The evolution of independent telecom infrastructure companies has facilitated the sharing of tower assets among multiple tenants. The logic — more value can be created from the efficient use of these assets. This also means that the independent tower companies have the flexibility to deploy capital expenditure to further improve efficiency, plus push operational excellence and standardization programs. In addition, they have increased asset rollouts, or supply, which will be increasingly vital to meet increased data consumption.

In a nutshell, they have created the conditions to place more tenants on the telecom infrastructure assets, creating immense value and efficiencies. This is highlighted nicely by a key metric for tower companies. On average, an independent telecom infrastructure company will boast a tenancy ratio of approximately 2x, compared against 1x for mobile network operator (MNO)-owned tower assets.

Tower rollout and ownership