Malcolm Eve, Public Affairs Manager for the South, tells us about Crown Castle, the nation’s largest provider of shared communications infrastructure. The company’s cell towers, small cells, and fiber keep people, communities, and businesses connected and will help bring 5G to Dallas.
How does your company help other businesses become more effective?
We live in a world where connectivity is no longer a luxury, it’s an absolute necessity. Smarter devices, faster data, and new technologies have led to a dramatic shift in the way people consume information and how businesses apply it, leading to a significant increase in data demand and usage. This connectivity, data access, and subsequent growth potential requires an intricately connected web of communications infrastructure.
That’s where Crown Castle comes in. Crown Castle owns and operates more than 40,000 towers; more than 80,000 route miles of fiber; and approximately 80,000 small cell nodes on air or under contract in the top U.S. markets. This nationwide portfolio of shared communications infrastructure connects cities and communities to essential data, technology, and wireless service – bringing information, ideas, and innovations to the people and businesses that need them.
What differentiates your company from others in your industry?
With approximately 80,000 small cell nodes on-air or under-contract, Crown Castle is the market leader in small cell technology. Through our comprehensive portfolio, we’re able to solve complex deployment challenges for our customers and are uniquely positioned to provide end-to-end infrastructure solutions. Our business model is built on the concept that sharing a single asset among multiple users not only makes economic sense but is also a sustainable means of meeting the growing demand for connectivity. This colocation model inherently results in a lower environmental impact, minimizing the telecommunications footprint in both urban and rural spaces.
What do you enjoy most about doing business in the Dallas Region?
Crown Castle has deployed small cell nodes and associated fiber in the public right-of-way in more than 20 Texas cities, including Dallas. Paramount to this success is a mutual understanding of the need for this critical infrastructure among leadership at the Mayoral and staff levels of cities across the state. The City of Dallas has demonstrated tremendous leadership in this regard, and the future for 5G technology in the area is bright. Here in the Dallas region, Crown Castle has been working closely with the city to build the foundation for the fast-approaching 5G revolution, deploying miles of fiber, constructing hundreds of small cell nodes and investing millions in Dallas with this work.
Not to mention, we’re among great company as a member of the Dallas tech community!
Why did you decide to become a DRC member?
The tech community has a large presence in North Texas and has a tremendous responsibility to be involved in policy and solutions to the problems that affect Dallas-area residents. Crown Castle joined the DRC because it successfully brings together an engaged business community who share the same goal – to drive economic progress in the Dallas Region and be involved in productive conversations to advance the region.
Working with Dallas residents, the business community and the city’s decision makers on the technologies of the future will be key in making sure the city has the necessary infrastructure and regulations in place to benefit from the coming innovations.
How has your business changed in the past five years?
We rely on mobile data now more than ever. There has been a dramatic shift in the way we consume information and media—leading to a significant increase in mobile traffic. From 2018 to 2019, the increase in mobile traffic was greater than the entirety of mobile data traffic just four years ago according to a study by CTIA. Crown Castle has been growing with that demand, nearly doubling both employees and miles of route fiber in the past five years. This growth hasn’t gone unnoticed, in 2020 Crown Castle joined the Fortune 500 for the first time. In the next 5 years, new developments like 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) will drive even more of our lives—and things—online. This new technological growth is projected to bring about even greater data demand and usage.