Reliance Jio signs tower sharing agreement with Indus Towers

Mumbai: Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (Reliance Jio), telecom arm of Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Monday signed infrastructure sharing deal of with Indus Towers, the world's largest and India's leading provider of telecom tower infrastructure.

Under the agreement, Reliance Jio would utilize the telecom tower infrastructure services being provided by Indus Towers to launch its services across the country. As per the agreement, the pricing would be based on prevailing market rates, said a company statement.

"We are continuing our effort to create a new age network which will provide innovative and empowering digital solutions to every Indian through our high speed 4G services. We are building our network through a combination of infrastructure network that we are creating on our own and those that we are renting from quality partners. We already have such tower sharing agreements with all the major players in India, and this relationship with Indus Towers will further accelerate the rollout of our services," said Sanjay Mashruwala, Managing Director, Reliance Jio, the only pan India operator with BWA spectrum.

The agreement will help in avoiding duplication of infrastructure and preserving the environment. It will also ensure seamless services to Reliance Jio customers through Indus' world class tower infrastructure.

Commenting on the deal, B S Shantharaju, CEO, Indus Towers said,"We are delighted to partner Reliance Jio in their endeavor to roll-out next generation wireless broadband services. Our footprint in 15 Circles in India coupled with high network uptime levels, cost effective solutions, faster access to market and lower operational costs will provide Reliance Jio a robust and seamless telecom infrastructure. Additionally, our agreement with Reliance Jio will also bring benefits to our existing customers in the form of lower rentals and energy costs. At the same time, the infrastructure sharing will help in avoiding duplication of towers and benefit the environment through lower power and fuel consumption. On this new partnership, we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Reliance Jio."

Indus Towers has a well-defined infrastructure sharing strategy to support and to enhance infrastructure sharing in India, thereby allowing for expansion of wireless networks into rural areas and promoting better environmental utilization of resources in metro areas. Currently Indus Towers services 11 operators namely Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Aircel, Tata Teleservices, Uninor, Reliance Communications, Videocon, MTNL, BSNL & MTS, said the statement.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.