The deployment of additional 5G spectrum will spur further opportunities for the telecom tower industry, according to Symphony Wireless CEO Bernard Borghei.

Borghei, who joined Symphony Wireless in April, told DCD that 5G will play a big role in driving further growth in the telecom industry.

Symphony Wireless, which is backed by alternative asset manager Palistar, acquires the ground leases and easement rights to telecom towers, which it leases out.

Since its establishment in 2019, Symphony has deployed half a billion dollars worth of capital, states Borghei, and taken over around 660 assets across the US, which it operates as a landlord.

CTI Towers and Harmoni Towers are two telecom tower companies that are also backed by Palistar, which focuses on private equity and structured investments in communications infrastructure assets.

“Overall, the tower business has been the most stable and consistent one, and it continues to be that way when you look at where we stand right now. Only 50 percent of the LTE for 5G sites in the US have so far been upgraded to 5G so there's a lot more activity that needs to take place, changing of equipment,” said Borghei.

Borghei said that the rate of these deployments to the tower sites will improve once interest rates drop.

“There’s still plenty of build-out [5G] to embark on. And we continue to believe and see that as interest rates come down, the US operators will start reinvesting in their network capacity and also expansion of the coverage in the rural areas.”

Borghei highlights the US BEAD project as a key enabler in the rollout, which seeks to drive more investment in fiber for rural areas. He sees this as a key area of growth for carriers.

Spectrum issue

However, a lot of the 5G growth is dependent on 5G spectrum being released.

Since March 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been unable to issue carriers spectrum after the US Senate allowed it to lapse for the first time ever.

The FCC lost its spectrum authority on March 9, 2023. It has meant that the agency has been unable to auction more spectrum for 5G networks, meaning carriers have been unable to deploy additional spectrum.

“The spectrum issue in the US, unfortunately, has become a political issue in that the FCC has not had its authority to auction new spectrum renewed by the US Congress since the midterm elections so that political conversation needs to be resolved," Borghei added.

Borghei warns that long term there could be implications for future technologies such as 6G could be impacted.

“So the spectrum situation, while for today's traffic, the carriers have adequate spectrum to to accommodate, as we get closer to 2030 with 6G standards coming out, they're going to start feeling the pressure of needing new spectrum.”

He explains that it can take the regulator at least 18 to 24 months to select, vacate, and auction off new spectrum before testing of this technology can take place between carriers and vendors.

Investment and international growth plans

Borghei, who co-founded Vertical Bridge, one of the country’s biggest tower operators, added that Symphony has $1.2 billion to invest in the telecom infrastructure space.

“This is a massive market. When you look at the number of sites deployed in the US, you're talking about few 100,000 assets available,” said Borghei.

“You know, between the two funds that I have the flexibility to operate in, I have about $1.2 billion of capital to invest, and I intend to invest all of that over the next four to five years.”

Borghei also noted that the company could enter international markets in the future, but only if the fit is right for the business.