Telefonica has confirmed the sale of 2,029 towers in Ecuador and Colombia for €290 million to Phoenix Tower International.

This is one of the first signs we have seen of the Telefonica ‘Five Point Plan’ becoming a reality. Telefonica is a business which is seemingly drowning in debt, and one pillar of this new strategy has been to monetize tower assets around the world.

“We are honoured to expand our relationship with Telefonica in Ecuador and Colombia and look forward to working closely with them on their ongoing wireless build-out initiatives across the world,” said Phoenix Tower International (PTI) CEO Dagan Kasavana.

“These transactions are exciting for PTI and will allows us to become the market leader in Ecuador, a USD based market with three healthy wireless operators with significant 4-G build-out needs in the coming years. The transaction in Colombia solidifies PTI’s strong market position with over 1,800 owned towers. Colombia has been a great market for PTI, and we see continued growth from all of the carriers in the coming years.”

The Telefonica executive team has been under considerable pressure over the last few years to deliver additional value and drive down the debt. It seems this pressure has only intensified as the realities of 5G and fibre investments start to become a reality. The disposal of passive infrastructure is one-way numerous telcos are raising funds to fuel future ambition.