ADB, iSON Sign Php2.4 Billion Deal to Enhance Digital Connectivity in the Philippines

ADB and Security Bank Corporation, a major Philippine bank, are each providing Php2.4 billion toward the financing package on a 12-year tenor, with ADB structuring the loans. The project financing is structured to mitigate risks related to greenfield financing of telecommunications towers in the Philippines. The country’s two dominant telecommunication service providers, Globe Telecom, Inc. and Smart Communications, Inc., both have master lease agreements signed with iSON who leases the land, builds the infrastructure, and handles the management, security, and maintenance of these towers.

Smartphone usage in the Philippines is among the most widespread in Southeast Asia, but the country has limited tower coverage—with only 240 towers per million population. In 2019, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) accelerated the rollout of shared telecom towers by allowing infrastructure companies to build and manage these towers on behalf of mobile network operators. The shared infrastructure will reduce the mobile network operators’ operational costs, allowing them to focus on providing better services to consumers.

iSON Tower is one of the independent tower companies licensed by the DICT to build and manage telecom towers. It is a part of the iSON Group, a leading information and communication technology company and an emerging market specialist, with a presence in over 30 countries across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. iSON Tower is focused on providing nationwide digital shared infrastructure with a comprehensive portfolio of built-to-suit macro towers, new-gen camouflaged solutions, solar solutions, and small cells, among others.