From Telecom Competition to Infrastructure Governance

What Cameroon’s Infrastructure Sharing Decision Really Signals

Recent reports indicate that Cameroon has instructed telecom operators to share parts of their network infrastructure in an effort to improve service quality, reduce inefficiencies and strengthen nationwide connectivity.

The move comes after increasing concerns from regulators and consumers regarding network performance, coverage gaps and the pace of infrastructure investment. Authorities appear to have concluded that maintaining parallel infrastructure while significant connectivity challenges remain is no longer the most effective way to support the country's digital ambitions.

Viewed narrowly, this is a telecom regulatory intervention. Viewed strategically, it may represent something far more important: a shift in how governments perceive digital infrastructure itself.

For decades, telecommunications liberalisation was built on a simple assumption. Competition would drive investment, investment would improve services and infrastructure ownership would remain one of the primary sources of competitive advantage. Operators built their own towers, fibre networks, transmission systems and supporting infrastructure because network ownership was directly linked to market position.

This model helped expand connectivity across much of the developing world. However, the economic environment that supported it is changing rapidly.

Telecom operators are facing a growing mismatch between infrastructure demands and commercial realities. Data consumption continues to rise exponentially, driven by video, cloud services and increasingly sophisticated digital applications. At the same time, operators must continue investing in network upgrades, fibre expansion, energy resilience and future technologies such as 5G and edge computing.

The arrival of artificial intelligence is likely to intensify these pressures further. While much of the public discussion around AI focuses on models and computing power, AI ultimately depends on physical infrastructure. Data must travel through networks, applications require reliable connectivity and future AI-enabled services will place additional demands on digital infrastructure.

Against this backdrop, governments are beginning to rethink the role of telecommunications.

Connectivity is no longer simply a commercial service. It has become a foundational layer of the modern economy. Digital payments, e-government services, healthcare platforms, educational systems, logistics networks and industrial operations increasingly depend on reliable telecommunications infrastructure.

As a result, network quality and coverage are no longer viewed solely as matters of consumer satisfaction. They are increasingly seen as issues of national competitiveness and economic development. This broader perspective helps explain why infrastructure sharing is attracting growing attention across many emerging markets.

The traditional objective of infrastructure sharing was largely economic. Shared towers, fibre and support systems reduce capital expenditure and operating costs. However, the strategic significance extends beyond cost reduction.

Infrastructure sharing reflects a different philosophy of digital development. It suggests that some layers of digital infrastructure may be too expensive, too important and too foundational to be optimised through extensive duplication.

In many respects, telecommunications may be beginning a transition already observed in sectors such as transport, energy and utilities. Over time, these sectors evolved towards shared infrastructure foundations because the economic benefits of coordination outweighed the benefits of duplication. Competition did not disappear, but it increasingly took place at higher layers of the value chain.

A similar transformation may now be emerging in telecommunications.

TELECOM INFRASTRUCTURE SHARING 101

Telecom infrastructure sharing allows multiple operators to use the same assets rather than building parallel networks. The most common form is passive sharing, where operators share physical infrastructure such as towers, masts, power systems, equipment shelters, fibre ducts and rights-of-way. This approach reduces costs while preserving competition at the service level.

A more advanced form is active sharing, where operators share parts of the network itself, including antennas, radio access equipment, transmission networks and, in some cases, spectrum resources.

As mobile data consumption, cloud traffic and AI-related workloads continue to increase, infrastructure sharing is becoming an increasingly important tool for improving network economics, accelerating rural coverage and reducing the cost of digital transformation.

What began as an efficiency measure is increasingly being viewed as a strategic component of national digital infrastructure policy.

Infrastructure sharing typically falls into two categories.

1. Passive sharing involves physical assets such as towers, masts, power systems, equipment shelters, fibre ducts and rights-of-way. This is the most common form of sharing globally and generally raises limited competition concerns.

   
   

2. Active sharing goes further and includes elements of the network itself, such as antennas, radio access equipment, transmission networks and, in some cases, spectrum resources.

   
   

As network deployment becomes more expensive and data demand continues to rise, infrastructure sharing is increasingly viewed not only as an operational efficiency measure but also as a strategic tool for expanding digital connectivity and supporting national digital development goals.

Typical Benefits

• Lower capital expenditure (CAPEX)

• Lower operating expenditure (OPEX)

• Faster rural coverage expansion

• Improved infrastructure utilisation

• Reduced environmental footprint

• Improved investment economics for 5G and future networks

THE AFRICAN TOWERCO REVOLUTION

Africa has been one of the world’s most successful laboratories for shared telecom infrastructure.

Over the last fifteen years, operators across the continent have sold tens of thousands of towers to specialised infrastructure companies known as TowerCos. Rather than owning and operating their own tower portfolios, telecom operators increasingly lease capacity from these companies while focusing on customers, services and digital innovation.

This model has enabled operators to reduce capital requirements, improve balance sheets and accelerate network expansion. It has also demonstrated that competition can remain strong even when infrastructure ownership becomes increasingly shared.

The rise of TowerCos represents a profound structural shift. Telecommunications are gradually moving away from vertically integrated ownership models towards infrastructure ecosystems where ownership, operations and service delivery are increasingly separated.

Cameroon’s recent intervention should therefore be seen not as an isolated policy decision, but as part of a much longer transformation already underway across African telecom markets.

Rather than competing primarily through infrastructure ownership, operators may increasingly differentiate themselves through customer experience, enterprise services, digital platforms, financial services, cloud partnerships and AI-enabled solutions. Infrastructure itself could gradually become a shared foundation supporting a broader digital ecosystem.

This possibility carries important implications for investors, policymakers and development institutions.

For investors, infrastructure-sharing models could strengthen the role of tower companies, wholesale fibre providers and neutral-host operators. Digital infrastructure may increasingly resemble other long-term infrastructure asset classes, attracting capital from infrastructure funds and institutional investors seeking stable returns.

For governments, the challenge will be balancing efficiency with competition. Infrastructure sharing can accelerate connectivity and reduce costs, but poorly designed frameworks risk weakening incentives for innovation and investment. Success will depend on transparent governance, fair access arrangements and clear regulatory oversight.

For multilateral development banks and international financial institutions, the trend reinforces the importance of financing shared digital infrastructure. Open-access fibre networks, rural connectivity programmes and digital backbone investments may become increasingly important components of national development strategies.

Perhaps most importantly, infrastructure sharing intersects directly with questions of digital sovereignty.

As countries seek to build cloud capabilities, support AI adoption and expand digital public services, the resilience and efficiency of underlying telecommunications infrastructure become strategic concerns. Governments are increasingly recognising that digital transformation depends not only on applications and platforms but also on the quality of the infrastructure upon which those systems operate.

Whether Cameroon's initiative proves successful remains to be seen. Much will depend on the details of implementation, commercial arrangements and regulatory design.

Nevertheless, the broader signal is worth paying attention to. The most important aspect of this story may not be that telecom operators are being encouraged to share infrastructure.

It may be that governments are beginning to view digital infrastructure less as a collection of competing private networks and more as a strategic national asset that underpins economic growth, digital sovereignty and future AI competitiveness.

If that interpretation is correct, Cameroon’s decision could represent more than a local regulatory intervention. It could be an early indicator of a wider shift in how digital infrastructure is governed across emerging economies in the age of AI.

ACTIVE NETWORK SHARING: THE NEXT STEP

Sharing towers is only the beginning. As network deployment becomes more expensive, operators are increasingly sharing parts of the network itself. This trend, known as Active Network Sharing, goes beyond physical infrastructure and extends into radio and transmission systems.

Two common models have emerged.

1. MORAN (Multi-Operator Radio Access Network) allows operators to share radio infrastructure while maintaining separate spectrum holdings.

   
   

2. MOCN (Multi-Operator Core Network) goes further by allowing operators to share both radio infrastructure and spectrum resources.

These approaches can significantly reduce deployment costs, particularly in rural areas and lower-density markets where maintaining multiple parallel networks may no longer be economically viable.

For regulators and policymakers, active sharing offers a way to improve coverage and network quality without requiring every operator to duplicate infrastructure investment.

OPEN RAN AND THE STANDARDISATION REVOLUTION

For decades, telecom networks were built as vertically integrated systems supplied by a small number of equipment vendors. Operators typically purchased most of their network infrastructure from a single provider, creating significant technological and commercial dependencies.

Open RAN (Open Radio Access Network) seeks to change this model.

Led by the O-RAN Alliance, the initiative promotes open and standardised interfaces that allow equipment from different suppliers to work together. The objective is to create a more flexible, interoperable and competitive telecom ecosystem.

Supporters argue that Open RAN can reduce vendor lock-in, stimulate innovation, lower deployment costs and strengthen supply-chain resilience.

Beyond the technical benefits, Open RAN has become increasingly relevant to discussions around digital sovereignty. Governments and operators are exploring whether more open architectures could reduce dependence on a small number of global infrastructure providers while encouraging the development of local technology ecosystems.

In many ways, Open RAN represents the telecom industry’s equivalent of the transition from proprietary computing systems to open, interoperable cloud architectures.

THE RISE OF NEUTRAL HOST NETWORKS

Instead of multiple operators deploying separate infrastructure, a neutral host builds and operates a single shared network that can be used by multiple service providers simultaneously.

The model is increasingly used in airports, railways, stadiums, industrial zones, smart cities and large commercial developments where parallel infrastructure would be inefficient and costly.

Neutral host models are attracting attention because they can improve infrastructure utilisation, reduce environmental impact and accelerate deployment in underserved areas.

As connectivity becomes more important for economic competitiveness, neutral hosts may become a key component of future digital infrastructure strategies, particularly in markets where capital constraints make extensive duplication difficult to justify

Is Telecoms as a Digital Utility the Bigger Trend?

For decades, telecommunications policy focused on competition through infrastructure ownership. Operators built competing networks and differentiated themselves through the assets they controlled.

Today, a different model is beginning to emerge.

Governments, investors and regulators increasingly view telecommunications infrastructure as a strategic national asset, comparable to electricity grids, transport corridors or water networks. These systems are too important, too capital intensive and too foundational to economic development to be assessed solely through the lens of market competition.

As a result, parts of the telecom stack are gradually becoming shared infrastructure layers, while competition shifts towards higher-value activities such as cloud services, digital platforms, fintech, enterprise solutions and AI-enabled applications.

This is the broader significance of developments such as infrastructure sharing, TowerCos, Open RAN and neutral host networks.

Taken together, they suggest that the telecommunications industry may be entering a new phase: one in which digital infrastructure increasingly resembles a governed utility supporting a much larger digital economy.

Cameroon’s decision is therefore not just about improving network quality. It may be an early signal of how countries will govern the digital foundations of their economies in the age of AI

Digital infrastructure is becoming too strategically important, too capital intensive, and too economically foundational to remain governed purely through fragmented duplication models.

SOURCES & FURTHER READING

• Cameroon Presses Telecom Operators on Service Quality as Complaints Rise — Analysis of regulatory pressure and infrastructure investment oversight in Cameroon. https://www.ecofinagency.com/news-digital/1504-54705-cameroon-presses-telecom-operators-on-service-quality-as-complaints-rise

  
  

• To curb increasing drop in quality: Gov’t rolls out fresh guidelines for telecoms service providers — Overview of Cameroon’s policy intervention and infrastructure coordination efforts. https://theguardianpostcameroon.com/post/4458/fr/homecurb-increasing-drop-in-quality-govt-rolls-out-fresh-guidelines-for-telecoms-service-providers-regulator-home