Vodacom Group and Airtel Africa have signed a strategic infrastructure sharing agreement across several African markets.

The two companies noted that the infrastructure agreement will cover key markets including Mozambique, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The duo stated that this is subject to regulatory approvals in the various countries.

At first, the partnership will focus on sharing fiber networks and tower infrastructure, as the telcos push to accelerate the roll-out of digital services in these markets.

Sharing infrastructure will also enable Airtel and Vodacom to reduce their respective infrastructure costs.

It will also enable the two carriers to extend coverage to some of the more underserved parts of the country.

“Providing connectivity to empower people is at the core of our strategy. Our partnership with Airtel Africa is a proactive step forward in creating a sustainable, inclusive, and connected digital future for the continent," said Shameel Joosub, chief executive officer, Vodacom Group.

"Through infrastructure sharing, we can provide cost-effective services to more people, more rapidly, ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age. As we fulfil our ambition to connect 260 million customers by 2030, the need for scalable and cost-efficient network solutions becomes increasingly significant."

Sunil Taldar, Airtel Africa CEO, added: "Even as competitors, it has become a business imperative for us to collaborate in the provision of critical infrastructure required to build a resilient network with strong capacity to support the emerging digital technologies as well as the growing need for data-enabled products and services."

Taldar noted that the deployment of fiber connectivity is crucial for advancing technologies such as 4G and 5G in Africa.

Airtel, a subsidiary of Indian telco giant Bharti Airtel, signed a similar network sharing agreement with another Pan-African telco, MTN Group, earlier this year, as part of a tower-sharing agreement that covers Uganda and Nigeria.

Network infrastructure sharing isn't a new thing. In the UK, the four main mobile operators are part of the Shared Rural Network (SRN) which aims to support some of the country's most remote areas. Elsewhere in Australia, Optus and TPG Telecom signed a regional network-sharing agreement last year.