electronics and energy conversion technologies.

IPS offers high-tech products and integrated solutions for the area of Renewable Energy and Off-Grid Electricity (mini-grids, off-grid power systems, OPEX and fuel safe optimization), Telecommunications, Utilities, Defense. IPS global headquarters is located in Sofia, Bulgaria where it began in 1989. Company subsidiaries are located in US, Australia, Indonesia, Nigeria, UAE. IPS’s products are operated currently in 51 countries and used by clients such as NATO, large telecom groups, mini grid operators, utilities, the armed forces of various countries, international system integrators and many others.

IPS has developed an optimal system for both grid connected and off-grid use in the form of our EXERON range. The EXERON technology can offer power independence for areas with limited or no grid power and can provide cost savings for grid connected objects through on-demand use for any kind of power equipment. The Exeron features stringent modular design, easy-to-maintain hot plug technology, advanced battery management as well as the increased availability thanks to excellent system redundancy.

In Germany, 2014, EXERON won the Intersolar ees Award (ees: electrical energy storage).

www.exeron-power.com www.ips-group.net.

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Our sponsors

Huawei

Huawei is a leading global ICT solutions provider. Through our dedication to customer-centric innovation and strong partnerships, we have established end-to-end capabilities and strengths across the carrier networks, enterprise, consumer, and cloud computing fields. We are committed to creating maximum value for telecom carriers, enterprises and consumers by providing competitive ICT solutions and services. Our products and solutions have been deployed in over 170 countries and regions, serving more than one third of the world’s population.

Huawei’s vision is to enrich life through communication. By leveraging our experience and expertise in the ICT sector, we help bridge the digital divide by providing opportunities to enjoy broadband services, regardless of geographic location. Contributing to the sustainable development of society, the economy, and the environment, Huawei creates green solutions that enable customers to reduce power

consumption, carbon emissions, and resource costs.

www.huawei.com


Our sponsors

Eltek

Eltek are committed to meeting the power needs of our customers. For more than four decades Eltek has provided power solutions for telecommunication networks globally. Our systems cover the entire range of power requirements; from small to very large, meeting all the power needs of the telecom industry, in both fixed and mobile networks. Our broad range of rectifiers and converters comply with all international standards and requirements. Eltek’s high efficiency solutions and new, innovative designs help the industry achieve the objectives of combating climate change whilst remaining competitive, by reducing energy spend and environmental impact.

Eltek have offices in more than 40 countries and business in more than 100. Our presence and expertise is close to each individual market we serve. This enables us to truly understand the needs of each market and provide solutions and services specifically adapted to local requirements.

Telecom Hybrid Solutions

Eltek’s hybrid solutions are based on the HE technology for optimal utilization of all energy resources. By combining solar or wind energy input with smart

generator control and optimally dimensioned batteries, the scene is set for dramatic OPEX reductions and a positive environmental impact.

www.eltek.com/

Acsys Technologies Ltd

Acsys is the global leader in cell site access control solutions. Our patented, military-grade technology is utilised by leading tower companies, telecom operators, and vendors throughout the globe to better manage their O&M and eliminate unauthorised access.

Acsys designs simple, yet powerful solutions, with a focus on power-independent locking systems and workforce management software and applications. These technologies are combined to reduce theft, better manage vendors, create fairer and stronger SLAs, and simplify operational workflows. Our solutions equate to increased uptime.

European-rooted with the benefits of China-based production and a highly-specialised and diverse team from around the world, Acsys pushes the boundaries of how technology can be embraced within complex industrial environments for better security and staffmanagement. With a customer-centric, customised approach Acsys follows the belief to think ‘outside the box’ to deliver easy-to-deploy, highly durable and cost

Silver sponsor: effective solutions for the most challenging scenarios.

www.acsys.com

Invendis Technologies

Founded in 2007, Invendis Technologies India Private Ltd. is an M2M/IOT company based out of Bangalore. Invendis designs and delivers IOT technology-enabled business solutions for Telcos & Towercos to provide seamless services to their clients.

Our core products and services include front end equipment, sensors, transducers, business applications, systems integration, product engineering, installation, maintenance and 24X7 Global Monitoring & IT infrastructure services. Invendis also specialises in deploying complete range of Remote Monitoring & Energy Optimization services for the data sensitive infrastructures.

Invendis pioneered customizable IOT enabled Front End Monitoring & Controlling equipment, which empowered Towercos with access to real-time Monitoring & Energy optimization solutions in shortest possible time.In a span of 8 years, Invendis has set a global footprint with over 1 hundred thousand remote assets across Asia, Middle-East, Africa & Europe.

www.invendis.com

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Ausonia

AUSONIA is leader in customized power solutions,

specifically designed to meet MNOs and TowerCos power

requirements and performance needs.

Among its products portfolio - entirely made in Italy -

AUSONIA offers High Efficiency DC Gensets and Hybrid

Power Systems fully integrated with Solar & Wind, for off-

grid and poor-grid indoor/outdoor sites.

Extended maintenance intervals, very low fuel consumption

levels and a complete web-based Remote Monitoring System

allow Ausonia Customers to significant cut their OPEX and

reduce their TCO.

The use of Ausonia Power Systems in OPEX model is certified

by 13 years of operation in Europe and already replicated in

Africa and LATAM.

www.ausonia.net

IPT PowerTech

IPT PowerTech Group delivers specialized solutions to the power, industrial and telecom sectors in Africa, Middle East and Asia. Combining power expertise with telecom infrastructure specialization, we are market leaders in providing energy solutions, telecom services, and managed maintenance services, and we are the most qualified to provide both models of Guaranteed Savings and ESCO. Our self-manufactured enclosures allow us to create customized

Our sponsors

Bladon Jets

Bladon Jet’s breakthrough technologies enable the production of micro gas turbine engines which are more efficient, less polluting and lower cost than traditional reciprocating power units. Introducing the world’s first 12kW microturbine genset designed specifically for the telecom tower power market delivering reduced fuel and maintenance costs, durability, and ultra-quiet operation for use in urban environments. Bladon’s revolutionary microturbine, heat exchanger and air bearing technologies harness the power of a miniature jet engine to provide a compact and ultra-reliable alternative to the traditional diesel generator. Use Bladon’s Micro Turbine Genset as a primary power source, hybrid mode with batteries or renewable energy sources, or as backup power to the grid.

www.bladonjets.com

Delta Electronics

The Delta Group, founded by Mr. Bruce Cheng in 1971, is the global leader in power and thermal management solutions. Our mission statement, “To provide innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow,” focuses our role in addressing key environmental issues such as global climate change. With our concern for the environment, we continue

to develop innovative energy efficient products and solutions. One business unit is Telecom power systems. It secure telecommunication services in case of grid power interruptions and fluctuations. Delta’s power systems are designed for wireless broadband access and fixed-line applications, as well as for Internet backbone and data centres.

www.deltapowersolutions.com

nexsysone

Nexsysone is your one-stop solution that harnesses the

power of its advance software modules through a single

unified interface to address the needs of operators and

tower owners in planning, efficiently maintaining and

effectively sharing their infrastructure, thereby saving huge

operational costs and enhancing ROI on their CAPEX.

Nexsysone’s all-encompassing software platform is used

by some of the largest technology upgrade roll-outs in the

USA, as well as some of the largest greenfield deployments

in Asia such as in Myanmar where operators and tower

companies use nexsysone to enable the sharing of network

infrastructure.

The nexsysone’s advance software module ‘towerone’

is specifically tailored to make easy the tower sharing

process that tackles the typical technical, contractual and

commercial complications that ultimately stop the common

objective of reducing operational costs via site sharing.

www.nexsysone.com

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energy efficient/hybrid and renewable energy solutions, and to implement new concepts in site renovation.

With offices in 11 countries, our solutions are delivered to more than 80 operators, tower companies and vendors in more than 50 countries.

www.iptpowertech.com

4energy

4energy is a global provider of COOLflow low energy cooling

products and SMARTset intelligent energy management

solutions for technical estates.

The COOLflow range of free-cooling products with

maintenance free air filtration, save up to 90% cooling

energy savings in telecommunication networks and

equipment rooms.

With the open, low cost, easy to operate SMARTset software,

you can connect to any equipment or sensor, undertake

analytics and then, if required, control equipment remotely.

SMARTset is suitable for any size of ICT infrastructure from

the largest data centre to the smallest communications

room.

4energy’s simple innovative solutions are deployed at some

of the world’s largest telecommunication, transport and

power utilities

www.4energy.co.uk

countries, including across Africa and the Middle East. Our telecommunications advice includes acquisitions and disposals, debt and equity financing, infrastructure development, operational arrangements, regulatory matters and dispute resolution.

We also have significant experience in the negotiation and drafting of sale and purchase, debt and equity financing, master lease, build-to-suit, site management and service level arrangements; and have played a prominent role in

complex fibre transactions.

www.velaw.com

MANTRAC GROUP

Mantrac the leading power solutions provider and your caterpillar authorized dealer in Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Kenya, Liberia, Uganda, Egypt, Iraq and in

the Volga and Urals region of Russia.

After years of experience in supplying telecom applications for telecom providers, we offer an integrated Hybrid solutions for the telecom applications such as Solar

Photovoltaic, Diesel, and Battery.

Rely on Mantrac Support with our prompt professional after sales service 24/7 with 600+ Field service engineer, 700+ service vehicles, 500+ workshops technicians and spare parts availability exceeds 95% Specialized workshop: Engine overall, Hose fabrication, Undercarriage repairs, Oil

Sampling analysis.

www.mantracgroup.com

Our sponsors

Galooli Telecom

Galooli Telecom provides innovative Bottom Line Solutions™ (BLS) – the market leading practical business intelligence solution. Galooli’s uniqueness is to convert big data into reliable and useful tools to achieve real OPEX savings. From full-site remote monitoring and management to workforce and fleet management, our customizable solutions cover all operational aspects for Towercos and operators.

Instead of the reaction to past events and alerts available on any standard monitoring systems, Galooli promotes the use of prevention.

Galooli is actively operating in over 30 territories with in-country services and support as an integral part of the

offering.

www.galooli.com

Vinson & Elkins RLLP

Vinson & Elkins is one of the oldest and largest international law firms, with approximately 700 lawyers located in 16 offices around the world.

Our global telecommunications team has extensive experience advising on international telecoms and telecoms infrastructure transactions. We have significant industry experience, advising on telecoms transactions in numerous

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eManager, an all-in-one toolbox for site power infrastructure

management including remote monitoring, power optimisation,

KPI reporting and site logistics, is an integral part of eSite.

www.flexenclosure.com

Jabil Inala

Jabil Inala is an experienced and trusted systems integrator and engineering company providing turnkey distributed energy solutions across Africa. We design, source, commission and support best-of-breed energy solutions which optimally meet customer’s needs and which surpass expectations.

Our deployments provide an open path to expansion whilst protecting existing investments. Jabil Inala’s installed base is one of the largest distributed energy monitoring systems in Africa.Our turnkey distributed energy solutions encompass:< Generation < Storage < Efficiency< Monitoring < Analytics.

www.inala.com

Enatel Energy

Enatel Energy delivers an expansive portfolio of configurable systems designed to meet every telecommunication network power requirement. Solutions offer flexibility and scalability, by way of hot pluggable combinations of modular Rectifiers, Inverters, Converters, Solar/Wind Chargers and encompass advanced energy management. Enatel’s SYNERGi hybrid solutions include unique patented generator control capabilities allowing dynamic optimisation to accommodate off-grid site variables so ensure the highest levels of network

Ascot Industrial

HYBRID GENERATORS DESIGNED FOR TELECOM or TOWER OPERATORS that want to enter into a multi-tenancy agreement – CAPEX & OPEX PACKAGE from 5 to 40 KVA load. More than 30 years of experience in the power sector and 34000 installations in the Telecom Market, make Ascot Industrial leader in Africa, Middle East and Asia for tailor made solution to meet customer needs. A real modular, flexible, scalable and plug & play solution is designed by engineers to guarantee cost-effectiveness too.Portfolio of products< High Efficiency Diesel AC Generators from 5 to KVA< Variable Speed and Scalable DC Generators from 5 to 60 KW

< Full Hybrid Solution (DGS+BATTERY+ PV PLUG & PLAY)

www.ascotinternational.com/hybrid-generators/

Cambridge Clean Energy (CCE)

Cambridge Clean Energy (CCE) is a leading distributed clean energy company, specialised in innovative energy efficient products and services for African mobile networks. Our solutions reduce the overall power consumption at tower sites by up to 95% and provide customers with savings in excess of 60% on operating expenses associated with maintaining passive networks. Bundling our solutions with a comprehensive set of services and remote monitoring and management enables CCE to offer first of its kind Energy Management Solution as a Service (EMSaaS™). Through EMSaaS™ we offer guaranteed availability and a 15-20% reduction in operating costs for 10 years on a fixed cost model.

www.cambridgecleanenergy.com

Our exhibitors

Telemisis

Telemisis SitePro® enables operators of telecommunications sites to take control of operating expense and improve reliability, by providing improved visibility into the current and future performance and status of their estate of assets. Our team of industry veterans have over 100 years experience designing and globally deploying full site management solutions; including power optimisation, fuel management, electricity metering, environmental management and machine/equipment control in harsh and demanding locations.

Telemisis design and manufacture SiteNode®; the industry’s smallest, most flexible and cost-effective remote telemetry node. SiteNode units provide interfacing and data collection capabilities from a wide range of standard devices and sensors that may already be deployed or will be added during a

deployment.

www.telemisis.com/products

Flexenclosure

Flexenclosure is a designer and manufacturer of intelligent

power management systems and prefabricated data centre

buildings for the ICT industry. The company provides systems

that are fully integrated, modular, factory tested for reliability,

adaptable to local conditions and quick to install.

eSite is a hybrid power system for off-grid and bad-grid cell

sites that delivers 24/7 network uptime and diesel-related cost

savings of up to 90%. eSite is an integrated single cabinet

system for maximum reliability and speed of installation.

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uptime, ease of deployment and OPEX savings. Renewable energy inputs can be integrated simply and blended intelligently. Enatel Energy offers renowned support, reliability, and system efficiencies. Solutions are New Zealand made to guarantee design, manufacture and process integrity.

www.enatelenergy.com

Emerson Network Power

Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson, maximizes reliability, deployment speed and operational efficiency for communications networks and data centers. A trusted industry leader in smart infrastructure technologies, Emerson Network Power provides innovative, rapidly deployable solutions that deliver efficiency and uncompromised reliability regardless of network demands. Emerson Network Power offers expertise in AC & DC Power, renewable energy, precision cooling systems, infrastructure management, integrated racks and enclosures, power switching and controls. Our solutions are supported globally by local Emerson Network Power service technicians. Learn more about Emerson Network Power products and services at:

www.emersonnetworkpower.eu

Infozech

Infozech is a leading provider of technology-led and data analytical solutions to Telecom – Infrastructure providers, Operators and Communication service providers. Infozech has been delivering cost optimization and revenue management solutions for past 17 years to 80 customers across 25 countries. Infozech’s innovative offering iTower (Infozech Tower Product Suite) provides an end to end solution for managing and reducing operational costs through tracking real time tower operations, meaningful analytics and helping take

lithium ion battery module that has outstanding cyclic life and charge acceptance that can reduce the runtime of generators and the total cost of ownership of telecom base stations. With 37 affiliates in 17 countries, GS Yuasa has a worldwide presence operating under the GS Yuasa, GS, and Yuasa brands.

www.gs-yuasa.com/jp/index.asp

Heliocentris

Heliocentris engineers and operates integrated power systems and hybrid power solutions for mobile and professional radio networks. Its fuel cell based backup systems provide carefree emergency power to grid-connected stations. The hybrid power solutions are designed around its leading Energy Management System and Remote Management Software, comprising various technologies reaching from conventional batteries and gensets to its proprietary self-refuelling fuel cells.

Headquartered in Germany, with operations in Middle East, Africa and South East Asia, the company offers turnkey solutions including O&M services and vendor-financed long-term energy services. So customers worldwide can select to purchase on CAPEX or OPEX basis.

www.heliocentris.com

EnerSys

EnerSys® is the global leader in stored energy solutions for industrial applications. We complement our extensive line of motive power, reserve power and specialty products with a full range of integrated services and systems. With sales and service locations throughout the world. Headquartered in the United States, with regional headquarters in Europe and Asia, EnerSys employs over nine thousand people and operates

Our exhibitorssmarter decisions. iTower won the prestigious Aegis Graham Bell Award 2015 for being most Innovative solution for telecom tower infrastructure. iTower enables tower companies to drive 99% uptime with minimum operational cost.

www.infozech.com

Metalogalva

Metalogalva is a Portuguese steel manufacturing company with more than 43 years of activity in fields of Energy, Communication, Transport, Lighting, Renewables and Steel protection (hot dip galvanizing and painting). Has three industrial units (total area of 44000m² and a total gross area of 160000m²), with a galvanizing capacity (per year) of 100000 tons.

Metalogalva exports 70% of its own manufacturing for more than 40 different countries. Has invested (6.6M€) on new equipment to face the requirements/delivery times of the international markets.

Metalogalva promote the excellence of its services, investing in the researching, development and innovation of its products.

www.metalogalva.pt

GS Yuasa

GS Yuasa is a Japanese company formed in 2004 by the merger of two large 100 year old battery manufacturers, Japan Storage Battery and Yuasa. At US$3.5B in sales, GS Yuasa is one of the worlds largest battery manufacturers.

GS Yuasa manufactures a full line of technologies including lithium, lead acid, nickel metal hydride, and nickel cadmium for the automotive, industrial, and specialty battery markets. Especially for Telecom market, we have developed a 48V


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32 manufacturing and assembly facilities world-wide. This vast infrastructure and over 100 years of battery experience positions EnerSys at the forefront of both manufacturing capabilities and new product development.

www.enersys.com/GlobalLanding.aspx

Generator Logic

Generator Logic is an innovative manufacturer of custom-built generators that provide power solutions to a wide variety of industries worldwide. For the past decade, Generator Logic has concentrated its efforts in providing power solutions which are specific to the client’s industry and are built taking into consideration the often harsh environments in which the industries operate in Africa. Recent innovations include our Hybrid generator incorporating the AC generator, rectifier system and battery bank in a single theft resistant “cube” ; with an optional add-on of Solar banks. www.genlogic.co.za Offices in South Africa, Tanzania and Mauritius.

ABLOY

Abloy Oy is one of the leading manufacturers of locks, locking systems and architectural hardware and the world’s leading developer of products in the field of electromechanical locking technology.Experienced PartnerAbloy Oy has a proven history of telecommunication business for decades. Along with the new technology Abloy has introduced new methods and systems to create value and fast pay-back time to customers.

TOTAL

Total is the world’s fourth-ranked oil and gas company and

a global leader in solar energy through our affiliate

SunPower. With operations in more than 130 countries, we

have 100,000 employees who are committed to better energy.

Supplying affordable energy to a growing population,

addressing climate change and meeting new customer

expectations are the three main challenges Total must meet as

an energy major.

www.total.com

Energic Plus

Over the past 10 years Energic Plus has focused primarily on

how to extend and improve your battery life.

With our existing range of analysis and rejuvenation products

we can offer a custom-made solution for all your UPS needs.

Our range of products allows you to save on both CAPEX and

OPEX without any setback in quality. With customers on every

continent, Energic Plus has proven to be a sustainable solution

for all your battery management requirements.

Visit our booth and discover how we can help you save money

today.

www.energicplus.com

Our exhibitorsAbloy operates in all continents and several telecom customers have chosen ABLOY solutions to be leaders in fast developing telecommunication world.

www.abloy.com

ieng Group

i engineering Group provides end-to-end engineering infrastructure solutions to the telecommunications and power industries across Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. We were established in 2007 and are now operational in nineteen countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, KSA, Lebanon, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. We procure, build, commission, optimize and maintain telecom infrastructure on one hand; and provide fiber optic services on the other. We manage today over 4,500 sites for Africa’s largest MNOs and all 4 towercos.

www.ieng-group.com

NorthStar

NorthStar is an industry leader in designing and manufacturing high performance lead-acid batteries and high efficiency site solutions. The company has state-of-the-art facilities in the USA, and their products are used in more than 120 countries worldwide. NorthStar premium thin plate AGM batteries deliver long life at elevated temperatures, with faster recharge and superior PSOC cyclic performance. NSB Blue+ Batteries can reduce diesel generator run time by 85% in offgrid telecom applications. SiteStar Cabinets can maintain batteries at optimal operating temperatures, using less power than a household lightbulb. If you need the best, you need NorthStar.

www.northstarbattery.com

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MER Group

MER Group is a global leader in wireless infrastructure. We supply cutting edge turnkey projects for cellular sites, from the design stage, tower manufacture and supply, site commissioning and installation. MER Group’s tailor-made solutions meet all the needs of a modern operator, and specializes in the growing need for rural low-cost sites supporting hybrid solar energy.

Established in 1948 Mer Group (TASE: CMER), has a substantial global footprint with approximately 30 subsidiaries (10 in Africa), and over 1,200 employees. The Group maintains a diversified portfolio focusing mainly on telecom, security and the CleanTech sectors.

www.mer-group.com/solutions/wireless-infrastructure

Redflow

Redflow Limited is an energy storage specialist that has developed the world’s smallest flow batteries. Redflow’s unique flow batteries are designed for stationary energy storage applications ranging from its ZCell home battery to its ZBM battery range for commercial, telecommunications and grid-scale deployment. Redflow is a publicly-listed company (ASX: RFX) that operates R&D facilities in Australia, as well as offices in the US and Europe. Produced in North America by Flex, one of the world’s largest supply chain solution companies, Redflow’s high energy density batteries are sold, installed and maintained by a global network of system integrators. Redflow batteries connect directly to the telco bus, experience no damage from regular power outages, are 100% depth of discharge and their full capacity is usable over lifetime.

www.redflow.com

Our exhibitors

NANHUA Electronics Co., Ltd.

NANHUA is an independent enterprise with modern management which is located in Shanghai. We design, manufacture and sell world leading signal, lighting and control products which be applied in industrial areas since 1990, and focusing on aviation obstruction light system for telecom towers from 2007, has full experience in the complete line of cost-effective obstruction lighting and control solutions. NANHUA products have been proven to be professionally designed and highly reliable.

NANHUA will continue to maintain reliable, safety and simple R&D concepts, combine with the latest technology, commit to developing new products to help customer solve problems and enhance customer value.

www.nanhua.com

Beijing Dynamic Power Co., Ltd. (DPC)

Beijing Dynamic Power Co., Ltd. (DPC) is a leading manufacturer of Telecom Power Supply in Beijing China.Established in 1995 who are the China first IPO (Initial Public

Offerings) company in power supply industry in Shanghai Stock

Exchange in 2004.

Over 2,400,000 Rectifier modules operating on Carrier

Networks globally and 30% market share in China owned

by Carriers/China Tower(Ranking No.1 in China Tower).

More than 20 years of experience in diversity power solutions

for tower company.

Over 3000 employees with the main production base of 330,

000m2, with production capacity of 80,000 pcs rectifiers and

15,000 sets systems per month. DPC’s stable high efficient and

cost effective Power Supply create maximum value for carriers

and tower company.

www.dpc.com.cn

HIMOINSA

HIMOINSA is a global corporation that designs, manufactures

and distributes power generation equipment worldwide. It has

extensive experience in the telecommunications market,

having supplied equipment with power outputs ranging from 8

to 45KVA in the international market to well-known companies

in the sector.

Our telecom range gensets can work remotely, providing

efficient and reliable power and incorporate functionalities

such as: GPS system, making it possible to locate the machine

at any time, fuel level alarm, remote management and

remote control for gathering and recording data in real time.

HIMOINSA has develops a variable speed hybrid generator sets

that reduces fuel consumption by 40% and extend maintenance

periods up to 1000 hours.

www.himoinsa.com

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Fluidic Energy

As a leader in long duration energy storage, Fluidic Energy brings reliable, clean energy storage to critical applications worldwide. With more than 40MWh of energy storage, and +100,000 batteries globally, Fluidic Energy has delivered its telecom customers significantly improved network availability in some of the harshest environments since 2011. Customers experience not only lower operating costs, but also improved reliability and operations. Fluidic turnkey telecom solutions boast ultra-long duration capabilities, eliminating or significantly reducing the need for diesel gensets ; no theft value; high temperature capabilities (50ºC); built-in intelligence for remote monitoring and maintenance; and long lifetimes with extended warranties.

www.fluidicenergy.com

Saft

Saft is the leader in high technology batteries, and has developed specifically for Telecom backup need a lithium module of 48V: Evolion.

Evolion is the perfect choice for off grid sites: combined with a Diesel Genset, it will bring high cycling capability, to save fuel consumption and drastically reduce running time of the genset.

Evolion has a compact format, that will help to be integrated in very limited space, and is maintenance free, reducing the OPEX of the hybrid off grid or on grid site.

www.saftbatteries.com

Our exhibitors

BSB Power Company Limited

BSB Power Company Limited (BSB) is the global leading technology based battery producer and smart battery management system provider. We have been supplying and developing advanced backup power and energy storage solutions for the telecommunication sector, utility companies, and data centres since 1996. We integrate artificial intelligence, the Internet of things and big data, to refine the remote management of every single battery to its full lifecycle. In doing so, we have increased battery working life dramatically and realised the promise of creating maximum value for our customers.

www.bsbpower.com

AIO Systems

AIO Systems is a next generation solution provider of

management systems for remote unmanned sites. AIO’s

management platform and enhanced Premium EyeSite

controller are incorporated with site hardware and telemetry

systems enabling companies to control, secure, predict, track

and remediate their remote site operations in a timely and pro-

efficient manner.

We specialize in advanced 24/7 Security solutions and Hybrid/

Energy Resource Management. Furthermore, we address

multi-tenant infrastructure complexities, reduce OPEX, increase

profitability, assure access to BI services, and deliver effective

Asset/Inventory control.

AIO’s numerous business models propose alternative

operational structures that guarantee ROI. When combined with

our added value Services, such as Site Installation Simulations,

System Integrations, Technicians mobile application, companies

can rest assured AIO will address all their RMS needs from A-Z.

www.aiosystems.com

GNB® Industrial Power – A division of Exide Technologies

GNB is a division of Exide Technologies, one of the world’s largest producers and recyclers of lead-acid batteries. The company’s four global business groups – Transportation Americas, Transportation Europe and Rest of World, Industrial Energy Americas, and Industrial Energy Europe and Rest of World – provide a comprehensive range of stored electrical energy products and services for industrial and transportation applications.

Transportation markets include original equipment, aftermarket automotive, heavy-duty truck, agricultural and marine applications, and new technologies for hybrid vehicles. Industrial markets include network power applications such as telecommunications systems, electric utilities, railroads, photovoltaics, uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs), and motive-power applications including lift trucks, mining and other commercial vehicles.

Get further information about GNB, please visit our website.

www.gnb.com

Best Solution of Battery

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Jag Rattan Daan Singh & Co

Headquartered in New Delhi, India, Jag Rattan Daan Singh & Co., (JRDC) has been a leading manufacturer of full-range of telescopic mobile towers (COW) in India for more than a decade. We design and develop COWs/RDU’s that can be readily deployed both in urban and rural areas. Our product range starts from 18 meters to 45 meters COW. Through continuous innovation and absolute workmanship, the company has established itself as a recognized manufacturer and exporter of telescopic towers which includes COW and RDU in the telecommunication industry.

With a vision to deliver high-quality products using cutting-edge technology, JRDC has carved a niche for itself in developing and designing “COW’ in India and abroad.

www.jrdcup.com/

SEDEMAC

SEDEMAC Mechatronics is a product innovation company which manufactures wide range of control products like a range of AMF genset controllers, electronic governors and variable speed controls for diesel gensets / engines.

SEDEMAC was founded by four technocrats who came together as part of a research group at India’s premium engineering institute.What started as a small lab-based enterprise has now grown into India’s fastest growing powertrain controls company.

Today, SEDEMAC is India’s No. 1 in genset controls market and

is the preferred choice amongst all the major OEMs in India and supplies/licenses unique control products to the leading manufacturers such as Bajaj, TVS, Hero MotoCorp, Mahindra, Kirloskar, Cummins, Ashok Leyland, TATA Motors etc.

PRAMAC

PRAMAC is an Italy-based company engaged in the manufacturing of power generators and material handling equipment. The Company divides its activities into two main business sectors:POWER - In the field of power generation PRAMAC offers solutions for every kind of power demand: from the portable to the industrial power supply both for stand-by and prime power applications.MHE- The Company develops, manufacture and sells a complete range of handling equipment aiming at satisfying customers’ requests and needs.

PRAMAC has four production plants in Italy, Spain, China and Brazil. It operates worldwide through a global distribution network of subsidiaries.

www.pramac.com

NETIS

NETIS is a Service and Infrastructure provider for the Telecom Industry in Africa, founded in 2009.

NETIS operates permanently in 7 countries namely, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. 4,555 sites are under NETIS Passive and Active

maintenance management, in 5 countries for the top 4 TowerCos. Hundreds of sites and Power solutions have been built and deployed all over the African networks and NETIS has built strong partnerships with vendors whom are specialized in Power solutions, RMS, RDUs, COWs, etc.

NETIS Fiber Optic division delivers full turnkey projects from marketing survey to low-level design, network construction, equipment installation and maintenance.

At NETIS we strongly believe in partnership, the best way leading to success!

Visit us on Meetup Africa & Middle East 2016 BOOTH 321 and

www.netisgroup.net

Aquion Energy

Aquion Energy is the manufacturer of proprietary Aqueous Hybrid Ion (AHI™) batteries and battery systems for long-duration stationary energy storage applications. Aquion’s Aspen line of batteries are optimized for daily deep cycling for residential solar, green architecture, off-grid and microgrid, energy management, and grid-scale applications. Aquion’s high-performance, safe, sustainable and cost-effective batteries deliver reliability and value for customers. The company’s battery systems provide flexible, modular energy storage that enables broad adoption of renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar, reduced reliance on fossil fuels, and optimization of existing grid-tied generation assets. For more information, visit our website.

www.aquionenergy.com

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Connecting The WorldJRDC


Hardiman Telecommunications

Hardiman Telecommunications Ltd. was established in 1994. We are a boutique consultancy specialised in strategy development, due diligence assessment and valuation support. Our clients include major TowerCos, private equity funds, corporate finance / advisory and investment functions of leading banks, and telecommunications carriers. We are particularly active in end-to-end support of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.

All of our staff have held profit-accountable positions with global telecommunications carriers, manufacturers and systems integration houses prior to joining us. This allows full support of clients across the continuum from technology through to market effectiveness, spanning engineering, commercial strategy, financial structuring and proven operating

methodologies.

www.telecoms.net

Towershare

Towershare is a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure, focusing primarily in the Middle East, South Asian and North African markets. Headquartered in the UAE. Towerhsare’s management team comprises telecom veterans who, between them, have built and managed over 30,000 towers in MENA and Asia. Currently, Towershare has full operations in Pakistan and is attractively

positioned to acquire over 15,000 towers in the region.

http://towershare.com

Kathrein

Kathrein is a leading international specialist for reliable, high-quality communication technologies. The company is an innovation and technology leader in today’s connected world. Its products and solutions enable people all over the world to communicate, access information and use media, whether at home, at the office or on the road. The business covers a broad spectrum: from outdoor and indoor mobile communication solutions, to satellite reception, broadband and broadcast technology, to transmission and reception systems in vehicles. As a hidden champion and family-owned enterprise, Kathrein has been working on the technologies of tomorrow since 1919. The business takes pride in its dedicated employees and passion for customers and quality. Find out more about Kathrein at:

www.kathrein.com

Meetup Africa & ME 201619 - 20 October, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg

The 4rd annual retreat for 250 leaders of the African telecom tower community

www.towerxchange.com/meetups/meetup-africa


Meetup Africa& ME 2017

Meetup Asia 2016

Meetup Americas 2017

www.towerxchange.com

Meetup Europe 2017

3-4 October, Johannesburg

13-14 December, Singapore

7-8 June, Florida

4-5 April, London

Why a RESCO association?

The distributed renewable energy-as-a-service space in emerging markets has been in a nascent stage of development for the past six years. To date, the market penetration is less than 1% and best practices are not shared within the industry. However, the business model has been proven in India, the technology & value chain is proven and the impact potential is massive. Therefore, the association was formed to bring the stakeholders together, to establish common practices, educate the market, influence policy and ultimately achieve the high-impact goals that are within reach.

The distributed R-ESCO Association will provide the following benefits to the stakeholders;

For RESCOs:1. Unified voice to influence policy/regulation 2. Accredited technology & value chain3. Shared best practices, contracts, business models 4. Attract investment 5. Accelerate and deepen engagement with MNOs and towercos

For towercos and MNOs: 1. Cut through the hyperbole and learn what independent RESCOs can really do for you 2. Explain the terms under which you will do business with RESCOs 3. De-risk RESCO partnerships4. Learn what technologies, business and governance

Announcing the founding of the Distributed R-ESCO Association models work5. Reduce carbon emissions and accelerate compliance with green energy (CSR) targets

For investors:1. Get to know the management teams at RESCO pioneers 2. Understand the terms under which MNOs and towercos will do business with RESCOs – and the investability of those contracts 3. Accelerate due diligence4. Connect with like-minded investors to form consortia 5. Reduce carbon emissions and accelerate compliance with green energy targets

The association will share best practices, business models, processes, risk mitigation, standardised MSA/ contracts, technology, supply chain and other useful resources, while also establishing a unified voice to influence policy and assure the health of this evolving industry.


How to participate:

1. Founding board positions: Reserved for RESCOs, towercos, MNOs2. Members: For RESCOs & value chain3. Sponsors: For towerCo’s, MNOs, suppliers

Contact Bill Bubenicek at [email protected] for more information and join us onsite at the TowerXchange Meetup Africa & Middle East

TowerXchange & Cambridge Clean Energy are pleased to announce the founding of the distributed R-ESCO Association. The association is aimed at consolidating a fragmented market to address the massive opportunity for RESCO market adoption in the ICT space and its subsequent impact on our environment and people in emerging markets.

There are an estimated 1 million cell towers in emerging markets that hold the key to eliminating over 22 million metric tonnes of carbon, while providing an affordable power platform to over 390 million people. The RESCO Association will target 350,000 cell tower conversions as part of its measurement of success.

The RESCO Association will focus on 3 key initiatives;Policy: Influencing policy and regulation in key markets to facilitate mass-market adoptionBest Practices: Sharing of best practices, common technology, value chain, contracts to assure healthy projects are established for all stakeholders Impact: Driving the impact goal of 350,000 cell tower conversions, publicising the impact, public awareness and the case for independent RESCOs to drive distributed microgrid adoption

Insights from the TowerXchange Africa & Middle East 2015

35 Tanzania

36 Egypt

39 DRC

40 Evaluating the best power options for sites

across Africa

41 Rwanda and Zambia

42 Creating a sustainable energy mix for Africa

43 Senegal

44 Uganda

46 Ghana

48 Nigeria


Tanzania, DRC, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia plus energy roundtable reportsLessons learned at the TowerXchange Meetup Africa 2015

Country roundtable: Tanzania As Helios Towers Africa’s most important market in terms of size and investment, TowerXchange Meetup Africa’s Tanzania focus roundtable was hosted by HTA Executive Chairman, Chuck Green. Historically having had a focus on integration of acquisitions and organic growth, with huge build to suit demand from both Tigo and Vodacom, 2015 saw a change in strategy for HTA with a shift towards operational excellence. With a new Group CEO (Kash Pandya) at the helm, bringing creative and innovative thinking to the business, HTA presented their plans to adopt a hands on approach, from the maintenance contractors on the ground, all the way up to the board room. With this operational focus put to the forefront, discussions honed in on the main challenges to achieving SLAs in the Tanzanian market, with power troubles being identified as the number one challenge. Participants agreed that there needed to be a better way to optimise power provision, with power accounting for half of tower opex in the country and power failure being at the root of over half the cases of SLAs not being met. Participants discussed the importance of getting back to basics on power and with HTA’s new CEO hailing from Aggreko, the company has firmly demonstrated its intention to tackle the issue. Diesel theft was unanimously cited as a significant challenge, with organised crime rather than pure opportunists underlying much of the activity. Increasingly creative strategies from criminals

Read this article to learn:< Experiences from the frontlines of operating towers in Tanzania, DRC, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda,

Rwanda and Zambia

< Baseline data on selected markets: who owns the towers, tenancies ratios where known, as well as

mobile market stats

< The impact of currency devaluations, operational and financial measures to mitigate risk

< Energy efficiency business models, priorities and investments

< Experiences and ideas for combating fuel and equipment theft

TowerXchange Meetups are renowned for our small group roundtable breakouts. Attended by towercos, MNOs, investors, leading managed services subcontractors and suppliers, each roundtable assembles a cross section of the local tower ecosystem in each market, including many of the most influential telecom infrastructure decision makers. As those roundtables are held under the ‘Chatham House Rule’, protecting the confidentiality of contributors, we can share here some of the main lessons learned.

Keywords: Africa, American Tower, Batteries, Build-to-Suit, Business Model, Community Power, Country Risk, Customs, DG Runtime, DRC, ESCOs, Eaton Towers, Egypt, Energy Efficiency, Fuel Cell, Fuel Security, Ghana, HTN Towers, Helios Towers Africa, Hybrid Power, IHS, Infrastructure Sharing, LTE, Leasing & Permitting, Lithium, Manage With License To Lease, Market Overview, Microgeneration, Nigeria, O&M, Off-Grid, Operational Excellence, Opex Reduction, Procurement, QoS, RMS, Regulation, Research, Rooftop, Rwanda, SWAP Telecoms and Technologies, Sale & Leaseback, Skilled Workforces, Solar, Spare Parts, Tanzania, Tax, Tenancy Ratios, Tower Count, TowerXchange Research, Uganda, Unreliable Grid, Zambia

www.towerxchange.com | TowerXchange Issue 15 | XX| TowerXchange Meetup Africa 2016, 19-20 October 2016, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg | www.towerxchange.com/meetups/meetup-africa35

- from watering down diesel with paraffin to tampering with gauges - requires companies to adapt and respond to meet these challenges. The biggest source of theft most parties agreed was administrative, requiring a much closer focus on being able to track what is actually being delivered rather than what is being stolen post delivery. Battery theft is also an increasing problem. When it comes to tackling crime, some interesting strategies were presented by participants with extensive experience of living and working in the market. Community engagement was seen as a critical way to help alleviate problems, providing power to the local community, delivering lighting and offering a charging point as mobile phone usage instils a sense of ownership in the community. One participant discussed making the community the owner of the diesel genset so that they look after it well. Engaging with the chief within a given village was seen as key strategy as the community respect him - a security guard appointed by the chief is likely to be more honourable than one that has been selected through other means. With regards to other challenges in the market, participants cited tough labour laws as something that people entering the market easily under-estimate. Within Tanzania, there is very much a culture of employees taking employers to court - and the employees generally win. A tough hand that may help reap results in other African countries does not work well in the Tanzanian market. In order to be successful there you need professional man managers in your team, and those of Tanzanian

descent will understand the culture better than others. There was a comment from a couple of participants that one of the risks people encounter in Tanzania is a false sense of security, whilst it is generally seen as a non threatening society, that does not necessarily translate into it being easy to do business there. Discussions naturally led to the importance of recruiting and retaining reliable staff. The personality and values of the person that you employ is often more valuable than their qualifications. It is also important to maintain a continuous training programme. As employees

or contractors progress and become more senior in their roles, they may often forget some of the essentials they learnt along the way and so re-training is important. Beyond the social challenges tower operators face, it was commented that maintenance costs for a tower in Tanzania were extremely high - typically US$7,000 per year, ten times the costs in the US. A large part of this can be attributed to generators, with participants discussing how to minimise downtime and prolong the usable lifetime of the assets. The causes of generator failure can be diverse, and there is a real need to dig down into the root


In order to be successful several participants agreed that it was of paramount importance to have Egyptian management and knowledge, whilst international experience carries a lot of merit, often where the real agreements happen are in a much less structured setting, and mainly in Arabic. Military permissions, and therefore military contacts or ex-military staff, were reportedly required to facilitate the acquisition of many sites in Egypt. One of the biggest challenges cited in the Egyptian market was obtaining finance. With currency control, dollars are extremely hard to come by and sometimes must be purchased on the black market - when operating in Egypt you want to be buying in Egyptian Pounds. There were comments that many issues in finance stem from the local banks, they often make a lot of false promises, first inferring they have a lot of money and then further down the line saying they can’t get dollars. Following discussions on finance, a large part of the remaining discussions focussed on the other big challenge that towercos face in Egypt - power. Grid interconnection processes are extremely slow, with it taking far too long to get the license to secure power from the authorities and as a result, many sites in Egypt are off-grid. The mentality of the authorities seems to be that the electricity grid is for the use of citizens and not to be prioritised for businesses. Most sites in the country are reliant on diesel generators, with one towerco at the table mentioning

boxes for towercos. When it came to setting the stage for discussions, it was highlighted that there are currently 20,000 towers in the market of which all but 40 (which were built by HOI MEA) have been built by MNOs. With both Eaton Towers and HOI MEA at the table, plenty of practical experience was offered with regards to operating in the country and whilst participants generally agreed that there is scope for more tower companies to enter the market, it was highlighted that there were big challenges in doing so. In spite of the concerns of some participants who were not yet familar with Egypt, those already active the market mentioned that when it comes to security there are no major issues. Contrary to discussions being held on other African markets, theft and vandalism do not constitute major problem areas. The only area where towercos and their suppliers experienced heightened security concerns was Sinai. Where concerns do sit however, relate to the political instability of the country which can make operating there tough. Participants questioned international investors at the table as to their outlook for the Egyptian market and the sentiment was that Egypt was too big and too important a country to go the way of countries such as Syria and Yemen and so they had more confidence in the market. Youth unemployment needs to be addressed as a priority to improve the economy, and those around the table agreed that the recently discovered offshore gas reserves could also have a marked positive impact.

causes - simple things such as a lack of water or coolant. Putting in place timelines for preventative maintenance and sticking to them is key. Taking a step away from the day to day management of towers, the biggest topic on the table was the entrance of new MNO, Viettel into the market. In the 6-12 months leading up to the Meetup, dramatic changes had been seen in the Tanzanian market as a result of their entrance and participants were keen to see how this would evolve as we moved into 2016. It was confirmed that Viettel have big expansion plans with 1,500 orders to process. Some participants commented that as a company, Viettel have an unorthodox way of rolling out their sites and as a result have done a lot of work on their own. Some participants raised concerns surrounding health and safety and poor training. As to whether this represented a concern to other tower owners in the market, it was commented that if Viettel were to try and put a tower near an existing site it would be blocked by the regulator.

Country roundtable: Egypt Our Egypt roundtable, hosted by Eaton Towers, kicked off with an enthusiastic explanation of why the country represents such an exciting market at present. There is a big population, fast growing data usage, a presence of tier one MNOs (Vodacom, Etisalat and MobiNil) and a fourth operator coming to the market as well as a focus on 4G rollout and rapid urbanisation - as a country it ticks a lot of


that due to the high load on the majority of their sites, some needed as many as three generators. This led to questions as to whether towercos in the market have tried renewable sources of power generation, primarily solar PV. A key factor which has potentially the stymied the switch to alternative sources of power is the low cost of diesel in the Egyptian market. The price is a lot lower than elsewhere in Africa, currently around a fifth of that in other markets. There are plans however to normalise the cost of diesel with a programme being introduce to reduce the government subsidies on the fuel. With regards to solar, towercos at the table had some experience. Some sites they had recently acquired had solar on them and they had also trialled solar-hybrid solutions in the delta region. Speaking about these trials, which have been running for

three years, the towerco reported good feedback with savings of power opex savings of 76% being reported. There are however lots of issues which still need to be tackled in order to optimise performance, such as monitoring or dealing with the high dust levels in the region. It was noted that the Egyptian government were very supportive when it came to granting land to develop solar projects. When it came to power, participants enquired as to the potential impact of ENI’s discovery of off-shore gas reserves. With production expected to commence within five years, the discovery has the potential to change the geo-political situation in Egypt and beyond, and may lead to the creation of substantial new infrastructure, including telecom towers. Other mega-projects which could stimulate demand

for new towers in Egypt include the enlargement of the Suez Canal and the building of a new capital East of Cairo. Before rounding up discussions, questions led to the rooftop market and what opportunities were presented there. Thinking amongst participants was that managing and marketing rooftops would be a difficult business model in Egypt, the biggest problems being finding the permit and securing an electricity connection - finding the responsible parties that you need to deal with can be extremely challenging and often more effort than its worth. It is notable that Eaton’s acquisition of 2,000 towers from MobiNil did not include assets in the rooftop-dominated Cairo market. In terms of a build to suit market, HOI-MEA is the only company that entered the market with this business model. It is a difficult market, with the process to start approaching customers being long and obtaining two tenants for new sites being challenging due to MNO’s differing strategic interests in different cities. When it comes to tower acquisitions in the market, it was referenced that towercos have had the opportunity to pick specific regions that they were keen to acquire, delivering some flexibility on that front.

A subsequent round table focused on building towers in Egypt, and was hosted by HOI MEA (‘’House of Inventions’’), which has offices in KSA, UAE, Morocco, Sudan, Qatar and Egypt. At the time of the 3rd TowerXchange Meetup Africa (October 2015), HOI MEA had 40 sites in Egypt and they were

“ “managing and marketing rooftops would be a difficult business model in Egypt, the biggest problems being finding the permit and securing an electricity connection - finding the responsible parties that you need to deal with can be extremely challenging


option, that can provide up time for a few hours a day, would make the single tenant business model work. Whilst coverage would be limited, giving six hours of connectivity where there used to be none is a significant step forward. Currently operators are mostly building their own rural sites due to the lack of a towerco solution. Revenue sharing business models where an operator and rural towerco work together in a rural area have been proposed – although to date the most progress is Infratel’s project to build some 800 rural sites for Vodacom in DRC, albeit under a conventional supplier model. In order to drive the market further one participant called upon DRC regulators to look at the example set by India in stimulating the rollout of rural networks. In India, if operators were not covering

upcoming elections in December 2016 would likely have some impact on the market however, with generally everything in the country shutting down around election time. Rural coverage dominated a large part of discussions with participants commenting that operators were generally reluctant to go into rural areas, although there was a push from regulators to force the issue. The challenge for a towerco in servicing the rural market is that the likelihood is that you would only have one tenant on your tower. With the towerco business model being built on adding a second tenant, discussions centred on how companies were looking at technical solutions and business models that could make rural coverage a viable strategy for a towerco. It was suggested that a low power

planning to drive toward 300+ in the next three years, mostly through organic growth. Insights from HOI MEA’s round table have been integrated into the above notes. Country roundtable: DRC As the only towerco in the market, Helios Towers Africa played host to our DRC focus roundtable. Whilst referenced as the toughest market in which they operate, and with the company’s SLA values being slightly lower than in other regions due to the inherent complexities, the company has outperformed their acquisition economics in the DRC from day one. The key to this, they felt was putting in strong processes from the off. In spite of the challenges of working there, they view the country as a huge market with the potential for significant growth. Being the only towerco present in the DRC and owning just under 25% of the country’s ~4,250 towers, Helios Towers Africa were hopeful that the Airtel DRC tower deal would come back to the table with their portfolio of assets having the strongest national coverage. Asked as to whether they thought another towerco would enter the market, HTA thought it unlikely as it is a very challenging market where local relationships are more important than ever (Editor: TowerXchange subsequently learned that negotiations to acquire Airtel’s DRC towers have resumed, with Helios Towers Africa and Eaton Towers interested). When discussing the political situation in the DRC participants with experience of living and working in the country felt it was pretty stable. The


villages and rural areas they were required to pay a default fee. Most operators were happy to pay this penalty as it was a more cost effective solution that rolling out a rural network. These penalty fees created a fund and when operators were asked to bid for the least amount of subsidy they would require to take on the rollout to key rural locations this fund was to be made available. Interestingly however, in the auction companies bid with negative subsidies, the mindset in the market had shifted and since then rural coverage has expanded significantly in India. When it came to operational challenges in the country, logistics and power were cited as the two biggest issues. The DRC is a huge country with very limited transport infrastructure, which makes the movement of materials and services extremely difficult. Power accounts for half of operating costs

at sites and also failure accounts for half of site down time. Fuel theft is a big problem. Furthermore outside of Kinshasa, fuel costs can be 2.5 times that in the capital (thus necessitating different pricing structures for these regions). With such significant power challenges, one participant questioned whether towercos should seek an ESCO model in order to remove some of the risk. Whilst this wasn’t ruled out as an option, others commented that the penalty for SLA failure would need to be passed along to the ESCO and in such an instance the ESCO would need to have a big enough balance sheet to take be exposed to such risks (which many don’t). Another solution posed was the use of alternative energy in order to reduce diesel usage. HTA commented that they have had a positive experience in Tanzania working with solar and would be open to the opportunity, whilst HTN Towers have a major

solar programme currently going on in Nigeria. The conditions in the DRC are such that there is little dirt or dust on roads which would interfere with the performance of a PV system and so the country could be an ideal candidate for solar rollout. With the government facing such power issues it was suggested that Helios Towers Africa (or a third party) could look to built a central site, in the magnitude of 20MW, whereby excess power was fed into the grid. With it being proposed that Helios Towers Africa were arguably the DRC’s biggest power consumer they should have some sway with the government in promoting such initiatives. Evaluating the best power options for sites across Africa This was one of the most popular roundtables at the TowerXchange Meetup Africa 2015. It was moderated by Samuel Tanon of Millicom, whose remit includes both tower strategy and opex improvements. Samuel introduced himself and Millicom. He emphasised the fact that Millicom has outsourced their towers in most countries, thus transferring responsibility for power to their towerco partner – in many cases Helios Towers Africa, whose then COO Kevin Koch also participated in the roundtable. Samuel hinted that Millicom might be interested in outsourcing to an ESCO in Chad, where they retain ownership of their towers. Mobiles operators are ready to pay a premium to maintain 99.99% uptime at certain sites. On the

“ “The DRC is a huge country with very limited transport infrastructure, which makes the movement of materials and services extremely difficult. Power accounts for half of operating costs at sites and also failure accounts for half of site down time


moderated the session. Enda had been working for the Zambian Advisory Council and had done some consultancy projects in Rwanda and Zambia, in particular with Millicom. The Rwandan and Zambian tower markets are both dominated by IHS, which owns around 2,700 towers across the two countries, including 1,100 acquired from Airtel in late 2015 plus 1,269 acquired from MTN in 2014 and topped up with BTS. There are around 2,000 towers in Zambia, giving IHS 85% market share, and 1,300 in Rwanda, of which IHS has around 77%. IHS remain bullish about achieving a tenancy ratio of two in Rwanda and Zambia with five years, driven by data growth and technology upgrades. Naturally IHS’s tenancy ratio dropped with the integration of the Airtel towers, which had historically not been widely shared with competitive MNOs beyond a few bi-lateral swaps. However, MTN’s enthusiasm to co-locate on Airtel towers, particularly in Zambia, should see tenancy ratios recover quickly. According to GSMA intelligence, in Q4 2015 there were 8.8mn connections in Rwanda among a population of 11.7mn, representing 75% SIM penetration, with 35% mobile broadband. The same source suggests that in Zambia there were 11.9mn connections among a population of 16.5mn, representing 72% SIM penetration, with 16% mobile broadband. Rwanda is a great place to do business. With GDP growth over 8%, it’s a well managed country with a stable government. The Rwandan regulator

theft included trying to make them look less like batteries, and burying them under concrete, an approach widely used in the US. Administrative theft remains the number one source of leakage, with guards sometimes making use of DGs for their own needs. A few market snapshots gleaned from the roundtable. Grid power in Chad was reportedly at 180V rather than 220V with a significant proportion of towers off grid. Reducing genset noise is reportedly a priority. Millicom intended to upgrade their power equipment before outsourcing to an ESCO. Meanwhile, in Tanzania Millicom were undertaking a project to connect 200-250 off-grid villages. In Rwanda and Senegal electricity grid power was reportedly improving, although prices had increased, with more and more solar panels seen on roofs. Nonetheless, solar power was not considered competitively priced compared to grid in those markets. While grid conditions were improving in many SSA countries, the situation had worsened in Ghana, compounded by currency devaluation and fuel shortages. In conclusion, the roundtable agreed that towercos and aspiring ESCOs would have to adapt energy solutions to meet the unique requirements of each site. Country roundtable: Rwanda and Zambia Enda Hardiman of Hardiman Telecommunications

other hand, at smaller sites (e.g. below 500W), they can sometimes accept uptime lower uptime of 99.95%. The average capacity for existing sites was reportedly 1.5-2KW. For new sites, the capacity is typically much lower. The importance of ‘’community power’’ in rural areas was emphasised, where more and more sites consume less than 500W, and where perhaps one or two operators might share the same BTS. On the question as to whether energy consumption at cell sites was generally increasing or decreasing, response was not very clear. On one hand, consumption was decreasing as technology evolved, but this was offset by the increase in traffic meaning more capacity was needed and thus more consumption. Millicom gave the example of Ghana where they have replaced their old sites (6-8KW) with new sites with less than 2KW. Most equipment was running in DC rather than AC. In future batteries would be preferred which run in higher temperatures therefore with less requirement for cooling. Towercos continue to report encountering challenges with energy storage and battery logistics, although report significant ‘quick wins’ could be achieved by investing in deep-cycle batteries. Battery theft was almost as big a concern as fuel theft, although solar panel theft was less of a concern. Measures taken to prevent battery


mandates tower sharing, helping the development of towercos in the country. MTN are market leaders in Rwanda, with Tigo and Airtel completing a roster of credit-worthy tower tenants, whereas Airtel are the market leaders in Zambia, followed by MTN and capital-constrained Zamtel. There are rumors of a prospective fourth MNO or MVNO entrant. ARPUs are low in Zambia; in the US$2-3 range. Towerco lease rates in both markets are inclusive of power. Grid power is more extensive and reliable than other SSA markets in Zambia and Rwanda, where battery banks are often the sole backup power needed. Power availability is improving but remains a challenge, and diesel theft remains a big issue. Dion Djerling introduced the activities of Connect Africa in Zambia: a series of Wi-Fi hotspots installed in rural areas across Zambia. Base stations costs less than $10,000 and are partly funded by advertising. Connect Africa has over 200 sites deployed successfully with three operators. Connect Africa’s experiences illustrate how smaller cells present both threat for MNOs and opportunity for towercos. Creating a sustainable energy mix for Africa Another popular roundtable, with the conversation ably structured by Laurent Roineau, Group CTO of managed service provider Camusat. Laurent previously served as CEO of TowerCo of Madagascar.

The discussion started with an identification of towercos’ energy needs in Africa, including energy generation, energy storage and the measurement of key performance indicators through RMS. For rural areas, low cost sites with integrated power solutions, or minigrid solutions were propsed. While Africa’s ‘Big Four’ towercos remain focused on sites with a more obvious path to a second tenant, a class of turnkey rural towerco is slowly emerging, represented at the Meetup by Africa Mobile Networks (AMN), Connect Africa and Infratel. MNOs also continue to be key stakeholders in rural

connectivity, for example Tigo plans 100 low cost rural sites this year, 160 next year. Business models and pricing was another hot topic, with regulation restricting options in some countries. While there was no clear consensus around the preferred model to deliver energy as a service, fixed monthly fees of charging per kWh, the prevailing preference among towercos at the TowerXchange Meetup Africa was still to drive energy efficiency through their own capital investments, capturing the value on their own balance sheets.


could be an interesting opportunity for a second tier towerco. For example, Expresso plans to expand from their current network of 450 to 700-800 towers. A potential partnership could also involve Millicom-Tigo, which retains their 1,000+ towers in Senegal. Senegal could be one of the next countries in SSA to move toward a shared infrastructure business model – there are plenty of stakeholders lobbying government about the inefficiency of having three parallel mobile networks in a market where the total cost for a new macro tower is around US$200,000. Country roundtable: Uganda Terry Rhodes, Acting CEO of Eaton Towers, hosted the Uganda roundtable, supported by insightful contributions from Thomas Sonesson, CEO of ATC Uganda, as well as the leaders of several of

multi-SIMing means unique subscriber penetration is nearer 60%. 3G penetration reached a double figure percentage in 2015. Orange-branded Sonatel are market leaders with around 55% of subscribers. Sonatel have been reluctant to sell their 1,800 towers (government and union opposition to any prospective sale has not helped), although Sonatel have been considering a managed services agreement. For challenger MNOs to prosper, they need to quickly and cost effectively achieve coverage, but to date there has been little bi-lateral infrastructure sharing in Senegal, with #2 and #3 MNOs Tigo and Expresso keen to get onto Sonatel’s towers, but the market leaders reluctant to share. While partnering with a challenger MNO often doesn’t garner appetite of Africa’s large towercos, Senegal

Deep cycle batteries continue to offer a ‘quick win’. The vast majority of battery banks at African cell sites still use lead-acid rather than lithium-ion or fuel cells. Battery recycling is seen as cost-neutral – the residual value of the equipment covering the cost of recycling, with the added complication that lithium-ion batteries would have to be exported to be recycled. Battery theft remains a critical concern, particularly in markets like Uganda where organised criminals extract the lead from batteries to resell on the black market. The business case for fuel cells is still felt to make more sense for datacenters than at individual cell sites. Diesel gensets still represent a significant majority of distributed and backup generation solutions in SSA, with solar still perceived as being relatively risky and costly. Wind turbines remain a rare sight at SSA cell sites. Country focus: Senegal Abdalla Saeed, CEO of Expresso Senegal moderated the roundtable, joined by Expresso’s Group CEO Tarig Rahamtalla. The discussion focused on creating a market for Expresso’s towers in Senegal, and perhaps beyond. Senegal is an attractive investment with low country risk: a stable political environment, steady 4.5% GDP growth and 2% inflation. Expresso has around 2.5mn of the 14.7mn subscribers in Senegal, a country of just over 15mn people. While SIM penetration is approaching 100%,

Sudan

Senegal

Mauritania

Guinea Conakry

Ghana

500 1000 1500 2000

Source: TowerXchangeExpresso’s tower count

1600

450

300

150

300


the country’s most important managed service providers and equipment suppliers. Uganda has a young, fast growing, geographically dispersed population of just under 40mn, meaning there is need for broader coverage than in more urbanised emerging markets. Uganda had 28.7mn mobile connections at Q4 2015, 16% of which are mobile broadband customers, according to GSMA Intelligence. Uganda’s local currency is under pressure (37% devaluation in one year) and the reserve position isn’t as strong as investors would like. With material costs often linked to the US dollar, and much of the revenue generated in local currency, towercos are exposed to currency risk.

The Ugandan MNO market has substantially restructured since the entrance of the towercos in 2011: Airtel acquired Warid, Orange sold out to Africell, and newer operators Smart and Smile started to establish themselves. While there are seven operators in Uganda, the market structure is essentially two leaders, a contender and some smaller niche players. Newest entrants Africell prefer a capex-light model, and are natural co-locators, so expect tenancy ratios to rise more swiftly in 2016. The regulator, the UCC, are not keen on further consolidation, but speculation continues surrounding the future of UTL (as ever, the politics around a struggling incumbent are complex!) MTN are mobile market leaders in Uganda – they formed a 1,000 tower, 49:51% joint venture towerco

with American Tower in 2011. ATC Uganda currently owns 1,388 towers. Eaton Towers entered Uganda soon after, combining 400 Orange towers with 300 Warid towers, to which they are in the process of adding Airtel’s towers, giving Eaton a count of around 1,600 Ugandan towers. TowerXchange estimate that there are just under 3,500 towers and a little over 4,000 tenancies in total in Uganda, suggesting an average tenancy ratio approaching 1.2. There are a decent number of non-traditional MNO tenants on Uganda’s towers. There are national security tenants, weather information systems and various ISPs. Google recently started taking tenancies, as well as new entrant 4G operators. Tower Cash Flow (TCF) is a more important metric than tenancy ratios, and there is lots of revenue generating equipment on towers which isn’t reflected in tenancy ratios, such as new microwave dishes, a second RAD centre et cetera. In terms of new tower build, MNO consolidation initially slowed the build out, but a growth period is foreseen in the coming years. Towercos report Uganda has perhaps another 3,500 towers to build, particularly in Northern parts of the country. An annual growth rate in terms of total tower count of around 10% is anticipated. There has been less decommissioning than the towercos expected, due to underlying market growth, particularly rising data demand. Nobody is stopping Uganda’s MNOs from building their own towers, but most of the new build is being

“ “In terms of new tower build, MNO consolidation initially slowed the build out, but a growth period is foreseen in the coming years. Towercos report Uganda has perhaps another 3,500 towers to build, particularly in Northern parts of the country. An annual growth rate in terms of total tower count of around 10% is anticipated


However, daily interruptions of one to three hours are common even in Kampala, so one towerco’s vision is to replace diesel with fast chargeable energy storage that can recharge 50% of the battery’s capacity in half an hour. There has been a fair amount of hybridisation of power solutions in the Ugandan, with extra incentive since ATC Uganda moved from the power pass through business model to providing full power as a service (PaaS). Uganda’s towercos will invest in connecting towers to the grid, although they often have to pay for the transmission network extension. What are the Ugandan towercos’ appetites to partner with ESCOs? Investors in American Tower view it as a stable, annuity play, so it might be appealing to offload risk and secure cashflow. On the other hand Eaton report having hybridised 300 sites from the original 700 they acquired in 2012 – “we’re keen to retain the benefits of that investment on our balance sheet, but once we know what we’re dealing with, we might consider partnering with an ESCO.” However, the near term view was that towercos were reluctant to partner with unproven, technology-centric ESCOs that haven’t given sufficient thought to the operational aspects of the business. “I’m seeing too much vaporware,” said one towerco. “We’ve put a lot of focus on energy efficiency ourselves,” said the other towerco, “we’re good at this.” At a smaller level than a full ESCO proposition, Uganda provides a special license for community power projects which could foster the development of new distributed generation plays – towercos would be interested in having a site or sites

One towerco reported having put a prosecutor and ex-policemen on their payroll to ensure the perpetrators of theft are jailed. Nonetheless, security troubles have not been enough to dissuade American Tower and Eaton from continuing to invest in Ugandan towers “we’ve put a lot of money into buying Airtel’s towers – we believe in this country,” said Eaton’s Terry Rhodes. The opportunity to serve rural communities has not been fully met by any stakeholders us yet, but MNOs are generally looking for expanded coverage, somewhat driven by Mobile Financial Services. Telecoms and particularly telecoms infrastructure is relatively lightly regulated in Uganda – for example there is no regulation specifically for infrastructure or transmission companies. However, the regulator certainly seems aware of the need for coverage and capacity: Uganda has around 50% more subscribers per tower than Kenya. Permitting new sites in Uganda is reportedly easier than other SSA markets, although identifying the genuine landlord is always a challenge. A lot of the acquired towers lacked some of the necessary environmental permits – fortunately the retrospective application process has been relatively painless. What proportion of Uganda’s towers are on unreliable grids or off-grid? ATC Uganda say around 400 of their 1,388 sites are off grid, with around half the new build off grid. Eaton said “more of our towers are off grid than on”. Unreliable grid sites need backup DGs and battery banks, although “a few mobile DGs are sufficient to cover Kampala”.

done through the towercos. However there is always competition – the MNOs have been in this business for 20 years, they know what they’re doing, so there is always a make or buy decision. So there is always a benchmark cost. Build costs are reportedly “higher than average for SSA, similar to Ghana, but not as high as Nigeria.” As a landlocked country with no domestic steel industry, getting towers and accessories into Uganda can be time consuming and expensive. The import of equipment is subject to a 5% duty just to cross the border. Maintenance costs are reportedly as much as double those in Ghana. Limited maintenance capabilities and capacity in Uganda forced one towerco to bring O&M for half their network in-house (”we don’t regret insourcing maintenance – it enabled us to really get to know the costs and the pain points, so now have a tender out for a five year maintenance contract, we’re in a stronger position to negotiate a new deal!”) However, the towercos report that, apart from steel, there is now an established ecosystem of local suppliers in Uganda. There are significant logistical challenges to operating a tower network in Uganda, including operational management and delivery of fuel. While many SSA towercos struggle to combat fuel and battery theft, the difference in Uganda is that the administrative theft is compounded by the impact of organised crime, with armed robberies having a material effect on opex. This makes Uganda’s towercos keen on site hardening techniques.


as anchor tenants in such an ecosystem. Country focus: Ghana Chuck Green, Executive Chairman of Helios Towers Africa (HTA), hosted the Ghana roundtable, with valuable contributions from Eaton’s Terry Rhodes. HTA completed the first sale and leaseback in Africa when they acquired 750 towers from Millicom-Tigo in Ghana for US$54mn back in 2010. Shortly afterward MTN came to a marketing services agreement with American Tower, creating joint venture ATC Ghana which currently has 2,098 towers in the country. Both Eaton and HTA were involved in the Vodafone Ghana process, which oscillated between a sale and leaseback opportunity, then a managed services deal, then back to a sale and leaseback before ultimately closing as a ‘manage with license to lease’ deal with Eaton. The Vodafone towers were a legacy of the old Ghana Telecom network, and needed substantial improvement capex to be readied for co-location. So within 12 months there were three towercos in Ghana. While Airtel’s Africa Towers was registered in Ghana a couple of years ago, they were never really active, and the Airtel towers are in the process of being transferred to Eaton, bringing their Ghanaian tower count to around 1,400. To illustrate the economies of scale in emerging market towers, Eaton Towers Ghana reportedly needed add only three extra fulltime employees to their existing team of just under 40 to manage a network almost doubling in size. TowerXchange estimate there are around 6,000 towers in total in Ghana.

According to GSMA Intelligence, in Q4 2015 Ghana had a 27.7mn population with 121% SIM penetration, not reflective of the real level of penetration as multi-SIMing is common, and there is little stickiness. Ghana hosts a crowded MNO market with Airtel, Glo, MTN, Tigo and Vodafone all present, as well as a host of smaller operators. There has been an injection of new blood into the MNO landscape with the licensing of 4G pioneers. Licensing rules restricted spectrum to local companies – and these are full LTE plays, not just fixed wireless. The rollouts of these new entrants have been reported as “more like ISPs” with “single poles not towers, and few with DG backups.” Towercos are inclined to view tenancies from such companies as short term incremental revenue because they know they won’t be around forever. The history of the Ghanaian tower market had been

one of stable operations, virtually unblemished SLA performance, and leaseup almost exactly as per acquisition business cases, until the Ghanaian Cedi started it’s dramatic and extended slide. While grid availability at the time of the tower acquisitions averaged around 14 hours per day, it had improved to 22 hours, then rapidly slid back to 14 hours from January 2015. The result? Nationwide fuel shortages and power outages, compounded by a fuel transport strike. Deregulation of the fuel price in 2015 led to bulk suppliers holding stock as the price went up 25% in a matter of days. In parallel, electricity prices have been soaring. Maintenance contractors are paid in Cedi, but those same contractors have to buy many consumables in US$, which risks forcing them to buy cheap, lower quality parts and spares, in turn putting more pressure on uptime and SLA performance. Ghana’s towercos learned hard lessons about the

“ “The history of the Ghanaian tower market had been one of stable operations, virtually unblemished SLA performance, and leaseup almost exactly as per acquisition business cases, until the Ghanaian Cedi started it’s dramatic and extended slide


Hybridisation of cell site energy solutions is in the relatively early stages in Ghana. A common concern is the complexity of solutions from a maintenance point of view and the associated struggles to find the right skillset among O&M contractors. Eaton initially managed security and maintenance in-house, but having built confidence in the local supplier ecosystem later decided to outsource. Contractor performance management and performance improvement is a priority for towercos in Ghana and beyond. “The big stick approach hasn’t worked,” said one towerco executive. “We have to help our guys in the field understand the consequences of what we’re doing and of what they’re not doing. If a site goes down and there’s a medical emergency, emergency services won’t work. We’ve got to mold a culture to be more responsible.” The reality is that field engineers and security guards are not always paid enough to counter the temptations of fuel theft. Instead of unqualified security guards being paid a low wage, one towerco advocated hiring junior electricians – maybe combining security with maintenance. Give your staff a career path, reduce theft and improve MTTR (Mean Time To Response) in the process! Ghanaian towercos have active security on around 80% of sites, the other 20% with roving patrols, but they’re all looking at site hardening solutions to reduce opex. Theft of batteries is a big problem, with the re-use cases of 12V lead acid batteries too readily apparent. Contractors ieng shared

builds next year across the whole of Ghana,” said one towerco. However, the towercos have generally been very contented with the Ghanaian regulator’s promotion of infrastructure sharing and their efforts to minimise the proliferation of towers. How has the level of competition affected towerco performance in the only African market where three of Africa’s ‘Big Four’ towercos are active? “Permitting challenges and a lack of BTS has driven up lease up rates,” said one towerco. “We’re generating less dollar EBITDA solely because of currency exposure, and opex has been rising because of declining grid quality. But the factors affecting performance aren’t related competition. However, would I go in as a third towerco in another market now? No. If there’s two strong towercos in a country, then you look elsewhere.” Towercos are trying to figure out the right model to serve rural Ghana. They may need Universal Service Fund subsidies where revenues are less secure, but they also have to have a business model that works in the long term. Shared revenue and shared risk models don’t overcome the simple fact that with the capital cost of sites at the moment there has to be the prospect of a second tenant in the near to medium term. Ultimately many felt that the rural market was better suited to specialist revenue share infrastructure operators built around low cost technical solutions (short, lightweight structures with solar+batteries power solutions, no DGs so near zero maintenance costs, and low power base stations with low power backhaul). Such solutions might make economic sense with just one tenant.

need to have dynamic processes able to get ahead of fuel shortages. At the time of the Meetup Ghana’s towercos had achieved nine consecutive weeks of positive SLA performance. Despite the currency crash, one towerco reported still trading EBITDA positive albeit at a significantly lower margin due entirely to forex exposure. “Indexation and escalation clauses are vitally important when prices move around so much,” suggested one towerco. Ghana’s currency devaluation prompted at least one towerco to amend contractual terms that had previously provided for a once annual adjustment of power prices, bundled into lease costs – they’ve shortened the time between adjustments now. Securing at least a portion of revenues in US$ may have been another means of minimising forex exposure, but the Ghanaian government banned US$ contracts, and Ghanaian banks are not allowed to lend US$. Another challenge in Ghana has been strict permitting and environmental policies, with tight definitions of where you can build (“you have to demonstrate you can’t co-locate on an existing tower in order to be permitted to build a new tower”). This has affected BTS volumes. However, this has the positive effect of driving up tenancy ratios because everyone has to share. One towerco reported a tenancy ratio approaching two nationwide, another said their tenancy ratio was significantly above two in urban areas, and around 1.5 in rural Ghana. Ultimately new tower build volumes in Ghana have not been what towercos were led to expect by MNOs: “I feel there are unlikely to be more than 100 new


some experience of reinforcing cell site security with concrete bunkers. Other site modernisation approaches include building facilities for guards outside the fence to minimise risk of staff theft, while partnerships with communities provide incentives for the protection of sites. A community cell charging unit bolted onto the outside of a site’s perimeter fence – with the key to the box given to the closest house – means your nearest neighbor is going to look after the site because he’s providing an important community resource. Many sites are beyond the electricity grid, so towercos (or MNOs) can supply a refrigerator. Sickle cell and other vaccines can be kept cool in such facilities. This sends a message to the community: we’re protecting your families, if you steal from this, it’s your babies you’re going to harm. How is procurement managed between towercos and their subcontractors? Towercos buy the large batteries (3-4,000 per year, according to one towerco!), rectifiers et cetera – the expensive stuff – but the contractors buy the consumables. One towerco was considering setting up supplier agreements with a price book, and driving their partners to use that at cost. Country focus: Nigeria

Lawrence Onyema of SWAP Telecoms and Technology moderated the Nigeria roundtable, joined by senior representation from American Tower and several of IHS’s local contractors, including IPT PowerTech and MP Infrastructure.

Nigeria has a population of 170mn, around 60%

of whom are youths. Coverage is maturing but incomplete: discussion suggested that MTN’s coverage was over 90%, Glo close to 90%, Airtel in the 80s. While more towers are needed for coverage, QoS issues also illustrate the need for capacity and infill sites: explosive data growth meant some participants felt Nigeria may need as many as 40,000 more towers beyond the current ~32,000. Voice revenue and ARPU is dropping in Nigeria, but data traffic is growing: there are around 38mn smart phones in Nigeria. There are other tenants on Nigeria’s towers beyond Nigeria’s GSM operators. CDMA operators Visafone and Multilinks had 2,042,015 subscribers, plus 66,319 fixed-wireless subscribers. Fixed LTE operators SWIFT have over 100,000 subscribers. NATCOM acquired the NITEL license with intend to rollout LTE.

The structure of the Nigerian tower market may change now that 79% of the country’s towers are owned and operated by towercos, with three sizable towercos who could drive consolidation. While there was some speculation around the table as to whether ATC Nigeria would embark on a rollup strategy in an effort to close the market share gap on IHS, TowerXchange feel American Tower may acquire one or two of Nigeria’s four decent sized middle market towercos (SWAP, BCTek, Communication Towers Nigeria and Hotspot), but American Tower has always had the discipline to walk away from deals that don’t meet their investment thesis and valuation. There is simply not enough independently owned stock in Nigeria for ATC Nigeria to catch IHS. HTN Towers are somewhat in limbo: they now have two large scale competitors, and four hungry smaller players, to compete with for BTS. HTN’s efforts to restructure their balance sheet have been ongoing for over a year, with their IPO cancelled citing interest from a prospective strategic investor. HTN Towers have reached an agreement with SWAP Telecoms and Technology, enabling HTN to manage and market the combined portfolio and pay commission back to SWAP. This may be a precursor to a merger.

As much as 70% of opex in Nigeria is diesel, with DGs running 24/7 on many sites. SWAP’s 702 sites consume a million litres of diesel per month on their own (that’s an average of 1,424.5L per site). IHS burned 1,900L of diesel per site per month when they acquired towers, they have brought that down to 1,200L with a technology pathway to 700L.

“ “explosive data growth meant some participants felt Nigeria may need as many as 40,000 more towers beyond the current ~32,000


efficiency programmes. “For the first six months after an acquisition we will typically use the existing inventory of energy equipment, and the existing managed service providers,” said one towerco. “After 6-12 months we have enough performance data to start reviewing suppliers.” One of IHS’s contractors reported that they were already managing the first 96 sites from an acquisition closed less than a year ago, with a further 180 sites to follow. While the time lag is generally manageable, managed service providers will often have to put deposits down on equipment before their new managed sites start generating revenue, creating a financing gap. “We send out an RFP, do the usual proof of concept testing on any new innovations,” another towerco said. “We prefer an opex model where the provider

of systems. The process of hybridisation is not just about getting equipment into the country and installed: a cultural change is required throughout the supply chain. Maintenance companies prefer sites to run on DG because they make more money that way! Roundtable participants were unanimous in their call for stable PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements) from the government, enabling the sale of excess capacity back to the grid, a critical incentive to renewable projects. American Tower confirmed that power costs would not be a pass through for ATC Nigeria, which means Nigeria’s four largest towercos all provide power as a service (PaaS).

TowerXchange asked Nigeria’s towercos to explain the timelines for their investment in energy

SWAP reportedly have around 250 of their 702 sites on-grid, but grid power is only usable at as few as 20 of those sites. One towerco stated “in Nigeria there is no such thing as a reliable grid site – and we define on grid as twenty plus hours per day of usable grid power”. “Most sites have a grid connection but it is often not working, or the voltage may be high, low or one phase may be off,” said another towerco. “You can try to connect off grid sites to the grid, but many local authorities are too indebted to invest, and even where they can, their priorities will be residential and industrial electrification first,” he concluded. Nigeria’s generation capacity is gradually improving with plans to grow from 4,500MW at the time of the Meetup (October 2015), to 5,000MW by the end of 2015, rising to 10,000MW by the end of 2016. While generation capacity is improving, transmission problems remain. Diesel theft in Nigeria is systemic, well planned and choreographed, and accounts for ~30% leakage from the ecosystem. Theft isn’t restricted to fuel, with batteries and even whole diesel gensets targeted. A growing proportion of Nigeria’s cell site energy solutions have been hybridised, with solar hybrid solutions to be deployed at many new sites. The opportunity was felt to be greatest in Northern Nigeria, where weather conditions were most suited to solar.One vendor reported problems importing hybrid energy solutions into Nigeria, with different customs duties for PV and batteries requiring the dismantling

MTN

Globacom

Airtel

Etisalat

Source: NCC, September 2015

Mobile subscriber numbers, GSM operators, Nigeria

62,493,732

31,306,472

31,134,625

23,492,214


owns the equipment and guarantees savings,” he concluded. Building new sites is expensive and complex in Nigeria, with layers of bureaucracy and taxation to be navigated, and environment impact regulations dictating that new sites cannot be built closer than 10m to any existing buildings – this constitutes a major obstacle to rollout. “I have ten new site builds locked by local government and environmental legislation,” said one participant. Landlords in Nigeria are getting smarter and greedier – one towerco cited an example of a site in a second tier city where the rent had been 3mn NGN per year, who now wants 8mn NGN. Lease rates in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt are particularly high. Opinions differed about the comparative costs of rural leases “you can get sites as cheap as US$150pcm in some locations”, said one participant. “Rural landlords are getting smarter and demanding more,” said another. Most of the land under towers in Nigeria is leased not owned. Land is typically passed on within families, and leases don’t typically exceed 15 years with five year extensions. The majority of landlords in Nigeria own the land under a single tower, there isn’t much aggregation. There hasn’t been the same level of activity from ground lease aggregators like we’ve seen in the US. Financing, scaling and packaging ground leases would be tough in Nigeria. While there may be an opportunity for towercos to acquire the land under Nigeria’s towers, the general feeling is that there are better ways to spend capital.

De-risking long term leases is a greater priority. In contrast to towers, Nigeria’s fibre is largely retained and rolled out by the country’s MNOs. One participant estimated that MTN had around 6,000km of fibre, with Glo, Airtel and Etisalat having around 4,000km each. The MNOs have created a media gateway to media gateway backbone; the next challenge is to connect points of aggregation to terminal sites, amid huge demand for backhaul capacity. So there is an opportunity for third party infracos, including towercos, to run FTTT or to aggregation points. However, most towercos remain conservative about diversifying into fibre given the cost and lack of clarity about who will make those investments, and given the difficulty maintaining control of timelines given the difficulties securing rights of way. “Fibre adds a lot of execution risk,

we’d prefer to stick to our core business,” said one towerco. IHS may be an exception: they are one of two infracos licensed by the government to rollout fibre, perhaps hinting at the beginning of a drive to share fibre. Challenges in Nigerian fibre include a lack of redundancy, for example fibre can be unintentionally cut or uprooted during road construction – an alternative backhaul solution is needed. Rights of way remain another major inhibitor – “you have to pass through the eye of a needle to get rights of way in Lagos”. For tower counts and further analysis of the Nigerian tower market, see “The new Nigerian tower market” and “What we learned about HTN Towers prior to their cancelled IPO”


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Meetup Africa & Middle East 2016 - towerxchange.com