There are around 75,000 neutral host nodes in the U.S. market today. Two thirds of those are owned by towercos, the rest are carrier owned, with around 10,000 owned by AT&T’s antenna solutions group (which markets their solutions to other MNOs), while Sprint are deploying their own small cell network. Even where projects are carrier-led, an increasing proportion of outdoor Distributed Antenna Systems (oDAS) and in-building solutions are able to support neutral host.
DAS are used as both a coverage solution and for infill capacity in urban locations in the U.S. The indoor Distributed Antenna System (iDAS) market is still bigger than the outdoor market in the U.S., with some stakeholders reporting iDAS being leased up at three times the rate of outdoor DAS.
American Tower leads the indoor market, while Crown Castle has relatively few iDAS but approximately two thirds of the outdoor market. Crown Castle has acquired over 15,000 miles of fibre in major metropolitan U.S. markets, giving them over 15,000 small cell nodes to promote to provide dark fibre backhaul for small cell deployments. Crown Castle is increasingly focusing their capex on small cells rather than the slowing demand for macro sites in the U.S. Meanwhile, ExteNet Systems, recently divested by SBA Communications and acquired by Digital Bridge and Stonepeak Investment Partners, has a mid teens market share in the neutral host oDAS market and a low double digit share of the iDAS market.
The margins of the neutral host DAS model compare favorably with the macro tower business model. While tenants pay significantly less than for a macro site (perhaps US$500pcm for a prime urban DAS compared to around US$1,800pcm for a tenancy on a macro tower), the lease cost of lamp posts or other street furniture on which to hang oDAS is an order of magnitude less than the cost of leasing a plot of land big enough to build a 40m tower. Lease up rates are also comparable: American Tower has achieved a tenancy ratio of 2.5 in stadiums, shopping malls, hotels, convention centers and casinos in the U.S.
Of course fiberisation is a critical issue when it comes to providing backhaul to small cells, and the U.S. towercos are increasingly investing in fibre to offer a joined up proposition. But that doesn’t meant they are averse to leasing fibre to get an attractive new DAS on air.
DAS in CALA
The DAS market South of the border is significantly less mature than in North America. While there is growing demand from vendors, most projects have been limited to the ‘low hanging fruit’ of airports, stadia and shopping malls.
Whilst MNOs and towercos in CALA continue to focus on meeting growing demand for macro sites, the gap in the market for a large scale DAS offering in CALA is growing.
