As Inside Towers celebrates its 10th year of publication, it is interesting to look back at the state of the wireless market when we started in 2013.
Mobile Network Operators
The U.S. wireless industry in 2013 was a dynamic and competitive environment. The national wireless carriers were, in order, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint-Nextel, T-Mobile USA, MetroPCS and Leap Wireless. Regional carriers included UScellular, C Spire, Ntelos, and Cincinnati Bell. MetroPCS merged with T-Mobile in May 2013 and Leap Wireless was acquired by AT&T in July 2013. Today, the national MNOs are Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and DISH with UScellular as the largest regional carrier.
Subscribers
In 2013, the national MNOs had a combined subscriber base of over 284 million out of 319 million people or 89 percent penetration. In 2023, these companies together have 369 million postpaid and prepaid subscribers in a population of 340 million, representing a saturation rate of 109 percent. UScellular is the largest regional carrier with 4.7 million subscribers.
Wireless CapEx
Tier 1 and regional MNO capex in 2013 tallied $31 billion. Network investment has gone through highs and lows over the past decade. Aggregate wireless capex dipped to $25 billion in 2018 at the end of the 4G cycle, then rose to a peak of almost $40 billion in 2022 with the first 5G deployment wave. Capex is projected to be nearly $32 billion in 2023, according to Inside Towers Intelligence.
In that 10 year span, the U.S. MNOs spent roughly $263 billion to acquire spectrum and invested another $355 billion to build their network infrastructure.
Tower Companies
In 2013, the top 10 tower companies were, in order, Crown Castle, American Tower, AT&T Towers, SBA Communications, T-Mobile Towers, Global Tower Partners, Mobilitie, TowerCo, Pegasus Tower and InSite Towers, according to Fryer’s Site Guide (which was the go-to tower reference at the time, published by Jim Fryer, now Inside Towers Managing Editor)
As our very first story showed, the independent tower business was getting underway in earnest. Crown Castle bought AT&T Towers in 2016 and before that, T-Mobile Towers in 2012. American Tower acquired Global Tower Partners in 2013.
Today, the Big 3 public towercos – American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA Communications – account for over 100,000 communications and broadcast towers in the U.S. Vertical Bridge is the largest private tower company with over 11,000 towers. The balance of the towerco lineup comprises over 100 smaller, privately-held owners and operators.
What G?
4G LTE was first introduced in the U.S. by Verizon Wireless in 2010. By 2013, the Tier 1 MNOs – Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile – had all launched 4G. It would be another six years before 5G came along, again first introduced by Verizon.
Spectrum
In 2013, 4G LTE relied on low-band 700 MHz and 850 MHz and mid-band PCS 1900 MHz, AWS (1700/2100 MHz) and Broadband Radio Service 2.5 GHz, mainly used by Sprint. These bands were chosen for their coverage and capacity characteristics, and compatibility with mobile devices at the time.
Today, MNOs are using high bandwidth spectrum for 5G. Low-band 600 MHz became available in 2017 followed by highly valued mid-band C-band, CBRS and 3.45 GHz in the 2020-2021 time frame along with high bandwidth millimeter wave.
Smartphones
The leading smartphone in 2013 was the iPhone 5; we’re now at iPhone 15! Competing Android phones included Motorola’s Moto-X, now available as Edge, Google Nexus, now Pixel, and Samsung Galaxy S4, now up to Galaxy S23.
Manufacturers
Nortel Networks, the Canadian telecommunications giant, fell on hard times following the dotcom bust in the early 2000s and officially ceased operations on February 2, 2013. U.S.-based Alcatel Lucent, whose legacy dated back to AT&T Bell Labs and Western Electric, did not fold, but merged with Nokia in 2016.
Today, there are no longer any North American-based large, vertically-integrated telecom equipment manufacturers. Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia, both operating in 2013, are now ranked among the leading telecom equipment manufacturers in the world along with China-based Huawei, and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, according to Inside Towers Intelligence.
If past is prologue, we’re in for quite a ride for the next 10 years!
By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor
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