260,000 towers up for grabs as telcos look to repay debt and boost network

The value of each cell tower varies from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 70 lakh, depending on the number of tenants and the length of the contracts

Two in three cell towers in the country are up for sale as their owners, mostly telecom companies, try to repay their debts and upgrade networks. 

Over 65 per cent of the 400,000-odd cell towers have been put on the block, according to some estimates, by Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, and Reliance Communications, apart from independent tower companies GTL Infrastructure and Tower Vision. 

Bharti Airtel announced on Tuesday that it would consider selling its stake in Bharti Infratel to private investors, a move that might give them a controlling interest in the tower infrastructure firm.  

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