The three operators are finalizing leasing contracts with the new joint venture
China’s three mobile operators – China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom – signed an agreement to transfer a combined 231 billion yuan ($36 billion) worth of telecommunications towers and related assets to China Tower, their tower joint venture.
The three operators formally agreed to create the new company in July 2014, with the main goal of reducing duplication of telecom towers and other related infrastructure. China Tower will be responsible for the construction, maintenance and operation of telecom towers across the country.
China Mobile owns a 38% stake in the joint venture while rivals China Unicom and China Telecom will each have about 28%. The remaining 6% will belong to state-owned China Reform Holdings. China Mobile said it will transfer assets worth 116.4 billion yuan to China Tower, while China Unicom and China Telecom will transfer assets worth 63.2 billion yuan and 34.3 billion yuan, respectively.
The mobile operators said they are finalizing the terms of lease agreements with China Tower. To avoid disruptions in mobile services, China Tower will allow the three telcos to continue to use their own infrastructure after they are sold until a lease deal is concluded.
In August, China Tower took control of almost 1 million towers owned by the three Chinese telcos. The joint venture is expected to build over 1 million towers over the next two years, according to previous reports.
Digi’s LTE service reaches 50% of Malaysian population
Malaysian mobile operator Digi Telecommunications’ LTE service now covers 50% of the country’s population. The company said it has already surpassed its year-end network coverage target of 45%, and has plans to double site rollout by deploying 1,500 LTE sites by the end of the year.
The operator’s 3G network currently reaches 87% of the Malaysian population. Digi is currently offering LTE services across Malaysia through spectrum in the 1800 MHz and 2.6 GHz spectrum bands.
In the past three years, Digi said it has invested 2.3 billion ringgit ($554 million) in capital expenditures primarily on its network, and has committed an additional 900 million ringgit this year to further strengthen its network. The operator also plans to rollout some 6,000 kilometers of fiber optic nationwide by year-end.
Digi ended June with 11.8 million mobile subscribers. The telco is part of Norway-based telecom group Telenor. Digi accounted for 12% of Telenor’s overall business in the second quarter of 2015, according to the group’s latest financial report.
