Currently, T-Mobile is leading the race when it comes to its 5G coverage throughout the nation. T-Mobile’s 5G internet is already available in 53.79% of the USA. Meanwhile, AT&T has about 29.52% of the country covered, while Verizon is only at a 12.77% coverage so far. These three telecom providers are currently taking the first three positions in the race. But who actually owns the 5G cell towers that these telecom giants are using for their networks? Spoiler alert: The 5G tower owners are actually not the telecom providers.

Some Telco Tower Trivia

It takes about a month and a half to get a new tower built up and running. The average building cost of a cell site is in the spectrum of $175,000. The land on where the cell sites are built is usually leased from its property owners. In 2020, the average annual cell tower lease rate paid was around $12,600 to property owners.

America’s 5G Cell Tower Builders

There are three major telecom tower companies in the USA. They actually build most of the towers in the country. They are the American Tower Corporation, Crown Castle and SBA Communications. All three telco tower builders actually share a similar list when it comes to their USA clientele. In fact, that list includes the three currently-leading 5G service providers- T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon.

Crown Castle

American Tower Corporation

The American Tower Corporation is actually a global tower builder that has towers in 25 countries around the world. It was founded in 1995 and was actually originally started by American Radio. It has since come a very long way, while becoming its own independent company during the journey. American Tower currently has 43,000 towers built throughout the USA.

Crown Castle was founded in Houston, TX back in 1994. It only operates in USA. At the moment, it already has over 40,000 towers nationwide and continues to lead in telco tower infrastructure within the country.

SBA Communications

SBA Communications is another international tower builder. It serves USA, Brazil and South Africa. SBA Communications is actually the oldest tower builder on this list. It was founded in 1989. However, it currently has the least amount of tower sites in USA with just over 15,000 cell sites across the country.

The Mutual Agreement for 5G Cell Towers

These telco tower builders take care of the building and the maintaining of the physical towers. They also provide the energy needed to operate the towers. Then the telecom carriers lease the tower from the tower companies in a 10-15-year contract. Once a lease agreement has been signed, telecom providers then put in their own equipment and antennas into the towers. They end up borrowing the tower’s infrastructure for shelter and power for operations throughout the lease duration.

Telecom carriers specialize in the internet service and speeds. Therefore, they remain focused on that. Meanwhile, tower builders are able to provide telecom carriers with the needed shelter and power for their equipment. By working together, they are helping supply millions of Americans all over the country with the fastest internet yet created. That is why we will be seeing more and more 5G cell towers rising over us in the upcoming years.