Event report: Top ten takeaways from TowerXchange Meetup Asia

Thank you to those who attended in Kuala Lumpur this week. More detailed write-ups of our sessions and discussions will follow, but as the TowerXchange team returns to the office we share our top takeaways from the event.

Consolidation isn’t only happening at mobile operators, Altius has consolidated the Indian market and the MIDC-PhilTower merger is the first of more deals to come in The Philippines. Attendees also discussed the potential for an acquirer to build a multi-country towerco platform.

Scale is important, but if that doesn’t translate into effective operations on the ground you won’t generate good returns. With interest rates high and carriers under pressure, the value of a towerco is reliant on the good tower economics of every single site, beyond a focus on the tenancy ratio of the whole portfolio.

For the first time TowerXchange Meetup Asia 2024 was opened with talks on the shared challenges of investors, mobile operators, towercos and hyperscalers. Since 2020 the valuation of hyperscalers has increase by 136% and digital infracos are up 33%, while MNOs are down 11%, making investment decisions complex.

However, invest we must. Data consumption per person per month globally is set to grow form 6GB in 2020 to 44GB by 2030, delivered by the networks built by operators and infracos.

Carrier consolidation is created larger operators with more capacity to invest. Shedding non-core assets is creating new opportunities for towercos, but negotiation has to focus on exchanging short-term pain for long-term value.

Japan and Vietnam were identified as markets with tremendous potential for towerco growth, both have limited activity today but are showing signs of opening up to outside investment.

While many people want to talk about how AI is driving demand, towercos see a lot of low hanging fruit from applying AI solutions to the data generated by their assets

Up to half a towerco’s cost base can be leases from landlords, so you better treat them right. One towerco organises photography competitions to keep landlords engaged, another provides financial support through a third party--but most landlords just want basic data hygiene and clear communication. However towerco lack dedicated software for managing this critical relationship, a gap in the market.

DNB in Malaysia was praised as a successful example of 5G development, deploying 7,500 sites in 2.5 years and reaching 80% population coverage. Despite the hype around satellite technology, towers remain essential for true 5G experience due to the need for proximity infrastructure.

TowerXchange was honoured to host YB Fahmi Fadzil and YB Gobind Singh Deo on the first and second day of the event. Both emphasised the important role digital infrastructure had already played in economic development in Malaysia, and that we must be ambitious in what else can be achieved together.