Colombia Movil has announced that it will sell up to 2,126 towers to ATC Infraco − a subsidiary of American Towers that is yet to be formed – for USD182 million. Movil, a subsidiary of Millicom International Cellular (MIC), and ATC will also enter a long term leasing and build-to-suit agreement to provide for the needs of Movil’s current network and cater for future expansion. This deal is the first of its kind from MIC in Latin America, but similar arrangements have been made in Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania with Helios Towers Africa. Outsourcing passive infrastructure is part of a larger strategy from MIC to reduce its expenditure and focus on its core activities.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, at the end of March 2011 Colombia Movil had a 10% share of the wireless market, compared to Comunicacion Celular’s 67% and Telefonica Moviles Colombia’s 23%.