“I’m trying to get growth out of 14 markets” overseas, says American Tower EVP/CFO Tom Bartlett. Speaking at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference earlier this week, the executive characterizes the company’s overall international carrier customer penetration at less than 10 percent. Of that figure, less than one percent is in India.
Smartphone penetration is an indicator of how much capital carriers will put “in network,” he says; it’s less than 50 percent overseas, according to Bartlett.
Tenancies are low compared to the U.S., too; American Tower has about 1.5 tenants per tower in those markets.
Mexico has been a bright spot as AT&T rolled out 4G; Mexico saw double-digit smartphone growth this year.
African countries are smaller and growing with global telecoms like Vodafone and Telefonica investing there, he said. Brazil, even with its economic woes, is growing and may reach 12 percent more smartphone penetration in 2017 compared to 2016.
“There’s a country that has 50,000 towers and needs twice that,” said Bartlett.
Finally, India is one-third the size of the U.S. and has well-funded carriers. “We have 60,000 towers there now. Smartphone’s there are approaching $100,” which he believes is a tipping point. “That’s good, especially in countries where consumers don’t have the same kind of wallet [size] as in the U.S.” The average Indian citizen is using their wireless device “for many more things that we use here.”
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