Steve Vondran, chief executive officer of American Tower, told a conferece call with investors that the company is seeing increasing evidence that these catalysts could create overlapping investment cycles
In sum – what to know
Capacity expands – American Tower sees the next phase of 5G increasingly focused on capacity, performance, and densification as wireless traffic continues to grow.
Spectrum cycle begins – The company expects around 800 MHz of additional mobile spectrum to be deployed over the coming years, beginning with upper C-band in 2027.
AI adds demand – AI traffic, alongside 6G and new spectrum, could reinforce wireless investment by increasing capacity, density, latency, and uplink requirements.
American Tower sees several overlapping catalysts that could support wireless infrastructure demand well into the next decade, with the company pointing to four developments: the next phase of 5G, a new spectrum deployment cycle, the transition to 6G, and growing AI traffic.
Steve Vondran, chief executive officer of American Tower, told a conferece call with investors that the company is seeing increasing evidence that these catalysts could create overlapping investment cycles.
The first is the evolution of 5G from an initial focus on coverage toward capacity and performance. “Early 5G deployments focused on coverage; the next phase is increasingly about capacity, performance, and densification as traffic grows,” Vondran said.
He said carriers will need to add equipment to existing sites and increase cell site density in areas where demand is greatest, with that activity beginning to emerge.
American Tower cited CTIA data showing that Americans consumed a record 159 trillion megabytes of wireless data in 2025, up more than 20% year over year. CTIA projects total wireless demand to grow fourfold by 2032.
New spectrum cycle
A second catalyst is the deployment of additional spectrum. American Tower expects approximately 800 MHz of additional mobile spectrum to become available over the coming years, beginning with upper C-band in 2027 and potentially followed by 2.7 GHz, 4 GHz and 7 GHz bands.
Vondran said new spectrum deployments have historically led to increased amendment activity and equipment upgrades, and American Tower expects the next cycle to follow a similar pattern. The company presented the spectrum opportunity as an expected future deployment cycle rather than a completed development.
6G and AI add to demand
The third catalyst is the eventual transition to 6G. While commercial 6G deployment remains ahead, Vondran said the industry is increasingly aligned around network architectures that are more intelligent and distributed and rely more heavily on Edge computing.
In American Tower’s view, that could result in increased equipment requirements, greater network density and an expanding role for communications infrastructure.
The fourth catalyst is AI. American Tower said AI could significantly reshape wireless network demand. It cited a CTIA expectation that AI traffic will grow three times faster than traditional wireless traffic and could account for nearly one-third of broadband traffic by 2034.
AI-powered devices, agents, connected vehicles, robotics, and real-time applications could create traffic that is more persistent, interactive and increasingly uplink-intensive, according to the company. Supporting those requirements will require additional spectrum and network capacity, as well as lower latency and greater density.
Vondran said AI could therefore extend and deepen the wireless investment cycle beyond traditional traffic forecasts.
American Tower sees the four developments as interconnected rather than isolated trends. “5G capacity, spectrum, 6G, and AI traffic reinforce each other, pointing to more capacity, density, and sophisticated digital infrastructure,” Vondran said. The company said it believes this combination positions it to participate in the resulting wireless infrastructure demand.
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