Communication Tower Surveillance and Protection, page-31

Some might be interested in a few bits and pieces I've stumbled across regarding the mobile communications towers market. Where possible, I have sourced the information provided - although as with all things attributable to Google sources, people can make up their own minds about the robustness of the source data.

On 24 November, Spectur advised (among other things) that 2 HD5 cameras had been sold to a major telecom provider and that additional purchases were expected to follow. Subsequently, Spectur posted a case study under the "Utilities" section of the web site, which made it clear (if there was any doubt) that the cameras were being used to provide a security solution at remote tower locations which had been subject to continual disruptions (theft, vandalism etc).

It appears that in 2017 there were more than 21,000 mobile communication towers in Australia. A 2017 survey by Statista lists the following ownership distribution:
- Telstra - 7772
- Optus - 6672
- Vodafone - 5282
- NBN - 1746
https://www.statista.com/statistics/792991/australia-number-of-mobile-towers-by-provider/

The figures seem to be in the right ballpark, but it is noteworthy that they don't include towers owned by Axicom which claims on its web site to own, operate and manage approximately 2000 towers in Australia.
https://www.axicom.com.au

Returning to the previously mentioned Spectur case study, it would seem that the potential segment of the communications tower market that may be suited to a Spectur type security solution are "key communications towers on remote sites". Now there is no easy lead as to what the likely size of such a market segment might be, but it is a safe assumption that most remote sites would be in regional areas, and it is worth noting in that regard that the Optus web site lists a total of 2200 Optus 4G communication towers being located in regional areas, and other material I've read indicates that Telstra has an even higher number of towers located in regional and remote areas.

So, it seems feasible to me that the number of communication towers located in remote areas could run into the multi thousands. A recent road trip I did between North Queensland and northern NSW only reinforced that view. The remaining question is then: what constitutes a "key communication tower"? While some remotely located towers may be considered by their owners as being more important than others, at the end of the day all communication towers form part of a network whose integrity and reputation for reliability can be compromised by theft of key site equipment and materials, or by vandalism.

This all leads me to believe that a Spectur type solution might be potentially applicable to thousands of remotely located communication towers, but even if tower owners were to restrict a Spectur type solution to the most vulnerable of the thousands of remotely located communication towers in Australia, my rule of thumb suggests that would amount to many hundreds of "key communication towers" across the country.

Of course, a Spectur type solution is not the only potential solution for providing security at key communication towers across the country. Indeed Optus currently contracts Wilson Security to provide security for its communication assets on a national basis. The components of Wilson's security services provided to Optus include: fencing, human guards, mobile patrols, control rooms etc. So, with respect to security solutions at vulnerable communication towers in remote locations, the Wilson Security offering to Optus looks quite clunky, expensive and technologically quite inferior to Spectur's alternative security offering.

Another factor which may impact on the scope for Spectur to make progressive inroads into provision of security solutions at key communication towers in remote Australian locations is the strong media talk of both Optus and Telstra selling a proportion of their towers (figures bandied around in the media suggest up to 70% of Optus towers being made available for sale and 30% of Telstra's towers), with Optus apparently looking to trigger their sale processes as early as the first quarter of CY 2021. (Much of this stuff can be gleaned from a series of subscriber only articles in the AFR's "Street Talk" from November 2020, although some details are also available at: https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/home-banner/telstra-eyes-asset-sales-through-major-restructure and at: https://www.channelnews.com.au/155159-2/ and at: disallowed/business/companies/imitation-is-the-finest-form-of-flattery-optus-takes-swipe-at-telstra-over-4bn-towers-sale-20201113-p56ei4.html

The impetus for tower sales by the major telcos is the massive disconnect between potential sale value of their respective towers and the book value of those assets. In one of the above linked articles, Goldman Sachs estimates the value of Telstra's tower assets at $4.5 billion. Yet the book value is variously quoted as being between $250 million to $300 million (possibly something to note for any long suffering Tesltra shareholders out there). Anyway, the point of this digression is to suggest that the major telcos will no doubt want to ensure that any tower assets in remote locations which are considered to be vulnerable to theft or vandalism are subject to high standard security arrangements, in order to safeguard the attractiveness of those assets to any prospective purchaser.

Interesting times ahead I would say.

zeno9