Tower companies (TowerCos) build and operate towers which are used as passive infrastructure to host active elements of one or more telecommunications networks.

This updated Global Trends benchmark provides an overview of TowerCos across 12 jurisdictions around the world: Australia, Brazil, China, the EU, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, the UK and the US. The research covers for each jurisdiction:

• Largest TowerCos by number of sites, ownership, services provided, and clients served.
• Recent mergers and acquisitions (M&As) involving TowerCos.
• Policies and regulations of relevance for TowerCo operations.

Market

• TowerCos operate in 10 jurisdictions, with 26 companies analysed: 27% MNO-controlled and 73% independent operators. Some ownership changes occurred in 2024.
• The market saw 12 M&As in 2024, with five approved under conditions since 2021.

Regulatory requirements imposed on TowerCos
 

• TowerCo services are generally unregulated unless they provide additional communications services.
• China requires licensing for TowerCos, while four jurisdictions classify tower sites as critical infrastructure.
• Only the EU introduced new rules that, when in force, will possibly impact TowerCos, through new access rights to utility networks.

Site deployment and sharing

• All jurisdictions have implemented or proposed policies to facilitate macro-site deployments.
• Eight jurisdictions have implemented and one has proposed policies to encourage site sharing.
• Only Brazil and India introduced new deployment and sharing regulations in 2024, with most jurisdictions continuing to implement existing policies.

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