The European Wireless Infrastructure Association (EWIA) now has 11 towerco members operating across 20 European countries
Vantage Towers and INWIT have become members of the European Wireless Infrastructure Association (EWIA) which is headquartered in Brussels. EWIA now has 11 towerco members whose infrastructure spans 20 European countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Sweden.
According to research published by Ey in August, the share of independent TowerCos in Europe has increased in recent years, from 13% in 2014 and 17% in 2018 to and 35% in 2021 and 39% in 2023. It is expected to continue to trend toward the global level of circa 54%.
Marco Patuano, Chairman of EWIA, said that attracting, “additional pan-European neutral-host infrastructure providers was seen as a crucial enabler to ensure that our sector speaks with a stronger and even more unified voice in our ongoing engagement in Brussels.
“In this context, we welcome INWIT and Vantage Towers as our newest members, who will contribute to EWIA ’s mission to tackle the hurdles to mobile infrastructure deployments and to foster an investor-friendly environment to help fulfilling Europe’s digital ambitions.”
Christian Hillabrant, CEO of Vantage Towers, said, “This move reflects the commitment of Vantage Towers AG to driving the future of digital connectivity across Europe. As part of a united TowerCo industry, we aim to collaborate with European policymakers in order to foster investment, promote the sharing and sustainability of infrastructure, and accelerate the deployment of 5G in particular in rural areas and for transport routes.”
Oscar Cicchetti, Chairman of INWIT, added, “As the leading tower company in Italy and one of the main players in the wireless infrastructure industry in Europe, we are pleased to contribute to EWIA in representing the tower sector in the European debate.
“We are committed to promoting the development of the telecommunications ecosystem, starting with shared digital infrastructures like ours, which are essential to enabling digital transformation in Italy and in Europe and are therefore becoming increasingly strategic.”