Start-up mobile operator Africell Angola – which in December 2021 declared its technical readiness to launch commercial consumer mobile services in Luanda – has reportedly pushed its launch target date back from Q1 to April 2022 after disappointing negotiations on infrastructure sharing with the country’s mobile market leader Unitel meant that it had to invest more heavily in its own cell sites in the capital than anticipated, reports newspaper Expansao.
Infrastructure sharing is mandated by Angolan telecoms legislation, although as Unitel pointed out in submissions to Expansao, sharing requests may be rejected when ‘technically and physically unfeasible,’ on which basis in mid-October 2021 it rejected certain sites proposed by Africell because of excess equipment weight and energy demands. Furthermore, Unitel said it countered Africell’s claims of ‘unjustifiable’ access rates by providing comparable price references for regional towercos including Helios Towers and IHS as well as existing domestic examples where it rents sites.