The Mobile Internet Report Key Themes*

As Data Usage Becomes More Important, Cell Sites Are
More a Determinant of Coverage than Capacity
• Cell sites have always been a good proxy for determining a carrier’s coverage, a vital
component to voice. We expect total US cell sites to reach 246K by YE2009, a 50%
increase from 2003.
• However, as data usage becomes more important, the total number of cell sites will only
be part of the picture. The other part is how much capacity can be squeezed out of each
individual cell site.
Total Cell Sites in USA, 2006E – 2010E
2006E 2007E 2008E 2009E 2010E
Sprint 61,000 65,000 65,200 65,400 65,500
AT&T 48,000 49,000 50,000 52,000 54,000
Verizon 27,500 29,500 31,500 41,500 43,500
Alltel 7,500 7,750 8,000
T-Mobile 35,400 37,900 44,000 47,000 49,000
US Cellular 5,925 6,383 6,877 7,043 7,250
Leap Wireless 4,330 6,190 8,890 10,500 10,750
MetroPCS 3,400 5,500 8,000 10,500 10,750
Clearwire 1,200 2,249 8,000 12,000 20,000
Total 194,255 209,472 230,467 245,943 260,750
Note: # of cell sites does not equal # of wireless towers. Verizon acquired Alltel in 2009.
Source: Simon Flannery, Morgan Stanley Research estimates.
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