Two Cameroon utilities, Cameroon Telecommunications (Camtel) and Cameroon Water Utility Corporation (Camwater), have signed an agreement to share infrastructure.
The companies say they are joining forces not just to share resources, but to amplify their collective impact, combining expertise to pave the way for faster, more cost-effective deployments of telecom and water services across the nation.
Quoted in local news resource News Upfront, Blaise Moussa, CEO of Camwater, points out that cities are expanding geographically and horizontally, and networks are submitted to high constraints, “and,” he adds, “we don’t have enough means to develop them”.
Judith Yah Sunday, CEO of Camtel, points out that infrastructure sharing is becoming a fairly common practice around the world. She explains: “Wherever Camwater is already present, we can surf on that infrastructure and vice versa and make sure that we deliver optimal services to customers and the public at large.”
Cited benefits of the agreement include cost efficiencies through reduced duplication of efforts and maximised use of existing resources. The deal should also promote environmental sustainability since less construction means less environmental disruption.
Timetables and technical details don’t yet seem to have been published. However, Judith Yah Sunday’s point about infrastructure sharing is certainly correct. In fact earlier this month a number of news outlets said that Kenya intends to use its more than 70,000 power transformers as internet hotspots across the country.
This will involve collaboration between the government and the Kenya Power and Lighting Company to use available power lines rather than laying fibre.
