FPS Towers, recently acquired by American Tower for €697mn (read more earlier in this edition of the journal) exemplify the broader vision of cell site leasing which may be necessary to drive competitive advantage in European towers. In September 2016, FPS announced that they had reached an agreement to lease-up 76,500 towers owned by RTE, a subsidiary of French power producer EDF. This portfolio supplements the 20,000 rooftops FPS markets and FPS’s core portfolio of 2,500 ground based towers.
There are only 24,459 telecom towers yet 62,764 points of presence in France (source: ANFR, 2016). The balance is made up of rooftops, public and transport structures, water towers, church spires.
