Indian mobile operator Aircel has signed an agreement that will allow it to use incumbent BSNL's 45,000 mobile towers.
Aircel, which currently owns around 32,000 base stations, said its new passive infrastructure agreement will give it access to a tower network that covers 96% of India's districts.
“Aircel will now have access to strategically located sites across BSNL’s 21 circles, excluding Mumbai & Delhi,” Aircel COO Gurdeep Singh said.
“Leveraging BSNL’s passive infrastructure will help Aircel meet its aggressive network roll out plans in addition to reducing operational cost.”
Aircel is India's fifth largest mobile operator, with around 24 million subscribers, and now has operations in 18 of India's telecom circles.
The company last month reportedly signed a deal to share 5,000 of its own towers with telecom license holder Datacom Solutions.