The verdict in three sentences
For a towerco or O&M contractor managing 900 tower sites in markets with unreliable grid power, the biggest leak is not maintenance but generator diesel, with 8 to 12% of deliveries usually unexplained by any engine hours. Fuel tracking software that cross-checks deliveries, hour meters, alarms and site visits flags those gaps site by site and protects margin against operator SLA penalties. Enterprise suites cost 80,000 to 200,000 USD in licences and integration; a focused custom tool is often faster to roll out and better adopted by field teams.
What the software must track, site by site
A tower site is more than a row in a spreadsheet. It combines a ground lease, one or more tenant operators, a power source (weak grid, diesel generator, solar hybrid, batteries) and a maintenance history. Everything should hang off a single site record.
| Module | Data tracked | Key indicator |
|---|---|---|
| Site record | GPS, tower type, height, tenants, photos | Share of complete records (target 100%) |
| Ground leases | Landlord, annual rent, expiry, receipts, disputes | Leases expiring within 90 days |
| Power and fuel | Diesel deliveries, tank levels, engine hours, grid hours | Litres per running hour |
| Maintenance | Monthly preventive, corrective, parts, technicians | Mean time to restore |
| Operator SLAs | Contracted uptime (often 99.5% to 99.9%), incidents | Downtime minutes per month |
| Penalties | Penalty scale per operator, invoiced penalties, disputes | Penalty amount per site |
| Security | Fuel theft, intrusions, guard reports | Incidents per site per quarter |
The fuel module is what pays for the project. A 15 to 20 kVA generator burns roughly 2 to 3 litres per hour depending on load. If a site receives 1,200 litres in a month while the meter shows 330 running hours, a 200 to 400 litre gap needs an explanation. The software raises it automatically and requires a meter photo at every delivery and every visit.
2026 market prices: enterprise suite or custom build
Tower companies in Africa, South Asia and Latin America usually choose between the options below. Figures are 2026 orders of magnitude for portfolios of 500 to 2,000 sites.
| Option | Upfront cost | Annual cost | Time to go live | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise tower management suite | 80,000 to 200,000 USD | 15 to 25% of licence | 6 to 12 months | Heavy configuration, poor fit for informal leases |
| Telemetry only (tank sensors) | 150 to 400 USD per site | 5 to 15 USD per site per month | 3 to 6 months | Measures fuel, ignores leases and SLAs |
| Shared spreadsheets | Close to zero | High admin time | Immediate | No alerts, conflicting data |
| Custom business software (Kolonell) | Complex application: 7,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (10,670 to 22,870+ EUR) | Maintenance 75,000 to 120,000 FCFA per month | 3 to 5 months | Needs precise scoping upfront |
The most cost-effective setup is often a custom tool that centralises leases, maintenance, SLAs and fuel, and imports telemetry where sensors already exist. You avoid paying twice for the same function.
Field features that make the difference
Three constraints must be designed in from day one:
- Intermittent connectivity: the technician app must work offline and sync when coverage returns. A job logged at a remote rural site must never be lost.
- Time-stamped photo evidence: hour meter, tank gauge, signed delivery note. This is the basis for disputing any penalty or fuel invoice.
- Simple field interfaces: short labels in the technicians' working language; extra languages for guards and subcontractors are quoted on request.
For management, the dashboard should show every Monday the 20 sites with the largest fuel gap, leases due for renewal and the month's penalties by operator.
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Daniel, head of operations at a 900-site tower company, buys on average 1,000 litres of diesel per site per month for 600 generator-powered sites. With diesel around 1.40 USD per litre (2026 estimate), the monthly bill reaches 840,000 USD.
- Estimated unexplained gap before the project: 10%, or 84,000 USD per month.
- After six months of cross-checks (photos, engine hours, alerts), the gap falls to 4%, or 33,600 USD.
- Monthly saving: 50,400 USD, around 605,000 USD over a year.
Add fewer SLA penalties thanks to better incident tracking and the software pays for itself within weeks. The real challenge is not the price of the tool but adoption by technicians and fuel subcontractors.
FAQ
How long does it take to roll out tower site management software?
For 900 sites, allow 3 to 5 months for a custom tool, including 4 to 6 weeks to migrate site records and leases. Enterprise suites often take 6 to 12 months.
Does the software replace tank telemetry sensors?
No, it complements them. Sensors cost 150 to 400 USD per site; the software imports their readings and matches them against deliveries and engine hours, which makes the 8 to 12% gap actionable.
How are informal or customary ground leases handled?
Each lease has its own record with the scanned contract, rent, expiry and payment history. A 90-day expiry alert prevents access disputes that directly hurt the 99.5% uptime the operator expects.
Can tenant operators be invoiced automatically?
Yes, the module can generate colocation and energy pass-through invoices per site per month. The export format for your accounting system is defined during scoping.
Where is the data hosted?
Hosting is chosen according to your contractual and operator requirements. Options and their cost are quoted on request.
Let's scope your project. Tell us about your site portfolio, power sources and operator contracts, and we will scope a management tool you can deploy within a few months. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.