Following network provider PLDT’s sale of most of its telecommunications tower, Edgepoint, a telecommunications infrastructure company, is expanding its footprint in the Philippines with the opening of its offices in the country.

EdgePoint Philippines officially entered the Philippine market in April this year, through a Sale & Leaseback agreement for 2,934 towers in the Luzon Island group, with Smart Communications and Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc., both wholly-owned wireless communications and digital services subsidiaries of PLDT.

“Our market position as an independent towerco aligns well with the DICT’s (Department of Information and Communications Technology) Common Towers policy that seeks to enhance connectivity while easing mobile network operators from the heavy capital expenditure required for building communications towers, allowing them to focus on improving services and reaching more underserved areas,” said Suresh Sidhu, CEO of EdgePoint Infrastructure.

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Smart is leasing the towers from EdgePoint Philippines, the subsidiary of Edgepoint Infrastructure, to serve its mobile communications and internet connectivity needs. The official handover of all towers is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023. To date, 2,232 tower sites have been handed over to EdgePoint Philippines.

New towers

“We want to be a part of the future of telecommunications in the Philippines, as we enhance connectivity in the country, we want to also develop the ecosystem, create new job opportunities and introduce green solutions and practices,” said Alexander Kiel, CEO of Edgepoint Philippines.

The Philippines has a dense number of users per tower which affects overall user experience and the country needs a large number of new towers built to fill this gap.

Edgepoint Philippines will start rolling out its first trial sites which feature a mix of renewable energy and efficient generators in 2023 and target to increase the roll-out of these sites upon successful completion of the trials.

The company also expressed its interest in partnering with the government in deploying the right infrastructure toward ensuring universal, faster, and affordable internet access. It also aims to introduce sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions.

“We believe these energy-efficient solutions are important not only from an environmental perspective but also in bridging the digital divide as it allows us to increase the reach of our communication networks into areas which are currently underserved,” Kiel said.