Business News Americas | January 6, 2011 | Patrick Nixon
The number of mobile phone antenna towers that are shared or leased to third parties in Latin America could expand at a 20% CAGR from 2010-15, reaching 49,000, ABI Research practice director Aditya Kaul told BNamericas.
According to Kaul, in Latin America today there are some 350,000 mobile phone towers, of which about 19,000 are shared between operators or owned by companies other than the operators themselves. Of that 19,000, only 3,000 are owned by third parties, and in that space American Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT) is the predominant player.
American Tower Corporation CEO Jim Taiclet has said Latin America forms part of a three-area plan to buy up towers in areas including South Central Asia and some countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The company currently owns and operates more than 32,000 communications sites in the US, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Peru and India.
According to Kaul, the business model can be very profitable. Building a tower can cost some US$100,000, and the company can rent the tower out for roughly half that amount per year.
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