With major carriers all around the world preparing to improve and increase their wireless service on the eve of 5G, tower company Crown Castle has announced that they expect their small cell deployments to double over the next two years.
With most major wireless carriers looking towards small cells as a means to increase and improve on coverage and capacity as data demand begins to outpace existing infrastructure capabilities, Crown Castle is expecting 2017 and onward to finally be the incredibly lucrative times for small cells, as promised when small cells first began to gain traction in the industry several years ago. In fact, small cell builds by the company exceeded all expectations in 2016, and all indications suggest that 2017 will be an even stronger year for the company.
In a recent press release, Crown Castle Chief Executive Officer Jay Brown shared the steps that they’ve taken towards providing the nation with small cells that could help bridge the gap between the present wireless capabilities and the demands of the future, and made the shocking revelation that they intend to double the number of small cell installations across the nation.
“Given the expected substantial increase in mobile data demand over the coming years, we are excited about the opportunities for growth we see as a result of our position as a leading provider of wireless infrastructure in the US,” CEO Brown stated, “In our small cells business, our contracted pipeline has reached record levels, with nearly 25,000 nodes expected to be installed over the next 18 to 24 months, reflecting the confidence our customers have in our ability to assist in deploying their wireless networks. Once completed, this pipeline will double the number of small cell nodes we have installed to date.”
Even though some small towns and municipalities have opposed the idea of installing small cells across their communities, the potential benefit of the increased coverage has been leading other municipalities to invest heavily in them, making small cells far easier to install with limited red tape that larger macro sites would otherwise require. Small Cells, usually supported by direct fiber-optic connections, may in some cases eventually be able to match the revenue produced by traditional cell towers. All of this should make the implementation of wireless advances all the easier, and help make improvements in the network more readily available for the average consumer.
Crown Castle certainly believes this may be the future for towns and cities all across the nation, as they’ve allocated roughly just over 60% of their discretionary capital expenses for their first quarter of 2017 (roughly $151.3 million) into construction and infrastructure improvements within the small cell arena. With advances in wireless capability and service improving every day, it makes sense why companies like Crown Castle would invest so heavily in one of the best means to improving wireless coverage.
