Cellnex presents the Augmented TowerCo model that makes it an integrated operator of connectivity infrastructure

BARCELONA MWC 2022

• The company will use this model to provide a complete view of the adjacent assets to the tower and the type of neutral infrastructure it manages and its role in the connectivity value chain. As a complement, visitors will be able to take a virtual tour of the Network Operation Centre where Cellnex monitors this infrastructure and guarantees services to customers.
• Sustainable connectivity solutions, including the “Zero Emissions Site”, will be another key feature of Cellnex’s participation at the event, as well as its design and management services for private industry networks.
• At its stand Cellnex is also presenting several projects focused on 5G impact and usefulness in areas like education, security, commerce, tourism, entertainment and mobility in Barcelona and the city’s metropolitan area, as well as in mobility connectivity in road and rail corridors.

Barcelona, 17 February 2022. Cellnex Telecom will participate in the upcoming Mobile World Congress, a benchmark event for the telecommunications sector which will take place in Barcelona between 28 February and 3 March. The event will bring together the main companies and professionals involved in developing and deploying the most innovative mobile and connectivity technologies worldwide.

This year, the leading European operator in wireless telecommunications infrastructure, present in 12 countries and with a portfolio of more than 130,000 sites, presents its potential as an integrated infrastructure operator with its Augmented TowerCo model aimed at supporting customers in developing, deploying, operating and maintaining infrastructure and assets adjacent to towers –including active equipment– which can be mutualised based on the neutral host model.

Integrated operator of neutral and shared infrastructure in Europe

Based on this concept and having cementing its position, in the years following its IPO in 2015, as the leading independent telecommunications tower operator in Europe, Cellnex has developed the industrial model that allows it to design, deploy and operate the entire value chain of connectivity infrastructure that is adjacent to towers and at the same time crucial to deploying new technologies like 5G and the Internet of Things. These adjacent assets include distributed antenna systems (DAS) and Small Cells, which are key to network densification; fibre-to-the-tower (FTTT), to expand data transmission capacity, and edge data centres and edge computing, key to ensuring the low latencies (response time) necessary for critical applications and processes. In the case of towers, Cellnex has also expanded management of passive infrastructure thanks to expanded management of active equipment for voice and data transmission (radio equipment and antennas), with the same model applied in Poland by mobile operator Plus after acquiring Polkomtel Infrastruktura.

All of this is based on the company’s know-how and expertise in end-to-end services, such as, for example, with integrated management of broadcast signal transmission in Spain. The same is true of dedicated communications networks for security and emergency services (mission critical), and in the case of private networks for industry (business critical).

The model is also about neutrality and the sharing of these assets by mobile operators – a way to reduce operating costs and direct efforts and resources to investing in rolling out new technologies and services for end customers.

To explain this model, the operator will allow visitors to stand 4B150 Hall 4 to take a virtual tour of a site where they can learn about the relevance and purpose of each asset, as well as use the “5G Ecosystem” app to see concrete examples of how these types of infrastructure and adjacent assets are deployed in various countries in Europe.

This vision will be complemented by the “visit” to the Network Operation Centre, the control centre where the company supervises the correct operation of all its infrastructure and guarantees service to customers.

Zero-emission telecommunications sites

At MWC22 Cellnex is also presenting one of its flagship projects in sustainability: the Zero Emissions Site (ZERS), a project designed and developed by the company at its Mobility Lab in Castellolí, Barcelona. ZERS is an innovative self-sustainable telecommunications site with solar panel, wind turbine, 5G antennas, an immersion-cooled edge data centre, millimetre band (mmW) links, video cameras, environmental sensors and various mobile connectivity technologies related to mobility and vehicle connectivity. It is an autonomous system of energy generation, storage and management designed for mobile communications sites without access to the power grid which, until now, have been equipped with generators.

This project combines energy generation capabilities with connectivity services and is especially useful in rural areas. To date, the company has rolled out eight nodes that are operating with this technology in the Cellnex Mobility Lab and being tested in telecommunications towers. ZERS is designed to reduce manufacturing and installation costs to make it possible to distribute mobile communications sites in rural and semi-rural areas, improving coverage and providing access to new communications services to more people in more places.

Private industry networks

At stand 4B150 in Hall 4 of Fira Gran Via, the operator will also showcase its products and services involving critical communications, where it has over 20 years of experience deploying, operating and maintaining private networks for security and emergency forces. On this occasion, it will show the potential and practical applications of these types of dedicated networks for sectors like ports, airports or large industrial complexes that also require robust, reliable and secure communications. To date, the company has developed more than thirty projects in this field throughout Europe.

5G innovation

With 5G Catalunya, several projects focused on 5G impact and usefulness in areas like education, security, commerce, tourism, entertainment and mobility in Barcelona and the city’s metropolitan area will be in the spotlight as well. Connectivity in mobility in road and rail corridors will also be on display with projects like 5G MED, which aims to provide a sustainable deployment model for the mobility of the future in the cross-border section of the Mediterranean Corridor between Figueres and Perpignan.

Additionally, and in line with its open innovation strategy, in this year’s edition Cellnex will share its stand with Nearby Computing, a start-up in which Cellnex holds a stake and with which it is developing innovative solutions related to edge computing and the distributed intelligence associated with 5G.

Timetable of Cellnex presentations at MWC2021

Cellnex participates in GSMS´s Manufacturing Summit:

• 28/02 – 12.00 h (CEST) – Private & dedicated networks for industry 4.0 – (Industry City Stage,
  Hall 4)

Additionally, in collaboration with Mobile World Capital Barcelona, Cellnex will be hosting a series of conferences at MWC2022, including the following:

• 01/03 – 14.00 h (CEST) – The next revolution: Quantum communications
• 01/03 – 18.00 h (CEST) – Creating value for Mobile Operators: The Augmented TowerCo

The sessions can be followed in person at the Mobile World Capital Barcelona stand (4B100 Hall 4) and in streaming via https://mobileworldcapital.com/en/agenda/mwcapital-mwc22/

About Cellnex Telecom

The efficient deployment of next-generation connectivity is essential to drive technological innovation and accelerate inclusive economic growth. Cellnex Telecom is the independent wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructures operator that enables operators to access Europe’s most extensive network of advanced telecommunications infrastructures on a shared-use basis, helping to reduce access barriers for new operators and to improve services in the most remote areas.

Cellnex manages a portfolio of more than 130,000 sites – including forecast roll-outs up to 2030 – in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Poland. Cellnex’s business is structured in four major areas: telecommunications infrastructure services; audiovisual broadcasting networks, security and emergency service networks and solutions for smart urban infrastructure and services management (Smart cities and the “Internet of Things” [IoT]).

The company is listed on the continuous market of the Spanish stock exchange and is part of the selective IBEX 35 and EuroStoxx 100 indices. It is also present in the main sustainability indices, such as CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), Sustainalytics, FTSE4Good, MSCI and Standard Ethics.

Cellnex’s reference shareholders include Edizione, GIC, TCI, BlackRock, Canada Pension Plan, CriteriaCaixa, Wellington Management Group, Capital Group, Fidelity and Norges Bank.

For more information: https://www.cellnextelecom.com