Tower growth may hit a plateau as 5G nears completion

Mumbai: As telecom companies such as Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel near completion of 5G network expansion and curtail capital expenditure and tower rentals fall, tower companies are likely to see flattish growth in the next five years, with Vodafone Idea’s 5G rollouts and 4G coverage expansion likely to offer short-term support, according to analysts.

Net new tower additions fell to 25,000 in 2024-25, the lowest since 2017-18, and are expected to dip further in this financial year, according to data from ICICI Securities. It comes after industry towers saw a deceleration in growth to 3.5% in the previous fiscal after a robust 8.1% annual expansion since 2016-17.