General News
Collocation is About Opex Reduction—Hussain
Fazal Hussain is chief executive officer of Helios Towers, pioneer collocation company. He has executed many international telecommunications projects in his over twenty years working experience that saw him work in several countries around the world. He joined Helios Towers from PTCL (Incumbent operator in Pakistan) where he provided solutions to carriers for both passive and active shared infrastructure. Hussain spoke to chike onwuegbuchi and funmi ilesanmi on collocation initiative in the telecom industry.
Infrastructure Deployment
It has been very supportive as far as we are concerned. As you are aware we just raised another $250 million from the IFC, we are very happy with the opportunities in Nigeria and we will continue to provide basic world class services to operators mainly focusing on helping them to reduce their operational expenses (Opex).
Target of Facility
The idea is that the money is for investing in capital, so that we can put more towers on ground, and as we do that it means we are able to provide services to not only the big GSM players but also the Wimax operators.
Cooperation on Infrastructure Sharing
It’s been very good. If you are a service provider, I can come to you and say I can take 70 percent of your Opex out and I am sure you will want to talk to me. We can help you take Opex out and cut the cost so that operators can be more profitable by providing services to more and more customers. Our focus is solely Opex reduction to manage services and we are a world class company providing services to all the operators.
Challenges in Managing Towers
We have invested over $10 million in our network operation centre in Victoria Island. What happens is that we are getting live pictures, live signals and alarms when somebody enters the site even to check the temperature. We get all the information to our network operation centre in Lagos and we then delegate people who are in the field to go and investigate very quickly. We do a lot of preventive and corrective maintenance as well. Our people go to site two or three times a week just to make sure everything is fine. They check if the battery is fine, check the generators, and check everything basically because that is how to provide 99.9 percent uptime.
Encouraging Operators to Collocate
It is very simple, we provide world class service, and we provide 99.9 percent uptime which nobody does in Nigeria. We are the only company that can provide the uptime with what is called plug and play. The operator does not have to do anything, within two days they can switch on their equipment and its up and running. They don’t have to worry about anything; we provide everything, security and all. At the end of the day, we help them reduce Opex and our objective is to help operators reduce Opex by up to 70 percent. We provide world class service at a very good price.
We build our sites to the highest specification and it is designed for multiple tenants. As you know in Nigeria you get public power supply for about 6 hours in a day so 18 hours in a day you don’t have power. So what we do is to provide battery backup then we have a generator and then back up generator. We have personnel on that site with a mobile generator for quick response if there is a problem with the battery and the two generators. This is to ensure that the site does not go down at all.
Today, quality of service is relatively poor but in two years time and with the emergence of new operators, quality of service will be taken seriously as consumer will not tolerate any operator that provides poor quality of service.
Adding Value to Telecom Infrastructure
When we put a tower in an area there is no need to put more towers. One tower can service the GSM, CDMA and the Wimax operators, so they don’t have to spend any capital; they reduce their Opex so they can go spend it somewhere else. Whenever we put up a tower, the operators are very happy to come and use our towers for the simple reason of the assurance that we can provide 99.9 percent fully managed service.
Leasing Fibre to Operators
We are looking into doing what is called back haul. Our objective is to do collocation, managed services and backhaul so that we can put fibre on our towers.
Assessment of Telecom Industry
The telecom industry in Nigeria is still growing. First it was the voice , 2G the GSM and the CDMA obviously that has been growing after the deregulation and probably at the end there will be about 80 to 100 million subscribers because Nigeria is a large country. The second wave of technology which is to provide value added services on top of the voice and the third which is data base services of broadband internet based on 3G and Wimax. I believe as far as telecom sector is concerned the consumers will benefit because it is a competitive market and it is very positive as far as I am concerned
We are the pioneers and as a matter of fact we started the collocation business so the relationship has been very good.
In essence we provide two services at the moment. We build sites for collocation, meaning sites that allows at least four different operators whether GSM, CDMA, WiMax. Secondly, we manage passive infrastructures on behalf of the operators.
We guarantee 99.9% uptime and so far we have more than 1,000 sites nationwide and we plan to increase it to 2,000 fully managed sites.
Operational Model
The market dynamics is very critical but it is peculiar to emerging markets. Average revenue per user (ARPU) is declining rapidly, interconnect rates are very high, transmission cost is also very high and operating expenses is increasing. The subscribers are becoming increasingly demanding and quality of service is now a big issue. The two key aspects of the lean operator model are managed services and infrastructure sharing. Helios Towers provides these services to enable operators to concentrate in managing their customers, brand, sales and not managed infrastructure.
Capacity to Meet Operators Demand
We are very relevant to speedy roll out of telecom and related services in Nigeria, as a matter of fact; we are the heart of the wireless operators.
We do have the capacity and even with the coming of new entrants into the market. We are rolling out as fast as we can. First of all we are rolling out in the major cities and the smaller cities and then the villages. So far, we have spent over $300 million and recently IFC, granted us $250 funding to roll out additional 1,000 sites. This will bring our sites to over 2,000. Finance is not a problem to us as we are well funded to provide efficient services to the operators.
Managed services allows operators to focus on core strength of managing the business and not running the network, adopt a third party strategy and service consolidation to achieve immediate cost reduction by 70%, achieve operational excellence in a market where average site uptime is only 70% ,focus on service quality improvement to achieve business key performance indicator.
Congestion of the Landscape by the Erection of Towers
We are a very responsible corporate citizen of the country, and therefore obtain approvals from the appropriate authorities before building our sites. We have a high specification of our sites and our towers do not fall as they are designed for 25 years. They are not local standard but international standard, so we ensure that we get the approval of the government entities concerned before we build our sites.
More so, financially we have not really face challenges in the sense that we have been able to raise money internationally, we are actually a company registered in Nigeria but investment comes from abroad. The biggest challenge that we are facing is finding good quality sites. If for example you are given the license to operate telecommunication services in Nigeria, and you want to roll out nationwide, you will spend a lot of money in getting a good quality site and besides it will take you sometime to get it.
Effect of Taxes on Bottomline
Whenever you pay taxes, it affects your bottom line. But whatever taxes we pay, operators have to pay if I have five people or four on a tower; I pay only once so I could pass those savings to them, so they don’t have to pay.
Parameter of Your Charges
Our charges are very affordable. It depends on the space that you want to hang your equipment, if you are a GSM or CDMA operator, you will probably take more space, but the cyber café or Wimax operator, radio station, Television station etc take smaller space and pays lesser than the former. So, our charges depend on the space and specifications of your equipment.
Helios Towers in Future
We hope to see Helios Towers in other African countries. Right now, we are still serving Nigeria because Nigeria is a big market but very soon we are looking forward to exporting our skills to other African countries apart from Nigeria. By 2010, we will probably have close to 2000 towers. We have over a thousand right now.
General News
AfDB, AfCFTA Unite to Unlock $3.4 Trillion Continental Market Through Strategic Infrastructure Development
The African Development Bank Group, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, and Africa50 have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to catalyse infrastructure development across the continent and unlock the full potential of the largest free trade area in the world since the establishment of the World Trade Organization.
Signed at the Africa50 General Shareholders Meeting in Maputo, the tripartite agreement establishes a comprehensive framework for cooperation in identifying, designing, constructing, and maintaining critical infrastructure projects that will enhance intra-African trade, accelerate regional integration, and drive digital transformation across the continent’s market of 1.3 billion people.
Currently, intra-African trade accounts for just 15–18% of total African trade, compared to 68% in Europe and 59% in Asia. The new partnership between the three institutions aims to dramatically increase this figure by addressing the infrastructure gaps that currently constrain trade flows across African borders.
It will prioritise developing multimodal transport corridors, cross-border infrastructure, logistics hubs, ports, and airports to seamlessly connect African markets and reduce the cost of doing business across borders.
Recognising the transformative power of the digital revolution, the partners will also work together to establish cutting-edge data centres and digital trade platforms, enabling African businesses to compete in the global digital economy.
“The African Development Bank has played a lead role in supporting the development and operation of regional economic corridors throughout the African continent by investing over $55 billion in the last nine years to develop road corridors, ports, railways, and expand power pools to interlink countries and boost trade,” said Solomon Quaynor, the Bank’s Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure & Industrialization.
Specifically, the Bank invested over $8 billion across 109 cross-border, economic corridors, and infrastructure projects between 2014 and 2024
He added: “The tripartite agreement between the AfCFTA Secretariat, the African Development Bank, and Africa50 underscores the paramount importance of realizing the full potential of the AfCFTA single market with its combined annual GDP of $3.4 trillion through the establishment of transport infrastructure.”
Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50, emphasized that the agreement will support “the development and financing of trade-enabling infrastructure to boost intra-African trade, one of the continent’s greatest endeavours.”
The partnership will operate on six strategic pillars: ensuring alignment with the AfCFTA Agreement and regional policies; jointly identifying bankable projects; mobilising capital through innovative finance mechanisms; establishing robust tracking systems; encouraging stakeholder dialogue; and integrating environmental, social, and governance standards throughout project lifecycles.
The three-year memorandum of understanding will be operationalised through detailed joint work plans and specific implementation agreements that will define projects, timelines, and financing arrangements. Technical working groups will be established to ensure effective coordination among the partners and alignment with national and regional development priorities.
Speaking on a panel at the Africa50 event, Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area, said: “In the global context, we are facing an unprecedented challenge in Africa.
“But this challenge is a unique opportunity for Africa; it is a wake-up call for us that we have to invest in our institutions, in infrastructure, and our skills. Infrastructure development is at the heart of trade and is a prerequisite to doubling intra-African trade to 25% by 2030.”
Vitel Wireless, Nigeria’s first Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) has entered into partnership with Slot Systems Limited for distribution of its SIM cards and other gadgets around the country.
Chudi Nwabueze, managing director, Vitel Wireless who described the partnership as a defining moment for his company said Vitel Wireles’s purpose is clear: to transform connectivity in Nigeria through innovation, affordability, and seamless access.
Nwabueze, who spoke in Lagos recently at the official engagement with Slot said Vitel Wireless, as the nation’s first Mobile Virtual Network Operator is committed to creating smart, reliable solutions that break down barriers to communication and make it easier and more cost-effective for people to stay connected anytime, anywhere.
“This partnership with SLOT is a meeting of shared values and vision. By combining our innovative mobile services with SLOT’s extensive retail presence, we are making Vitel Wireless SIM cards and the connectivity they offer more accessible than ever before. Customers will now be able to purchase, register, and top-up their SIM cards conveniently within their own communities.”
He described the collaboration as more than just distribution, ”it is about empowering people. It is about bridging the connectivity gap with technology, accessibility, and affordability at the heart of everything we do.”
Nwabueze further explained Vitel Wireless SIM card is a location technology awareness card. It can track whereabouts of a person. This information can help the police, on official demand, in case of unfortunate incident.
He said the disadvantages of tracking a person’s whereabout outweighs the advantages.
He explained that access code is given to another person for tracking.
“We operate as a core network and we have integrated with all the major networks in Nigeria, including international calls. So, on a simple language, we are a GSM company, that you do call, SMS, data and we offer more value like safety. And the good news is that we are spread out in the 36 States plus Abuja FCT in Nigeria.
Digital Realty Nigeria, a carrier-neutral data centre operator, will be launching its ServiceFabric® platform alongside opening of its new LKK2 Data Centre in Lagos today.
ServiceFabric Platform in Lagos Nigeria, aligned with Digital Realty’s commitment to enabling seamless global interconnectivity for businesses, providing enterprise customers in Nigeria with the ability to connect whenever, wherever, and to whoever they need to.
Engr. Ikechukwu Nnamani, managing director, Digital Realty Nigeria, said that the presence of ServiceFabric in Lagos will support the growing demand for hybrid IT and multi-cloud connectivity, empowering businesses with a secure, software-defined interconnection platform.
Located in the nearby coastal area of Lekki, LKK2 adds nearly 2MW of installed IT capacity across nearly 13,000 square feet of data hall space, supporting the growing demand for scalable, high-performance infrastructure across Nigeria and the broader region. LKK2 will be interconnected with Digital Realty’s existing LKK1 facility, which serves as the landing station for the 2Africa subsea cable, offering customers seamless access to the cable’s 46+ landing points in 33 countries across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
The integration of LKK2 with the 2Africa cable landing station at LKK1 enables businesses in West Africa to leverage low-latency connectivity and reliable access to global cloud and network services. This setup supports improved application performance and enhances access to international digital ecosystems through a carrier-neutral platform.
This new facility integrates with ServiceFabric®, Digital Realty’s global interconnection and orchestration platform, ensuring low-latency, high-throughput connectivity to local, regional, and international destinations. Through ServiceFabric®, LKK2 will interconnect with LOS1, the region’s top internet peering point, and LOS2, Digital Realty’s highly connected data centers located on Victoria Island in Lagos.
Together, this ecosystem delivers robust resilience, redundancy, speed, and scale for enterprise and hyperscale customers seeking to expand into a fast-growing digital market, ensuring continuous, reliable operations.
“LKK2 is a significant milestone in our journey to support digital transformation in Africa,” said Ike Nnamani, Managing Director, Digital Realty in Nigeria. “Our continued investment in Nigeria and the broader African region reinforces our commitment to enabling seamless global interconnectivity and providing a future-ready infrastructure platform for local and global enterprises.”
This strategic expansion reinforces Digital Realty’s commitment to advancing Africa’s digital transformation by delivering the infrastructure and connectivity needed to support innovation and growth across the continent. Recently ranked number one in Africa on Cloudscene’s Data Center Ecosystem Leaderboard, the company continues to cement its position as a leading enabler of the continent’s digital future. With the exponential growth of data and the acceleration of digital initiatives across the region, LKK2 provides the additional capacity which enterprises and content providers need to grow, scale, and connect – wherever and whenever they need to.
LKK2, due to become operational later this year, will support both local enterprises and multinational organizations seeking reliable, secure, and interconnected infrastructure in Africa.
NCC, Wikimedia Nigeria Discuss Responsible Access to Creative Works in Digital Space
Interpol Sting Sniffs Out Cyber Crime in Nigeria, Others
ATCON Commends FG for $2Bn “Project Bridge”, Pledges Support
Miden Systems Drags Bank to Court over Alleged Forgery, Misappropriation
MTN Restores Services After Planned Network Maintenance in Parts of Adamawa, Borno, and Kano
E-Financial1 day agoFBNQuest Merchant Bank Facilitates Landmark ₦5Bn Commercial Paper Programme for Accion Microfinance Bank
E-Business1 day agoNDPC Begins Probe of Banks, Others for Data Breaches
Telecom1 day agoIntel–U.S. Partnership Reshapes Semiconductor Landscape with Historic Equity Agreement
Telecom1 day agoDigital Realty Commits to Africa’s Digital Transformation @ Launch of LKK2 Data Center
E-Financial1 day agoUBA to Deepen Financial Inclusion, Boost Savings’ Culture with Super Savers’ Promo
Telecom1 day agoNITDA Alerts Nigerians to eSIM Security Flaw Deployed to Hijack Devices Worldwide
E-Financial1 day agoNigeria Leads Africa in Stablecoin Adoption with $22Bn in Transactions
E-Financial1 day agoFidelity Bank Resumes Intl Transactions on Naira Debit Cards