Property Issues are STILL a bugbear for Telecom Operators

Chris Stratton - 4 January 2011

Looking back on the development of mobile networks, the major constraint on roll-out was always the ability to deploy new sites. The technology was developing fast; equipment vendors were innovative and providing new systems with more bandwidth, more speed and better service for less cost. Getting permission for the equipment to be deployed, however, frustrated these technology focussed companies.

The property profession adapted slowly to deliver the needs of the operators, creating a niche of telecoms savvy surveyors who understood the property issues and learnt about telecommunication issues. They charged handsomely for the privilege too. But effective completion of 2G and 3G network roll-out meant that many of these surveyors have had to move on, taking their expertise with them.

The last three or four years have seen the financial pressures on operators intensify as customers demand more bandwidth but want lower monthly bills.

RAN (Radio Access Network) sharing was an obvious answer. The first steps were faltering, but as operators find ways to make this work they hope to reduce the current number of cell sites by as much as 6,000. Consequently, the market level of base station rents is under significant downward pressure as these sites are due to be removed.

However, operators are often now stuck with long term lease agreements that are difficult to get out of, based on upwards only reviews which land owners will cling to as long as they can. It will be of little benefit to the operator to remove a base station from the network if they still have to pay rent on it for another 3, 5 or even 10 years. Just when they need it most, the high level property expertise is now mainly on the site provider's side, leaving operators facing an up-hill struggle.

The next year or two will see how well the operators deal with this issue and whether they can find ways to take advantage of the remaining property specialists to help them solve their problems.

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