“ We expect a few hundred sites until the end of 2021 and growing rapidly to a few thousands afterwards ”
— Rodrigo Araujo , Chief Operating Officer , PhilTower Consortium
cells able to be erected quickly and efficiently in electricity-style poles , with the technology embedded within , minimsing their impact to local communities . He said they can go up in one week , around five less than it takes to erect a conventional cell tower .
For population-dense cities such as Manila – the principal initial focus , along with Luzon Islands , although Mynamar , Malaysia and Indonesia are also in his sights – this is a huge benefit and offers the added benefit of circumventing site acquisition and permitting challenges that accompany larger installations .
“ The Philippines is the most promising as it has immediate demand . The new infrastructure is highly optimised . Operators are still understanding the benefits and there will be a lot of ongoing talks with vendors – it ’ s a learning curve . There will be increased efficiencies of CAPEX and reduced costs for operators ,” said Araujo .
The impetus coincides with the ubiquitous push towards 5G and demand for new apps and revenue streams .
“ 2G is moving out , there will still be demand for 3G for the next five years and 4G will be the main tech ,” Araujo
125 businesschief . asia