Asia-Pacific region will have 39% of cellular towers worldwide by 2014, says ABI Research
The Asia-Pacific region will see huge numbers of cellular towers built over the next five years, with demand driven by the massive, rapid increase in mobile subscribers in China and India. By 2014, according to ABI Research, the area will contain 39% of the world's cell towers, in a total addressable market worth nearly US$125 billion.
"China Mobile reports that 50% of its new subscribers live in rural areas," said ABI senior analyst Nadine Manjaro. "Extension of mobile services to rural regions requires many more cell towers and antennas than in urban areas, providing a growth engine for the segment."
Although in much of the world mobile operators continue to build and operate cell towers themselves, a new trend toward outsourcing is emerging, primarily in North America and India. Operators have been selling cell sites or outsourcing their operation to specialized tower companies which, increasingly, are also building new towers from scratch. In an exception to the usual practice in Europe, Vodafone and several other operators have also formed a joint venture with Arquiva to build some 5100 new towers in the region, noted ABI.
According to Manjaro, the cell tower build-out rate will start a slow decline some time after 2014: "Increasingly, operators are eager to reduce cell tower costs by means of passive and active infrastructure sharing. Many government regulators are actively encouraging this trend. In India, for example, operators that share towers can receive a reduction in the 5% of revenues they pay towards the country's universal service obligation fund."
A similar eventual slowdown in antenna shipments is expected as the migration to multi-band antennae reduces the total number needed, ABI added.
"China Mobile reports that 50% of its new subscribers live in rural areas," said ABI senior analyst Nadine Manjaro. "Extension of mobile services to rural regions requires many more cell towers and antennas than in urban areas, providing a growth engine for the segment."
Although in much of the world mobile operators continue to build and operate cell towers themselves, a new trend toward outsourcing is emerging, primarily in North America and India. Operators have been selling cell sites or outsourcing their operation to specialized tower companies which, increasingly, are also building new towers from scratch. In an exception to the usual practice in Europe, Vodafone and several other operators have also formed a joint venture with Arquiva to build some 5100 new towers in the region, noted ABI.
According to Manjaro, the cell tower build-out rate will start a slow decline some time after 2014: "Increasingly, operators are eager to reduce cell tower costs by means of passive and active infrastructure sharing. Many government regulators are actively encouraging this trend. In India, for example, operators that share towers can receive a reduction in the 5% of revenues they pay towards the country's universal service obligation fund."
A similar eventual slowdown in antenna shipments is expected as the migration to multi-band antennae reduces the total number needed, ABI added.
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