Another month and Reliance Industries’ data service venture Reliance Jio Infocomm has signed another tower sharing agreement. This time with the state-run telco BSNL to lease around 4,000 mobile towers, reports PTI. As per the agreement, BSNL will be offering these towers at a base rate of Rs 38,000 per month for ground-based towers and Rs 24,900 per month for rooftop based towers. BSNL Director (Consumer Mobility) Anupam Shrivastava told the publication that it will offer these towers at discounted rates if Reliance Jio commits to leasing 1,500 towers in the first year. There will be a further 5% discount if Reliance Jio commits to leasing at least 1,000 towers within three months. BSNL hiving off towers: It's worth noting that BSNL had started the process of hiving its tower assets into a separate subsidiary in April this year. This was after receiving an in-principle nod from the government in February this year, as indicated by a separate PTI report. BSNL had also received cabinet approval to surrender BWA spectrum in six of the twenty circles for a refund of Rs 6,724.51 crore in January this year. This was done in a bid to improve its existing financial condition. (Also read: BSNL posts Rs 7,085 Cr loss in FY14; Landline biz loss up, Revival plans) Other Infrastructure Agreements by Reliance Jio Besides BSNL, Reliance Jio has also signed similar partnerships with other telcos like: - Reliance Communications: A Rs 1,200 crore fibre optic network infrastructure sharing deal in April 2013, followed by a Rs 12,000 crore worth tower sharing deal in June 2013 and an intra-city…
