IFC bankrolls $70-M mobile tower-sharing project in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is investing $70 million in Communication and Renewable Energy Infrastructure (CREI) Phils Inc. to bankroll the construction of over 600 towers by 2023, which an analyst believes could improve the local mobile telecom industry. 

The World Bank Group’s private sector arm said on Thursday that this investment package is “aiming to bridge the digital divide through shared mobile infrastructure,” considering that the towers and their underlying costs will be shared with other telco providers. 

Broken down, the $70 million financing package from IFC consists of a $25.5 million loan and a parallel facility of $44.5 million. 

CREI Phils is a wholly-owned subsidiary of global telecom services group Two Thirty Three Holdings, managed by Kadri Hakim and Rami Shibley.

Sought for comment, Grace Mirandilla-Santos, an independent ICT policy researcher, said this move pushes for a common tower policy that benefits both consumers and the telco industry. 

“It's good to see that the intention of the common tower policy -- the sharing of passive infrastructure on an open access basis -- will be implemented with the help of this initiative. A thriving independent tower industry will benefit both the mobile telecom industry and the consumers,” she said in an email. 

“By sharing the cost of towers with other providers, mobile network operators are able to reach more communities and focus more on improving their service,” she added.

Likewise, the IFC indicated that the loan will boost mobile network capacity in the country that will enable telco operators to expand their 4G and 5G mobile networks nationwide at affordable rates for consumers. 

IFC explained that CREI’s entry could lead to “significant” greenhouse gas savings, as the project penciled in provisions to help reduce the use of diesel fuel on towers connected to the grid. In connection, the IFC reiterated they’re helping the company align their environmental and social practices with their standards. 

The local telco industry remains largely dominated by Ayala-owned Globe Telecom Inc. and Pangilinan-led PLDT Inc. Dito Telecommunity, a consortium between Duterte-allied tycoon Dennis Uy and state-run China Telecom, entered the fray years back in hopes of breaking that duopoly.

As it is, the Marcos Jr. administration wants to introduce more digital reforms in the country, such as digitizing segments of the national government, but has kept mum on how it would do so. There are legislations in the pipeline, such as the Open Access in Data Transmission Act, filed by Marcos allies last year which was meant to allow more market players to operate broadband networks. Sen. Imee Marcos, the president’s sister, filed a simplified version of this bill that supposedly encourages an open access framework for infrastructure sharing. 

"Despite the challenging market conditions triggered by the pandemic, IFC's long-term funding will allow us to meet our ambitions of expanding our digital infrastructure portfolio in the Philippines,” said Kadri Hakim, CEO of CREI.