Pan-African telecoms firm MTN is exiting two data centers in South Africa.

At the same time, the firm is reportedly looking for partners to develop AI data centers on the African continent.

MTN exits two sites in South Africa

The firm confirmed to ITWeb that it is decommissioning two of its data centers in the country and optimizing its data center portfolio as part of a broader business rationalization strategy.

The company will be decommissioning two third-party facilities – Gallo Manor in Johannesburg and Great Westerford in Cape Town – while continuing to invest in and expand its own infrastructure.

Further details on the exits weren’t shared.

“The decision to consolidate operations enables MTN to deliver the same services with improved efficiency, strengthened security, and greater customer value. MTN maintains strategic partnerships with several providers, including Teraco, to complement its internal capabilities,” MTN told ITWeb.

MTN has been at the Gallo Manor site for more than a decade. The facility suffered an outage in July 2022 during load shedding by the county’s grid operator.

Digital Realty’s Teraco operates the Great Westerford data center as its CT1 facility. Teraco has operated out of the building in Rondebosch since 2009.

“Today, MTN operates converged data centers that serve both enterprise and mobile operations, reflecting a modern, integrated approach to evolving customer needs,” the telco added. “MTN remains committed to delivering world-class, future-ready data centre capacity. This strategic consolidation strengthens MTN’s ability to offer high-quality, cost-efficient, and innovative services. As highlighted in recent coverage, MTN is investing in advanced data center capabilities to support emerging technologies, ensuring its infrastructure is well-positioned to meet today’s demands and power Africa’s digital future.”

MTN looks for partners for AI data centers

According to DataCenterMap, MTN operates around 18 data centers across 11 markets in nine countries across the African continent. In South Africa, this includes multiple sites in Johannesburg and at least one in Pretoria.

Bloomberg recently reported that MTN, founded in 1994 as M-Cell, was in discussions with US and European firms to build out AI data centers across Africa.

MTN CEO Ralph Mupita told the publications the telco is in “the commercial negotiation phase and shortlisting partners,” and plans to jointly fund the build-out of AI facilities. Further details weren’t shared.