APWireless, backed by Radius Global and EQT, is facing allegations of hindering the UK’s 5G rollout by increasing lease rates for towercos. Vodafone, EE, O2, and Three accuse APWireless of exploiting a business model where they purchase leases from landowners and charge higher rents to operators. Discussions of land aggregation normally do not leave the pages of TowerXchange, but in this case it has been reported in The Telegraph, a UK newspaper.
The row dates back to the 2017 revision of the Electronic Communications Code (ECC), which simplified operators' access to public or private land for lower rents. This led to operators securing lower land rents for their sites. Legal battles over mast leases then escalated in the UK, with over 1,000 disputes since the 2017 revision and a high-profile case involving APWireless and Cornerstone, the Vodafone-O2 joint venture towerco now in court.
In addition to accusations that leases are being inflated, APWireless's parent company Radius Global has been accused of intentionally building parallel infrastructure near existing masts using its sister firm, Icon Tower. Operators are worried they will be forced to re-locate from their existing sites to higher-rent sites nearby.
An industry spokesman said: “The land aggregator’s business model, whereby they appear to be seeking to force operators off an existing mast which has legal protections, to a replacement one that doesn’t, is a cynical ploy to bypass the code to solicit higher rents off the mobile operators. Far from assisting the deployment of critical national infrastructure, land aggregators are hindering roll-out and in some cases actively duplicating existing masts simply to force operators off perfectly good ones impacting on the existing coverage and capacity vital to the people they serve.”
Critics argue this practice undermines efforts to improve mobile coverage and primarily benefits land aggregators, not local communities. APWireless defends its approach, claiming it boosts competition and addresses under-investment in UK telecom infrastructure. A spokesperson for APWireless argues that the entry of Icon Tower into the market will “lead to lower costs for mobile phone users by increasing competition.” They continued: “This litigation is an attempt to shut out competition in the market for mobile telephone infrastructure and protect a monopolistic position.”
With towercos like Vantage Towers and Cellnex also increasing their focus on land under towers the row is likely to rumble on. TowerXchange has approached Radius Global for comment.
