Global investment firm KKR announced investment in Pinnacle Towers, a leading telecom tower company in the Philippines.
Pinnacle will utilize the investment in order to expand the telecom infrastructure at a time when Filipino mobile users increasingly demand reliable data-rich, high-speed, affordable connectivity.
Pinnacle specializes in undertaking build-to-suit telecom tower projects, providing operators with capital-efficient infrastructure solutions to rapidly expand their coverage.
Pinnacle’s subsidiary FTAP is one of the first independent TowerCos in the Philippines to secure a provisional license to operate from the Department of Information and Communications Technology and is a pioneer in the recently liberalized Philippines tower market.
“The telecommunications sector in the Philippines has grown rapidly in the past few years amid the increasing demand for connectivity. This has led to a resource imbalance and the need to expand existing infrastructure to allow operators to provide better service and coverage to their customers,”David Luboff, partner and head of Asia Pacific Infrastructure at KKR, said.
Patrick Tangney, chairman and CEO of Pinnacle, said: “KKR’s investment comes at a pivotal time: the Philippines – and Asia more generally – is one of the world’s fastest-growing and most dynamic mobile markets.”
KKR made its investments through its infrastructure fund. The investment represents KKR’s second infrastructure investment in the Philippines and the firm’s fourth overall investment with a focus on the market.
Fitch Ratings recently said it expects execution to take centre stage amid the challenges posed by the Covid1-9 pandemic in the Philippines.
Incumbent operators such as PLDT and Globe Telecom aim to boost revenue. PLDT’s Capex investments over the past few years and the reallocation of 2G spectrum to 4G have improved network quality and coverage.
Telcos will continue to depend on the existing 4G network to meet data demand while pacing 5G investment over the next few years to support cash flow. The extent of 5G rollouts will depend on the affordability of 5G devices, particularly in a prepaid market that yields a monthly ARPU of USD2 for mobile and USD20 for home broadband.
Globe Telecom and PLDT are likely to restrict 5G fixed-wireless access to selected metropolitan areas in the Philippines.
