{"id":19094,"date":"2025-05-05T19:03:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T23:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=19094"},"modified":"2025-05-05T19:55:38","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T23:55:38","slug":"shared-infrastructure-shared-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=19094","title":{"rendered":"Shared Infrastructure, Shared Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Next Tuesday (May 13), there will be a free one-hour webinar hosted by the International Telecommunications Society looking at Shared Infrastructure, Shared Future: Competition and Connectivity in the Next Generation of Networks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As frequent readers know, I have been a supporter of the continuing education and professional development offered by ITS<\/a>. Next week’s session is the fourth in the 2025 series. The keynote speaker is Dr Pantelis Koutroumpis<\/a> (Oxford University, UK). Panelists are Dr Sven Heitzler<\/a> (Deutsche Telekom) and Mr Danny Kotlowitz<\/a> (Telstra).<\/p>\n

From the webinar website<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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The future of telecom won\u2019t be built by spectrum alone\u2014it will be built on steel, fiber, and shared infrastructure.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the early days of mobile, every carrier built and owned their own towers. Today, we\u2019re in the middle of a global shift: telecom operators are selling off physical assets, TowerCos are rising, and passive sharing has given way to active integration.<\/p>\n

This evolution is not just financial\u2014it\u2019s strategic. As 5G, Open RAN, and densified edge networks take hold, infrastructure sharing has become more feasible and attractive, offering a path to faster deployment, lower costs, and more efficient capital allocation. Rather than duplicating physical assets, operators can redirect investment toward innovation, network quality, and service improvements.<\/p>\n

Globally, the rise of TowerCos and shared infrastructure reflects a clear trend: over the past two decades, markets have embraced infrastructure separation to enable faster time to market, greater coverage, and more competitive offerings, especially in hard-to-reach and cost-sensitive regions.<\/p>\n

This session will explore why this model has taken root\u2014and what it means for policymakers today. Among the questions we\u2019ll examine:<\/p>\n