The wireless real estate market evolved in 2024, driven by shifting dynamics in technology, carrier strategies, and market conditions. Here’s a look back at the 4 most impactful trends that defined the year and their implications for site owners in 2025.
1. Increased Activity in Co-Locations and Amendments
2024 saw a noticeable uptick in co-location applications, largely driven by carriers focusing on densification in urban and suburban areas.
Rather than building new sites, carriers prioritized amendments to existing towers to accommodate mid-band 5G upgrades and other evolving technological needs. While these amendments theoretically can add value to towers, the benefits often depend on lease structures. Site owners who choose to sell can avoid the complexities of lease renegotiations while capturing value in a strong market.
2. The Satellite Internet Factor: Complementary or Competitive?
Satellite internet remains poised for substantial growth, with the market expected to expand fivefold by 2030. While satellites are unlikely to replace traditional infrastructure, their biggest impact will be in remote and disaster-prone areas where towers are costly to maintain.
Disasters like Hurricanes Helene and Milton demonstrated satellite internet’s strengths, restoring connectivity where traditional infrastructure failed. In urban areas, satellites complement towers by offloading network congestion, ensuring demand for urban sites remains strong. However, in rural regions, satellites could reduce the need for towers, potentially impacting valuations.
For individual site owners, the geographic location of their assets plays a critical role in future value. Selling to portfolio operators, who by design can optimize portfolios and diversify risk, may be a strategic way to secure current value before market dynamics shift further.
3. Major Deals and Industry Dynamics
2024 brought significant transactions that could impact tower owners for years to come:
- Tenant Consolidation: Deals like T-Mobile’s acquisition of US Cellular introduced uncertainty for towers with US Cellular as a tenant. Consolidation could leave some sites vacant, making future revenue less predictable.
- Monetization Trends: Carrier asset sales, such as Verizon’s 6,000 towers sold to Vertical Bridge, reflect continued demand for quality sites, presenting opportunities for individual owners to sell at favorable valuations.
- Changing Market Players: The struggles of Dish Network and the rise of cable operators like Comcast and Charter are reshaping the competitive landscape – the impact of which will be monitored closely in 2025.
For site owners, these dynamics underscore the value of acting strategically, whether by selling and/or aligning with asset managers who can ensure long-term site stability.
4. Shifting Trends in Growth Strategies: A Long-Term Perspective
As the initial 5G rollout plateaued, subscriber growth remained strong in 2024 with T-Mobile leading the market. Carriers adjusted their capital expenditures to prioritize modernization, focusing on network upgrades rather than large-scale expansions. This included mid-band 5G enhancements and early investments in mobile edge computing for AI-driven applications. While overall spending remained below the peaks of the initial 5G rollout, these strategic investments underscore carriers’ commitment to building efficient, resilient networks for the future. And for site owners, the value of high-quality sites has stabilized in 2024 as carriers concentrate on optimizing existing infrastructure rather than expanding their footprint.
This focus on efficiency has accelerated the Portfolio Effect — the trend of consolidating assets under large, well-capitalized portfolio operators. Portfolio companies like TowerPoint and LandMark, as well as publicly traded tower firms, are well-positioned to help carriers achieve their efficiency goals, offering the scale and expertise needed to manage infrastructure more effectively. This trend is expected to expand in 2025 as carriers continue to prioritize partnerships with operators capable of streamlining and expanding their infrastructure cost effectively.
Preparing for 2025
2024 reinforced that the wireless real estate market is in a period of transition. For individual tower and cell site owners, this presents both risks and opportunities: tenant consolidation, evolving technology needs, direction of interest rates and new competitive dynamics can all impact site value.
In this environment, selling to a trusted portfolio company like TowerPoint offers an appealing path forward to capture compelling value while avoiding the complexities and pitfalls of managing risk of future changes at their properties and in the market.
