The South African towerco market
Towercos own just 10% of South Africa’s estimated 22,288 telecom towers, making the country the least penetrated of SSA’s attractive tower markets. To date two of Africa’s ‘Big Four’ towercos control assets in the country – Eaton Towers has built over 170 towers with a pipeline of several hundred more and a tenancy ratio north of two, and American Tower markets 1,918 towers, 1,400 of which were acquired from Cell C back in 2010 in a US$430mn deal which at the time was reported to include up to 1,800 towers to be constructed, the majority of which have evidently not been built.
