Edotco, the tower arm of Malaysia-based Axiata Group, signed site sharing deals valued at up to $80 million with the three largest mobile operators in Pakistan: Jazz, Telenor Pakistan and Zong.

In a statement, edotco, the largest independent tower company in Pakistan with more than 950 towers, said it plans to make investments in boosting connectivity capabilities in the country via shared telecoms towers, and more efficient operations and energy management.

CEO Suresh Sidhu said: “Being asset-light frees-up substantial capital investment and resources from mobile operators, which they can channel towards their core business, extending their network coverage and improving service offerings for customers.”

The company said the investments represent part of $250 million it plans to invest in the country over the next five years.

Its long-term deal with Jazz, the country’s largest mobile operator with a 36 per cent market share by subscribers, will see edotco build an undisclosed number of new towers in strategic areas to meet the country’s rapidly growing coverage and capacity requirements. It will also acquire a number of existing towers, edotco said in a separate statement.

Jazz CEO Aamir Ibrahim said: “Pakistan’s telecommunication landscape is maturing as the country accelerates its push for digitalisation. This transformation will result in Jazz streamlining its network operations and meeting the demands for fast, reliable data, which is essential for a rapidly evolving digital landscape.”

The three operators have a combined market share of 86 per cent, Q4 data from GSMA Intelligence showed.