The digital transformation of the towerco business is progressing

LONDON, UK, 25 May 2022 | Digital transformation is one of the hottest topics in the telecoms industry, and tower operators are changing the way their operations are run. The digitalisation of key processes and the management of the tower inventory has the potential to drive substantial operational savings for towercos if well implemented. It is no surprise that towerco professionals at the latest TowerXchange event in London spent a long time discussing how to address these opportunities and overcome the challenges that have hindered digitalisation in the past few years. 

Analysys Mason’s Networks Research Director, Caroline Gabriel, moderated a panel with some of the main digital twin companies at the event. She said, “The panel debate was lively and wide-ranging, and demonstrated the high level of innovation that is taking place to refine digital twin solutions to meet the specific needs of towercos, as well as addressing some of the challenges. Some tower companies are starting to deploy this technology at scale and their experiences are providing valuable lessons about the key areas of value that can be generated. However, the panellists agreed there were still challenges to address, for instance to make digital twins and data collection simpler to implement, and to manage the changes in process and culture that will be necessary to use the data to achieve the optimal commercial impact.”

The digitalisation of the tower sector also affects M&A processes. Alessandro Ravagnolo, Partner at Analysys Mason said, “We are pioneers in the use of digital twins to carry out technical due diligence assessments with partner companies such as vHive. The use of drone surveys and the ability to carry out desktop-based reviews of the quality of the asset offer multiple benefits to investors. These benefits include the reduction in the lead time for site visits, the possibility to review larger samples of sites and the ability to assess the quality of the mast without having to climb the tower, which were not usually possible in the timeframe of a transaction.”

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Media contact: Natalie Smith, Press Office, Analysys Mason, Tel: +44 20 7395 9000, Email: press@analysysmason.com.