Engro Connect has completed a landmark $560 million deal to buy all 10,500 telecom towers owned and operated by Jazz. This is the first time in Pakistan’s history that a telecom operator has sold its entire tower infrastructure. The deal was finalized after approval from regulatory bodies, including the Competition Commission of Pakistan, and resolving all court cases in Islamabad High Court.
Jazz, Pakistan’s largest telecom operator, will now pay rent to Engro Connect, a subsidiary of Engro Corporation, to use the cell sites installed on these towers. The sale allows Jazz to focus more on digital services such as fintech, cloud, entertainment, and digital health, while Engro Connect manages the tower infrastructure.
Currently, Pakistan has around 50,000 telecom towers, with companies like Engro Infra and Advotco managing many of them. The tower company model, popular worldwide, allows multiple telecom operators to install their equipment on a single tower, optimizing infrastructure use and cutting costs.
Industry experts say that while many towers in cities may be consolidated, new towers will be installed in underserved areas to expand telecom coverage. However, some operators like Telenor and Ufone are unlikely to join soon due to ongoing merger talks and regulatory reviews.
Besides telecom, these towers also play a growing role in the optical fiber network, as many fiber and internet providers rent space on these towers for their cables, highlighting the expanding digital infrastructure in Pakistan.