Bracing itself to remain competitive after the liberalisation of the telecom sector, Ethio telecom has split its network infrastructure department into five divisions for service efficiency.

The country's sole telecom operator is also hoping to lease its infrastructure to the two operators that are expected to join the industry next year. It plans to generate income by renting out its 7,100 towers and over 22,000Km of fibre optics to interested telecom operators.

The company's network infrastructure, which is run by 5,400 people, has been split into five divisions, falling under infrastructure or services based on the nature of the network. The divisions are Fixed Network, Wireless Network, Infrastructure-Power & Environment, Infrastructure-Transport Network, and National Operation & Service Management.

The Fixed Network division uses a wired network for voice and data communication, while the Wireless Network is a division that runs the operation of wireless devices or systems in a fixed location reliant on tower networks. The Power & Environment team will handle land acquisition, towers, and supplying power from solar power or generators to fixed networks.

The Transport Network division deals with the transmission and traffic of data between devices. The National Operation & Service Management division, which directly reports to the CEO, is tasked with monitoring services and acts as an information hub. It has a system that reports technical glitches to the relevant department to deploy technical teams to fix issues.

"We made the functional split to make the company efficient, and it is one of the best restructurings we've done," said Frehiwot Tameru, CEO of Ethio telecom. "Mixing power, transmission, wireless and fixed infrastructure and networks was a headache, and the restructuring gave us a big relief."

The new draft licensing directive, which was drafted by the Ethiopian Communications Authority is currently the consultation process, allows for telecom companies to build their infrastructure or use existing infrastructure through a lease agreement.

Leasing infrastructure will encourage Ethio telecom to improve its setup while creating an excellent and sustainable market opportunity, according to Frehiwot.

"We can work as an intracom company that provides infrastructure such as towers and fibre optics for other telecom companies," he told Fortune. "It'll also help the company maintain its position in the market."

Before starting to share infrastructure, the company will require a little investment and reinforcement to make the existing infrastructure capable of hosting other operators, according to the CEO.