When we mooted the idea of covering the European market at the TowerXchange Meetup in Johannesburg last year, we were met with some sceptical looks. For many of the execs who have worked in the African market over the last five years, Europe is a far cry from the tower business as they know it. Disparate markets, a strong MNO attachment to the network as a competitive advantage, slow growth compared to the boom in Africa or Asia and a lack of obvious precedent for towerco activity make Europe seem a million miles from the meteoric rise of the towerco in emerging markets.
