RIL telecoms unit in tower lease pact with ATC

Conglomerate Reliance Industries'(RELI.NS) telecommunications unit, which holds nationwide 4G permits, has agreed to lease mobile phone masts from infrastructure provider American Tower Corporation’s (ATC) (AMT.N) local arm, the companies said in a statement on Monday.

Reliance Jio Infocomm’s agreement with ATC India Tower Corporation comes after its tower-leasing pacts with local firms Reliance Communications (RLCM.NS), Bharti Infratel (BHRI.NS) and Viom Networks. Reliance Jio also has an agreement with Bharti Infratel’s parent Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS) to share network.

Reliance Jio and ATC India did not give financial details of the agreement. ATC India has 11,000 mobile phone towers in the country, according to the statement.

Reliance Industries, controlled by India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, bought 4G airwaves in a 2010 government sale, but is yet to launch services. It added some airwaves it can use to offer 4G services from an auction this year.

Boston-headquartered ATC has 67,000 mobile phone towers across 13 countries, according to the statement.