Telecom Tower Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the telecom tower market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global telecom tower market reached a value of nearly $52.56 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.4% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $52.56 billion in 2023 to $76.79 billion in 2028 at a rate of 7.9%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.9% from 2028 and reach $107.38 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from the strong economic growth in emerging markets, favorable government initiatives, increased adoption of digitalization and rise in tower upgrades. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period was difficulty in acquiring suitable land for tower installation.

Going forward, growing adoption of 5g technology, increasing internet penetration, increasing adoption of smartphones, expansion of mobile networks into rural areas and rising urbanization will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the telecom tower market in the future include environmental concerns.

The telecom tower market is segmented by type of tower into lattice towers, guyed towers, monopole towers, stealth towers and other types. The lattice towers market was the largest segment of the telecom tower market segmented by type of tower, accounting for 41.4% or $21.78 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the monopole towers segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the telecom tower market segmented by type of tower, at a CAGR of 9.9% during 2023-2028.

The telecom tower market is segmented by fuel type into renewable and non-renewable. The non-renewable market was the largest segment of the telecom tower market segmented by fuel type, accounting for 79.6% or $41.84 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the renewable segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the telecom tower market segmented by fuel type, at a CAGR of 9% during 2023-2028.

The telecom tower market is segmented by installation into rooftop and ground-based. The ground-based market was the largest segment of the telecom tower market segmented by installation, accounting for 69.8% or $36.67 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the rooftop segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the telecom tower market segmented by installation, at a CAGR of 11.3% during 2023-2028.

The telecom tower market is segmented by ownership into operator-owned, joint venture, private-owned and mobile network operator (MNO) captive. The operator-owned market was the largest segment of the telecom tower market segmented by ownership, accounting for 42.2% or $22.2 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the private-owned segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the telecom tower market segmented by ownership, at a CAGR of 10.5% during 2023-2028.

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the telecom tower market, accounting for 33.6% or $17.68 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by North America, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the telecom tower market will be Africa and Middle East where growth will be at CAGRs of 10.8% and 10.7% respectively. These will be followed by South America and Asia Pacific where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 10.2% and 10.1% respectively.

The global telecom tower market is fairly fragmented, with a large number of players in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 22.04% of the total market in 2023. American Tower Corp. was the largest competitor with a 4.66% share of the market, followed by Indus Towers (Bharti Infratel Ltd.) with 4.05%, Summit Digitel Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. with 2.72%, Cellnex Telecom with 2.52%, BSNL Tower Corporation with 1.62%, EDOTCO Group (Axiata Group) with 1.60%, Deutsche Telekom AG with 1.39%, Crown Castle Inc. with 1.31%, IHS Holding Ltd. with 1.21% and SBA Communications Corp. with 0.96%.

The top opportunities in the telecom tower market segmented by type of tower will arise in the lattice towers segment, which will gain $9.69 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the telecom tower market segmented by fuel type will arise in the non-renewable segment, which will gain $18.42 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the telecom tower market segmented by ownership will arise in the private-owned segment, which will gain $9.5 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the telecom tower market segmented by installation will arise in the ground-based segment, which will gain $12.95 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The telecom tower market size will gain the most in China at $5.02 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the telecom tower market include renewable energy adoption to enhance sustainability in telecom operations, focus on expanding coverage in remote areas to drive growth and increase market penetration and strategic partnerships and collaborations among market players.

Player-adopted strategies in the telecom tower market include focus on expanding market leadership in the telecom infrastructure sector, enhancing renewable energy capabilities, enhancing infrastructure capabilities and meet growing market demand and launching 5G networks through strategic acquisitions and partnerships.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the telecom tower companies to focus on integrating renewable energy sources for enhanced sustainability, focus on expanding telecom towers in rural areas, focus on monopole towers segment for growth, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on expanding distribution channels through strategic partnerships, focus on optimizing price strategy, focus on leveraging digital channels, continue to use B2B promotions and focus on targeting private-owned telecom towers.