Hal Hess explains American Tower’s investment criteria, and how the towerco business model has evolved in EMEA and LatAm
Hal Hess, EVP International and President, EMEA and LatAm, American Tower generously granted TowerXchange an hour to pick his brain about American Tower’s international market evaluation criteria, the evolution of the emerging market towerco business model toward provision of power as a service, and his views on growth opportunities in SSA, MENA, Latin America and Europe.
TowerXchange: What have been the guiding principles of American Tower’s International expansion?
Hal Hess, EVP, International Operations and President, EMEA and Latin America, American Tower:
When we initially launched our International business in 1999-2000 in Mexico and Brazil it was largely exploratory. Mexico was a natural extension beyond our domestic business, and Brazil was the largest economy in Latin America. With the recession in 2000-1 everyone retrenched. We still had our businesses in Mexico and Brazil but we didn’t invest further in new international markets.
Following our SpectraSite merger in 2005, we made a strategic decision to pursue international expansion to complement our U.S. business. We felt there were certain, predominantly developing, international markets that were especially attractive. These markets were in much earlier stages of wireless development than the U.S at the time, but we felt strongly they were poised to replicate a similar growth path over the long term. As a result, we made the decision to start deploying capital in these markets in order to position ourselves to be key beneficiaries.
Read this article to learn:
- American Tower’s three pronged threshold test which guides international investment
- Africa: The full turnkey power value proposition as a competitive differentiator
- LatAm: Growth opportunities in Brazil, Peru, Columbia and Mexico, where the impact of Telesites, AT&T and the 700MHz wholesale LTE network are discussed
- Europe: perspectives on deal flow, broadcast towers and decommissioning economics
Read the full interview here
Hal Hess from American Tower will be joining 35+ tower industry experts, and will be speaking at this years TowerXchange Meetup Africa on October 1 and 2 at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa. For more information and to book your place please visit our website.
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