Telecom infra firm EdgePoint Infrastructure (EdgePoint) is powering Digital ASEAN and expanding options for local telecom providers via its subsidiary, Edgepoint Towers Inc. (EdgePoint Philippines), Suresh Sidhu, Chief Executive Officer of EdgePoint Infrastructure, announced in a press briefing Thursday, November 10.
Already, its local subsidiary has entered the domestic market officially in April this year, via a Sale & Leaseback agreement for 2,934 towers in the Luzon Island group, with Smart Communications Inc (Smart) and Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc. (DMPI), both PLDT Inc. wholly-owned subsidiaries.
Following the sale, Smart is leasing the towers from EdgePoint Philippines to serve its mobile communications and high-speed internet connectivity needs.
The official handover of all towers will be completed in the first half of 2023.
To date, 2,232 tower sites have been handed over to EdgePoint Philippines.
“Our market position as an independent towerco aligns well with the the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)’s Common Towers policy," says the EdgePoint Infrastructure CEO.
The aim is to enhance connectivity while easing mobile network operators from the heavy capital expenditure required for building communications towers.
The number of internet users in the Philippines has more than tripled in the past decade from 23 million in 2010 to 76 million in 2022 and significant investments are needed to meet the demands of this growth, he noted.
The country 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.
Historically, the country has lagged in the ASEAN, averaging 4,090 users per tower, with mobile download speeds of 22.5 Mbps.
"But we are now seeing much needed policy reforms and new investments for infrastructure, in line with the government's push to ensure that all Filipinos have access to broadband capability," according to Alexander Kiel, Chief Executive Officer of EdgePoint Philippines.
"We are focused on driving the deployment of world class connectivity solutions in the telecommunications landscapes across our footprint, and being the leading 5G enabler for our mobile network operators,” Sidhu maintained.
Furthermore, “We want to be a part of the future of telecommunications in the country," says Kiel.
"Since we entered the market, we have created more than 100 new jobs directly and more than 1,000 indirectly, and we expect to double this number by end of 2024," he pointed out.
"As we bring our regional best practices to the country, we plan to leverage the strengths of our local network of vendors, which has grown significantly since we started."
The company's role as nation building partners go beyond telecommunications infrastructure, as its aim is to strengthen the economy by building a reliable supply chain of local vendors and suppliers, Kiel elaborated.
"The recent pandemic has shown us the importance of self-sufficiency within the industry and we hope to create an ecosystem that can operate independently from other countries and markets,” he explained.
EdgePoint’s capabilities are in line with the National Broadband Plan (NBP) and it is partnering with the government to deploy the right infrastructure and introduce sustainable, environmentally friendly solutions.
Next year, the company will start rolling out its first trial sites featuring a mix of renewable energy and efficient generators.
"A more comprehensive modern infrastructure will transform the Philippines into a globally competitive, digitally-enabled economy in line with the Digital Cities 2025 plan,” according to Sidhu.
The Digital Cities 2025 initiative aims to convert high potential areas into IT and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) hubs to grow the Philippine economy within the next five years.