Globally, the top 100 cellular tower companies own and operate over 1.7 million sites that host shared telecommunications infrastructure. These cell towers provide mobile communications coverage and connectivity primarily for wireless carriers while also supporting the needs of television & radio broadcast companies and public safety networks.
In total, the 10 largest owners and operators of cellular towers – including American Tower, Indus Towers, Summit Digitel, Cellnex, BSNL, edotco, Vantage Towers, Reliance Infratel, GD Towers, and Crown Castle – operate 58% of the 1.7 million sites held by the broader top 100 TowerCos in the world.
Dgtl Infra provides an overview of the largest 100 cellular tower companies worldwide, as measured by tower count. Subsequently, we dive deeper into the portfolios of each of the top 25 cell tower companies, detailing where their sites are located geographically, how many tenants place equipment on their towers, and who their key customers are. Note that tower owners and operators from China and Russia are excluded from our list.
Top 100 Cellular Towers Companies
| # | Tower Company | Operating Regions | Towers |
| 1 | American Tower | Global | 224,019 |
| 2 | Indus Towers | India | 198,284 |
| 3 | Summit Digitel Infrastructure | India | 151,594 |
| 4 | Cellnex Telecom | Pan-Europe (12 Countries) | 112,737 |
| 5 | BSNL Tower Corporation | India | 74,000 |
| 6 | edotco Group (Axiata Group) | Pan-Asia (9 Countries) | 58,364 |
| 7 | Vantage Towers | Pan-Europe (8 Countries) | 46,100 |
| 8 | Reliance Infratel | India | 43,540 |
| 9 | GD Towers | Germany, Austria | 41,600 |
| 10 | Crown Castle | United States | 40,052 |
| 11 | SBA Communications | United States, Latin America, Africa | 39,426 |
| 12 | IHS Holding | Africa, Latin America, Middle East | 39,104 |
| 13 | Mitratel | Indonesia | 36,719 |
| 14 | SITES (Sitios Latinoamérica) | Pan-Latin America (16 Countries) | 34,240 |
| 15 | MENA (Ooredoo, Zain, TASC) | Qatar, Kuwait, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, Jordan | 30,000 |
| 16 | Protelindo (Sarana Menara) | Indonesia | 29,792 |
| 17 | TOTEM (Orange) | France, Spain | 27,100 |
| 18 | GTL Infrastructure | India | 25,779 |
| 19 | INWIT | Italy | 23,525 |
| 20 | Opsimex (Telesites) | Mexico, Costa Rica | 22,196 |
| 21 | Phoenix Tower International | Europe, Latin America, United States | 22,000 |
| 22 | Tower Bersama | Indonesia | 21,758 |
| 23 | TAWAL | Saudi Arabia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia | 20,800 |
| 24 | Digital Telecom Infra Fund | Thailand | 16,059 |
| 25 | Cornerstone (CTIL) | United Kingdom | 15,100 |
| 26 | EdgePoint Infrastructure | Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines | 14,000 |
| 27 | Helios Towers | Pan-Africa, Middle East (9 Countries) | 13,870 |
| 28 | Mobile Broadband (MBNL) | United Kingdom | 12,000 |
| 29 | CETIN Group | Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia | 11,700 |
| 30 | Vertical Bridge | United States | 11,000 |
| 31 | Millicom (Tigo) Carve-Out | Pan-Latin America (8 Countries) | 10,900 |
| 32 | Global Tower | Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus, Cyprus | 10,875 |
| 33 | Telenor Infra | Norway | 10,330 |
| 34 | NetWorkS! | Poland | 10,000 |
| 35 | Tower Vision | India | 9,000 |
| 36 | Telia Towers AB | Finland, Norway, Sweden | 8,500 |
| 37 | Ascend Telecom Infra | India | 8,300 |
| 38 | TDF Infrastructure | France | 8,191 |
| 39 | Golden Lattice Investment Co | Saudi Arabia | 8,069 |
| 40 | JTOWER | Japan | 6,209 |
| 41 | Svenska UMTS-nät AB (SUNAB) | Sweden | 6,000 |
| 42 | YTL Corporation | Malaysia | 6,000 |
| 43 | Amplitel (Telstra InfraCo) | Australia | 5,787 |
| 44 | Net4Mobility HB | Sweden | 5,600 |
| 45 | Highline do Brasil | Brazil | 5,500 |
| 46 | OCK Group | Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia | 5,300 |
| 47 | Frontier Tower Associates | Philippines | 4,541 |
| 48 | U.S. Cellular / TDS | United States | 4,341 |
| 49 | Indara Digital Infrastructure | Australia | 4,313 |
| 50 | TDC NET | Denmark | 4,190 |
| 51 | 3G Infrastructure Services (3GIS) | Sweden | 4,100 |
| 52 | Swiftnet (Telkom SA) | South Africa | 4,016 |
| 53 | Diamond Communications | United States | 4,000 |
| 54 | TT-Netvaerket | Denmark | 4,000 |
| 55 | Irrawaddy Green Towers (IGT) | Myanmar | 4,000 |
| 56 | Andean Telecom Partners (ATP) | Chile, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay | 3,500 |
| 57 | IBST (Inti Bangun Sejahtera) | Indonesia | 3,383 |
| 58 | Belgium Tower Partners (BTP) | Belgium | 3,340 |
| 59 | Wireless Infrastructure Group | United Kingdom | 3,300 |
| 60 | AP Towers / Apollo Towers | Myanmar | 3,234 |
| 61 | DNA Tower | Finland | 3,233 |
| 62 | QMC Telecom | Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile | 3,200 |
| 63 | Mexico Tower Partners (MTP) | Mexico | 3,100 |
| 64 | Africa Mobile Networks (AMN) | Pan-Africa (12 Countries) | 3,000 |
| 65 | Balitower (Bali Towerindo Sentra) | Indonesia | 2,649 |
| 66 | EI Towers | Italy | 2,500 |
| 67 | Connexa | New Zealand | 2,350 |
| 68 | Rai Way | Italy | 2,300 |
| 69 | Tillman Infrastructure | United States | 2,300 |
| 70 | Miescor Infrastructure (MIDC) | Philippines | 2,180 |
| 71 | Harmoni Towers | United States | 2,000 |
| 72 | Sacofa Sdn Bhd | Malaysia | 1,700 |
| 73 | Centuria, SIA | Latvia, Lithuania | 1,700 |
| 74 | Telenor Tower Sweden | Sweden | 1,630 |
| 75 | TowerCo of Madagascar | Madagascar | 1,500 |
| 76 | Fortysouth (Vodafone NZ) | New Zealand | 1,500 |
| 77 | Brazil Tower Company (BTC) | Brazil | 1,500 |
| 78 | Arqiva Group | United Kingdom | 1,450 |
| 79 | Torrecom Partners | Pan-Latin America (10 Countries) | 1,400 |
| 80 | Waveconn (TPG Telecom) | Australia | 1,400 |
| 81 | CTI Towers | United States | 1,380 |
| 82 | PhilTower | Philippines | 1,350 |
| 83 | Pan African Towers | Nigeria, Ghana | 1,300 |
| 84 | TowerCo | United States | 1,300 |
| 85 | Infratel | Zambia | 1,200 |
| 86 | Torresec (Innovattel) | Pan-Latin America (7 Countries) | 1,100 |
| 87 | RailTel Corporation | India | 1,050 |
| 88 | BNSF Railway Company | United States | 1,000 |
| 89 | Octagon Towers (Peppertree) | United States | 1,000 |
| 90 | Blue Sky Towers | United States | 1,000 |
| 91 | Tower Ventures | United States | 850 |
| 92 | Open Tower Company (OTC) | Netherlands | 800 |
| 93 | BAI Australia | Australia | 774 |
| 94 | Continental Towers | Pan-Latin America (6 Countries) | 750 |
| 95 | Towercom, a.s. | Slovakia | 680 |
| 96 | Emitel | Poland | 664 |
| 97 | Ceské Radiokomunikace (CRA) | Czech Republic | 658 |
| 98 | IIMT | Mexico | 650 |
| 99 | Unity Digital Infrastructure | Philippines | 650 |
| 100 | Axión | Spain | 635 |
| Total | — | — | 1.7m |
1. American Tower
American Tower (NYSE: AMT) owns 224,019 towers globally, of which 42,702 are located in the United States & Canada and 181,317 reside in international markets. The company’s tower portfolio spans a total of 25 countries in the following geographies:
- Domestic: United States, Canada
- Europe: France, Germany, Spain
- Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru
- Asia-Pacific: Australia, Bangladesh, India, New Zealand, Philippines
- Africa: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda
In terms of property revenue, American Tower’s largest tenants are T-Mobile (16%), AT&T (14%), Verizon (12%), Airtel (10.1%), and Telefónica (9.4%).
2. Indus Towers
Indus Towers (formerly Bharti Infratel) is the largest tower company in India, owning and managing 198,284 telecom towers. The company has 347,879 tenants with equipment on its towers, equating to a tenancy ratio of 1.75x.
India’s three major wireless carriers, namely Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea are all significant customers of Indus Towers.
3. Summit Digitel Infrastructure
Summit Digitel Infrastructure (formerly Reliance Jio Infratel) is the second largest tower company in India, operating 151,594 telecom towers, which are able to provide pan-India 4G coverage.
The company’s towers primarily serve as the network backbone of Reliance Jio, India’s largest wireless carrier, and, as such, the company’s tenancy ratio is ~1x. To this end, Jio is an anchor tenant of Summit Digitel under a 30-year master service agreement (MSA).
Notably, Brookfield Infrastructure invested in Summit Digitel Infrastructure in August 2020.
4. Cellnex Telecom
Cellnex Telecom (BME: CLNX) manages 112,737 operational tower sites, with 152,392 tenants, which equates to a tenancy ratio of 1.35x. Geographically, these operational sites are located in 12 European countries: France, Italy, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, and Denmark.
Once all of Cellnex’s build-to-suit (BTS) agreements have been completed, the company’s portfolio will grow to around 135,000 tower sites across its 12 European markets. Additionally, Cellnex operates 8,541 small cells and distributed antenna system (DAS) nodes throughout Europe.
5. BSNL Tower Corporation (BTCL)
BSNL Tower Corporation (BTCL) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the government-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), India’s fourth largest wireless carrier. Presently, BTCL operates 74,000 towers in India and has 79,000 tenants with equipment on its towers (mainly BSNL), equating to a tenancy ratio of 1.07x.
6. edotco Group
edotco Group is a regional tower company in Asia and a 63%-owned subsidiary of Axiata Group (KLSE: AXIATA). The company operates in nine countries, including Malaysia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Laos, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
edotco has a portfolio of 58,364 towers and managed sites across Asia. Of this total, the company controls 33,221 owned towers and 25,143 managed sites. Also, edotco’s owned towers have a tenancy ratio of 1.64x, equating to 54,318 tenants with equipment on its owned towers.
7. Vantage Towers
Vantage Towers, a company backed by KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), owns a consolidated portfolio totaling 46,100 macro sites in the 8 European countries of Germany, Spain, Greece, Czech Republic, Portugal, Romania, Hungary, and Ireland. In addition, Vantage Towers has a 33.2% stake in INWIT, which holds 23,525 towers in Italy, and a 50% stake in Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited (CTIL), which controls 15,100 towers in the United Kingdom.
Overall, Vantage Towers’ consolidated portfolio of 46,100 macro sites have 67,300 tenants, resulting in a tenancy ratio of 1.46x. Of these tenants, Vodafone represents approximately 80% of Vantage Towers’ revenue base, which has high customer concentration.
8. Reliance Infratel
Reliance Infratel is the tower division of Reliance Communications (RCom), a former wireless carrier in India which filed for bankruptcy in 2019. Presently, Reliance Infratel operates 43,540 towers in India and has 39,000 tenants with equipment on its towers, equating to a tenancy ratio of 0.9x. Notably, this tenancy ratio implies that many of Reliance Infratel’s towers are unoccupied.
9. GD Towers
GD Towers is the largest tower company in Germany and Austria, owning and managing 41,600 tower sites. The company is 51%-owned by DigitalBridge and Brookfield Infrastructure, with the remaining 49% held by Deutsche Telekom (ETR: DTE). Deutsche Telekom has established a 30-year master lease agreement (MLA) with GD Towers, whereby Telekom Deutschland and Magenta Austria are the anchor tenants.
Deutsche Telekom has committed to having GD Towers build 5,400 new macro sites for the anchor tenants through 2026, with approximately 5,200 in Germany and 200 in Austria.
10. Crown Castle
Crown Castle (NYSE: CCI) has a digital infrastructure portfolio, which resides entirely in the United States, consisting of 40,052 towers, 85,000 route miles of fiber, and 120,000 small cell nodes – 60,000 of which are on-air and 60,000 of which are under contract. The company’s towers have a tenancy ratio of 2.5x, equating to approximately 100,000 tenants with equipment on its towers.
In terms of site rental revenues, Crown Castle’s largest tenants are T-Mobile (42%), Verizon (18%), and AT&T (17%) – collectively comprising 77% of the company’s site rental revenues.
11. SBA Communications
SBA Communications (NASDAQ: SBAC) owns or operates 39,426 communication sites, 17,426 of which are in the United States and 22,000 that are located internationally. More specifically, the company’s international markets include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, South Africa, the Philippines, and Tanzania.
In terms of domestic site leasing revenue, SBA Communications’ largest tenants are T-Mobile (41%), AT&T (28%), and Verizon (20%). While the company’s largest tenants, based on international site leasing revenue, are Telefónica (23%), América Móvil (20%), and TIM S.A. (15%).
12. IHS Holding
IHS Holding (NYSE: IHS) has a portfolio of 39,104 owned and managed tower sites in 11 total countries. Specifically, these sites have a tenancy ratio of 1.49x, equating to 58,146 tenants with equipment on the company’s towers.
IHS Holding’s sites span 7 countries in Africa, 3 countries in Latin America, and 1 country in the Middle East. Overall, the company’s top five markets by tower count include Nigeria (16,372 sites), Brazil (7,023 sites), South Africa (5,691 sites), Côte d’Ivoire (2,698 sites), and Cameroon (2,299 sites).
13. Mitratel
Mitratel (PT Dayamitra Telekomunikasi Tbk) operates 36,719 towers in Indonesia, which have 54,718 tenants, equating to a tenancy ratio of 1.49x. Within Indonesia, 15,354 (42%) of the company’s towers are located in the Java region, while 21,365 (58%) are in the ex-Java region.
Additionally, Mitratel has a fiber-optic portfolio that provides transport connectivity for towers. The company’s fiber-optic network spans 16,944 miles (27,269 kilometers) in total length.
14. SITES (Sitios Latinoamérica)
SITES (Sitios Latinoamérica) was spun-off from América Móvil, the largest wireless carrier in Latin America. The company operates 34,240 tower sites across 16 countries in Latin America, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay.
SITES’ key markets are Brazil with 11,262 towers, Andean Region (Chile, Ecuador, Peru) with 8,479 towers, Central America with 7,581 towers, and AUP (Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay) with 5,432 towers.
15. MENA (Ooredoo, Zain, TASC)
Ooredoo, Zain Group, and TASC Towers are planning to combine their approximately 30,000 telecommunications towers in Qatar, Kuwait, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, and Jordan into a jointly-owned independent tower company. This new partnership will form the largest tower company in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The tower company will operate as an independent and standalone entity, providing passive infrastructure as a service throughout the region. Both Ooredoo and Zain will retain their active infrastructure, including wireless communication antennas and software to manage their telecom networks.
16. Protelindo (Sarana Menara Nusantara)
Protelindo (Sarana Menara Nusantara) operates 29,792 towers in Indonesia, which have 53,771 tenants, equating to a tenancy ratio of 1.80x. Within Indonesia, 53% of the company’s towers are located in the Java region, while 47% are in the ex-Java region.
Additionally, Protelindo’s fiber-to-the-tower (FTTT) segment has 107,244 miles (172,593 kilometers) of revenue generating fiber. Geographically, the network focus is in Java, Bali, and Sumatra to support data demand.
17. TOTEM (Orange)
TOTEM is a European tower company and a subsidiary of Orange, a wireless carrier headquartered in France. The company operates 27,100 tower sites, including 19,500 sites in France and 7,600 sites in Spain. Overall, TOTEM’s tower portfolio has a tenancy ratio of approximately 1.35x, implying 36,600 tenants.
Additionally, Orange is pursuing a carve-out of its passive mobile infrastructure elsewhere within the company’s service footprint, starting with Romania, Slovakia, and Moldova.
18. GTL Infrastructure
GTL Infrastructure operates 25,779 towers in India and has 23,475 tenants with equipment on its towers, equating to a tenancy ratio of 0.91x. However, of this total, only 11,028 of these towers are occupied, with the remaining 14,751 towers unoccupied. Therefore, GTL Infrastructure’s average tenancy ratio per occupied tower is 2.1x.
19. INWIT
INWIT, Italy’s largest tower company, operates 23,525 cellular towers and has 52,300 tenants with equipment on its towers, equating to a tenancy ratio of 2.22x. Of these tenants, the majority of INWIT’s revenue derives from master service agreements (MSAs) with wireless carriers TIM (Telecom Italia) and Vodafone. With these two companies, INWIT has 39,600 anchor tenants on its cell towers.
Additionally, INWIT operates 7,800 small cells and distributed antenna system (DAS) nodes, as well as providing 1,820 backhaul connectivity links.
20. Opsimex (Telesites)
Telesites, the largest owner, operator, and developer of passive wireless infrastructure in Mexico, completed its merger with Operadora de Sites Mexicanos (Opsimex). Currently, the company operates 22,196 towers in Mexico and Costa Rica, with 21,889 of those towers located in Mexico and 307 sites located in Costa Rica.
Across both Mexico and Costa Rica, Opsimex has 28,044 tenants, equating to a tenancy ratio of 1.26x. The company was created as a result of the spin-off of cellular towers in Mexico by América Móvil, which remains Opsimex’s largest customer.
21. Phoenix Tower International
Phoenix Tower International owns and operates over 22,000 cellular towers. Geographically, the company’s cellular tower portfolio spans 18 countries throughout Europe, the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
Phoenix Tower’s countries of operation are Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, French West Indies, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Malta, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and the United States.
22. Tower Bersama
Tower Bersama operates 21,758 telecommunication towers in Indonesia, which have 40,772 tenants, equating to a tenancy ratio of 1.87x. Additionally, the company has 112 distributed antenna system (DAS) networks.
Regarding tenants, Tower Bersama’s cell sites serve all of Indonesia’s major telecommunications companies, including Telkomsel, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH), and XL Axiata.
23. TAWAL
TAWAL owns a portfolio of more than 16,000 cell towers located throughout Saudi Arabia, which represents a 40% market share amongst peer companies. Additionally, through TAWAL Europe, the company owns 4,800 telecommunications towers in Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovenia, which are leased to United Group.
Notably, Saudi Telecom Company (stc), Saudi Arabia’s largest wireless carrier, founded TAWAL to be an independent provider of telecommunications infrastructure.
24. Digital Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund
Digital Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund is Thailand’s largest tower company, which operates a portfolio of 16,059 cellular towers located in all 77 provinces of Thailand. Of this total, 9,727 towers are owned by the fund (True Tower and TUC Towers) and 6,332 towers, are managed by the fund, with the fund entitled to receive the net revenue (BFKT Towers and AWC Towers).
25. Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited (CTIL)
Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited (CTIL) is a 50%/50% joint venture between wireless carrier Telefónica (operating as O2 in the UK) and Vantage Towers. The company operates 15,100 cellular towers in the United Kingdom, which have approximately 29,000 tenants, equating to a tenancy ratio of 1.92x.
In January 2021, Telefónica and Vodafone each entered into new master service agreements (MSAs) with CTIL. These two companies agreed to use CTIL’s cell towers for an initial term of 8 years, with three 8-year renewal periods, and a 3-year exit period if not renewed.
READ MORE: What is a Cell Tower? Understanding How Cell Towers Work
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