American Tower Corporation, which operates more than 23,000 sites across Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda, entered into a multi-year, multi-product agreement with Airtel Africa plc.
The partners will collaborate on new site and product development capabilities. Through their combined efforts, the companies expect to substantially increase connectivity on the continent, extend digital inclusion to underserved communities and advance their mutual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction objectives.
All new site development under the agreement will comply with ATC Africa’s new green site specifications, which is expected to substantially reduce reliance on fossil fuels, reducing exposure to fuel price volatility for both ATC Africa and Airtel Africa. The parties have also committed to continue working together to convert existing telecommunications sites to ATC Africa’s green site specifications over time.
In addition, Airtel Africa and ATC Africa will partner to provide training around information and communications technology skills to underserved communities as part of their respective kiosks and Digital Communities programs. Under this partnership, it is expected that more than 200 Digital Communities will be deployed in these markets in the coming years.
“Over the last several years, ATC Africa has made forward-thinking investments to ensure we achieve tangible reductions in our on-site fossil fuel consumption in Africa,” Marek Busfy, SVP and CEO of ATC Africa stated.
To date, ATC Africa has invested approximately $300 million in energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy deployments and energy storage solutions to decrease on-site reliance on fossil fuels. The company has also earmarked additional investments to fund the implementation of future energy efficiencies.
“As we selectively extend the platform services we offer, we are demonstrating our commitment to introduce new and renewable sources of energy to power our sites, which protects the industry, our customers and consumers from ongoing and future volatility in fuel prices. Airtel Africa’s environmental goals are aligned with ours and, as we expand digital reach on the African continent, we remain committed to reducing GHG emissions in tandem with our growth.”
https://www.americantower.com/investor-relations/press-releases/
