NTT agreed to sell 71 towers to JTower for an undisclosed sum, a deal the Japan-based operator said will support early development of 5G networks and optimise capex allocation.

The companies stated the deal follows discussions on ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs through infrastructure sharing, noting 5G network deployments will require an increase in the number of base stations compared with LTE.

Existing tenants’ contracts will be transferred from the operator’s subsidiary NTT West to the tower company in September. NTT also will provide access to additional assets including its optical fibre network.

JTower was established in 2012 and said it is focused on indoor and outdoor infrastructure sharing, along with looking to acquire more towers from mobile operators.