ISOC edotco starts construction of common tower

MANILA, Philippines — ISOC edotco Towers, a tandem of Malaysia-based tower giant edotco Group Sdn. Bhd. and Filipino firm ISOC Infrastructure Inc., has started construction of its first common tower located in Cavite.

The shared infrastructure, which broke ground in Bacoor City yesterday, is the second common tower under construction in the country, the first of which is being built by LCS Holdings Inc. of politician Luis “Chavit” Singson which broke ground in October in Caoayan in Ilocos Sur.

“This groundbreaking marks a step forward for the nation, towards embracing the shared infrastructure model and advancing overall connectivity. Our efforts in the Philippines are fueled by the clear opportunity to transform the telecommunications landscape and our commitment to improve the country’s digital aspirations as a nation building partner,” edotco chief executive officer Suresh Sidhu said.

ISOC edotco aims to build 400 to 500 towers within the first year of its operations.

It plans to invest $100 million in the local market over the next three to five years for a plan to construct a total of 1,000 towers.

“We are ushering a new era of connectivity in the Philippines. Beyond setting the stage for next generation networks, we are also linking together all corners of the nation, overcoming barriers to communication, while strengthening relationships and improving people’s lives in meaningful ways,” ISOC Infrastructure chairman Michael Cosiquien said.

Globe has signed an agreement with ISOC edotco which involves construction of an initial 150 common towers in various sites in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon).

Smart has also inked a common tower deal with the edotco-ISOC team in which around 71 sites were initially identified.

Sidhu said the push for common towers in the Philippines is driven by telco users’ increasing appetite for faster connectivity speeds and lower latency amid an increasing appetite for data.