Crown Castle’s $8.5 Billion Sale Signals a Shift in Tower Strategy

Crown Castle has announced the sale of its fiber and small cell business to Zayo and EQT for $8.5 billion, a deal expected to close in 12–15 months. This move positions Crown Castle as a pure-play U.S. tower company, reinforcing its commitment to macro towers as the backbone of wireless networks.

With Crown Castle streamlining its business, expect an increased focus on optimizing its tower portfolio—potentially impacting lease negotiations and ground acquisitions.

Tower Companies Report Diverging Demand Drivers, Remain Bullish on Growth

The three major tower companies are experiencing different demand patterns. American Tower and SBA reported an uptick in colocations, while Crown Castle’s activity remains focused on amendments, though it anticipates new colocations to increase in the second half of 2025. While organic growth levels are below those seen during the initial mid-band 5G rollout, tower companies remain optimistic as generative AI, fixed wireless access (FWA), and spectrum constraints drive sustained demand.

A notable trend for site owners: both American Tower and Crown Castle plan to increase capital spending to acquire the land beneath their towers. This signals a push toward greater control over tower sites, which could lead to shifts in lease negotiation strategies. Owners should consider the long-term value of their leases and whether selling at today’s valuations makes strategic sense.

Verizon & T-Mobile to Boost Spending, AT&T Holds Steady

Verizon and T-Mobile plan to modestly increase their capital expenditures (capex) in 2025, while AT&T expects to maintain current spending levels. All three carriers reported strong subscriber growth in the fourth quarter, driven by both mobile and fixed wireless services.

One emerging factor is satellite connectivity. T-Mobile customers recently accessed Starlink’s direct-to-device service during the California wildfires, demonstrating its ability to provide coverage in areas where terrestrial networks fail due to natural disasters. Beyond emergencies, satellite networks are also expanding their role in remote and rural areas where tower coverage is sparse.

For site owners, increased carrier spending remains a positive sign for tower demand. However, in sparsely covered regions, satellite services could gradually reduce the need for new tower builds, making it essential to stay informed on evolving coverage strategies.

Market Watch: Key Industry Shifts That Could Affect Tower Owners

Key Takeaway for Cell Tower Owners

The wireless industry remains strong, with increasing demand for connectivity continuing to support tower infrastructure. While carrier capex is expected to rise modestly in 2025, tower companies are also seeing the tail end of Sprint-related churn, helping to stabilize the market.

At the same time, industry shifts are worth watching. US Cellular’s move into tower ownership could mean changes in lease management, Dish’s long-term future remains uncertain, and satellite connectivity is beginning to emerge as a potential alternative in certain scenarios.

For site owners, the key takeaway is that tower assets remain highly valuable, but the landscape is evolving. Proactive lease management and an understanding of industry trends will be essential in maximizing long-term value.

EARNINGS CALL SUMMARIES

Crown Castle announced that they had entered into a transaction with Zayo and EQT to sell their fiber and small cell business segments for total proceeds of $8.5 billion, which is expected to close in 12-15 months. As a result, the company will become a pure-play domestic tower company. For the fourth quarter, the company reported 4.5% organic tower growth and anticipates 4.5% organic growth in 2025 when excluding the impacts of Sprint churn, comprised of 2.5% escalation, 2.8% core-leasing activity, and 0.8% churn. There is expected to be 40-50 bps of Sprint churn annually from 2026-2034 as contracts reach their final expiry. The company noted that the primary activity they currently see is from amendments on existing sites but anticipate more colocation in the second half of 2025. Finally, the company stated they expect to increase their capital spending on acquiring the land underneath their towers.

SBA reported a 5.1% gross, 2.2% net domestic organic growth rate year-over-year due to 2.9% churn, of which 1.6% was related to Sprint consolidation. The company noted that leasing application backlogs finished at their highest level of the year, lending confidence to a sequential increase in activity in the first quarter of 2025 and throughout the coming year. Outsized Sprint churn is expected to continue in 2025 and 2026 before a decrease in 2027. The company remains bullish due to the demand drivers of next-gen AI, as well as fixed wireless access and regulatory defined buildout requirements.

American Tower reported 4.2% net domestic organic tenant billing growth year-over-year and is projecting a similar year-over-year increase in 2025 as the impacts of Sprint churn, which concluded in October 2024, work through the year-over-year calculations. The company reported four sequential quarters of acceleration in application activity, although this is not directly reflected in organic growth results due to various factors including the terms of MLAs. The company is forecasting the required network capacity of the carriers to double over the next five years, and only about half of this capacity can be satisfied by deploying current spectrum holdings and increases in spectral efficiency. Finally, the company noted that it plans to increase the purchases of ground underneath its own towers in the coming year.

Verizon Wireless reported total postpaid phone subscriber net gain of 900,000 for the year, driven by a net gain of 426,000 in the consumer segment and 142,000 in their business segment for the fourth quarter, and their total fixed wireless subscriber base grew to almost 4.6 million, with a target of 8-9 million subscribers by 2028. Capex for 2025 is expected to be between $17.5 and $18.5 billion dollars, an increase over the $17.1 billion spent in 2024. This capex will be driven by expanding their C-Band deployment to 80-90% of planned sites as well as launching a MDU fixed wireless product. Finally, the company provided some early thoughts on the impact of AI and noted their belief is that the AI compute will come closer to the edge over time for reasons of application, transport cost, and latency.

AT&T reported postpaid wireless subscriber net adds of 482,000 for the quarter and about 1.7 million for the year, as well as 158,000 subscriber additions for AT&T Internet Air, their fixed wireless service. Capex for the year came in around $22 billion and is expected to be similar in 2025 as the company looks to complete its wireless network modernization. Finally, the company noted that impacts from changes in taxes and immigration from the new presidential administration continue to be evaluated and will become clearer as policy develops.

T-Mobile reported postpaid wireless subscriber net adds of 903,000 for the quarter, and over 3 million for the year, for the third year in a row. Their 2025 capex is expected to be $9.5 billion, slightly higher than 2024 levels. Additionally, the company noted that in response to the California wildfires, subscribers began to use the Starlink direct to device capabilities and soon this will be available to more customers. Finally, the company noted that they won a contract to provide service for New York City public safety although did not provide specific details.

Dish reported that, excluding the impacts of the ACP, they added 90,000 wireless subscribers in the quarter and finished the year with over 7 million total mobile subscribers, although the company is no longer reporting the breakout between postpaid and prepaid. Their 2024 network deployment capex was reported at $1.1 billion, down from $2.6 billion in 2023, and is expected to decline further in 2025 as they meet FCC buildout guidelines. The company itself has liquidity due to several financing transactions executed throughout the year and is no longer the subject of bankruptcy rumors in the near term. Finally, the company discussed their abilities as the only mobile network operator who was also a satellite operator and the potential this has for direct to device satellite internet offerings in the future.

US Cellular reported that their deal with T-Mobile, to sell their wireless operations and a portion of their spectrum, continues to progress and is their top priority for the year, with closing still anticipated in mid-2025. The company states that on their ~4,400 towers they have ~2,400 existing co-locators and expect T-Mobile to collocate on another ~2,000, although it will take up to 30 months after closing to determine which sites T-Mobile is taking. After the T-Mobile colocation process, it is expected that some naked towers will be decommissioned while others will be retained or sold. Finally, the company continues to work on monetizing the remainder of its spectrum portfolio for their transition to pure-play tower company.

Comcast and Charter reported that they added 1.2 million and 2 million wireless subscribers, respectively, for the year, bringing their total combined mobile subscribers to almost 18 million. Both companies still see a long runway of subscriber additions as their mobile penetration among their existing broadband customers remains low, and Charter specifically noted that they continue to build their CBRS and WiFi networks to offload traffic but do not currently desire building their own standalone mobile network. Finally, Comcast’s MVNO contract is up for renewal this year, but the company believes their scale and number of subscribers will allow them to continue to demand attractive economics.