Before the establishment of China Tower Corporation, there was a problem of redundant construction of communication base stations. For example, the 90-meter high-speed rail tower built in Shuozhou in 1989 when the city was established was initially used for microwave communication and analog mobile phone services.
In 2014, China Tower Corporation was established, collaborating with telecom operators to launch a "sharing revolution," promoting a "one-stop shop, multiple users" model. The sharing rate of newly built towers increased dramatically from 14.3% to 85% (or 88%), equivalent to saving over one million new towers, saving the industry over 200 billion yuan in investment, and saving tens of thousands of acres of land.
Since 2019, China Tower has focused on transforming "communication towers" into "digital towers," adding high-definition cameras, radar, sensors, and other equipment to communication towers, combined with artificial intelligence algorithms, to provide services to over 30 industries, including environmental protection, forestry and grassland, and emergency response. By the end of 2024 (or "the end of last year"), over 220,000 (or 230,000) "communication towers" had been upgraded to "digital towers."
The global telecommunications tower industry continues to expand, with the global tower stock expected to exceed 4.2 million by 2025, with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for the largest share (48%). A technological paradigm shift is underway, with an increased proportion of towers using composite materials and modular designs, and intelligent monitoring systems being installed in 85% of newly constructed tower sites.
