The cost of small-cell deployment can be reduced by up to 50 percent if three players share the same network, McKinsey consultants say. Incentives to do so tend to be highest where capital requirements are very high, where service providers see little incremental value from operating their own access networks, or conversely where a collaboration can drive competitive value.
At the moment, the former arguably drives interest in Africa. In Europe, the more-common driver is perceived value when two or more competitors partner differentially, to gain advantage over other providers in the same markets.
“Two market leaders in a four-player market might be willing to share a superior network to polarize the market, for example, or two attackers might join forces to improve network quality and compete jointly against the market leader,” McKinsey consultants say.
The point is that infrastructure sharing is most likely where there are perceived value drivers: capex savings or competitive positioning. At least so far, tier-one providers have not seen the competitive advantages in North American markets.
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