Telecom’s Game Changer: The Neutral Host Revolution

Neutral Hosts: A New Paradigm for Telecom Infrastructure

What are Neutral Hosts?

A neutral host can be defined as a third-party mobile network provider that enables multiple wireless service providers to use its infrastructure, such as 5G cell towers and small cells³. In other words, neutral hosts invest in telecommunications infrastructure, then lease it out on a shared-tenant basis.

Neutral hosts are not a new concept, as they have been used for indoor coverage solutions for many years. However, with the advent of 5G and the increasing demand for network capacity and coverage, neutral hosts are becoming more relevant and attractive for outdoor and public scenarios as well¹.

Types of Neutral Hosts

There are different types of neutral hosts, depending on the scope and scale of their services. Some of the common types are:

• Tower companies (TowerCos): These are the traditional neutral hosts that own and operate macro cell towers and lease them to mobile network operators (MNOs). TowerCos can also provide backhaul, power, and maintenance services to MNOs. Examples of TowerCos include American Tower, Crown Castle, and TAWAL.
• Small cell companies (SmallCo): These are the emerging neutral hosts that focus on deploying and managing small cells, which are low-power base stations that provide localized coverage and capacity. SmallCos can also offer distributed antenna systems (DAS) and in-building solutions (IBS) to MNOs and enterprises. Examples of SmallCos include ExteNet Systems, Boingo Wireless, and Crown Castle.
• Fiber companies (FiberCos): These are the neutral hosts that own and operate fiber optic networks and offer dark fiber, lit fiber, or wavelength services to MNOs and other customers. FiberCos can also support small cell deployments by providing backhaul connectivity. Examples of FiberCos include Zayo Group, GTT Communications, and STC.
• Wholesale network operators (WNOs): These are the neutral hosts that operate their own radio access network (RAN) and spectrum licenses and offer wholesale access to MNOs and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). WNOs can also provide network slicing and edge computing services to enable customized network solutions. Examples of WNOs include Rakuten Mobile, Dense Air, and Airspan Networks.
• Neutral host networks (NHNs): These are the new self-contained networks envisioned by 5G and 6G cellular networks, which offer wireless connection to their subscribers from a variety of service providers, including both conventional MNOs and non-conventional service providers such as enterprises, government agencies, or smart city developers². NHNs are operated and maintained by a third neutral party, which can be any of the above types of neutral hosts or a new entity. NHNs can leverage shared or unlicensed spectrum bands such as CBRS in the US or n78 in Europe to provide wireless services².

Use Cases of Neutral Hosts

Neutral hosts can serve various use cases and markets, such as:

• Public venues: Neutral hosts can provide wireless coverage and capacity to public venues such as stadiums, airports, shopping malls, hotels, and convention centers. This can benefit both MNOs, who can offload their traffic and reduce their capex and opex, and venue owners, who can enhance their customer experience and generate new revenue streams¹.
• Rural areas: Neutral hosts can extend wireless connectivity to rural areas where MNOs may not have sufficient coverage or economic incentives to invest. This can benefit both MNOs, who can expand their service area and meet their regulatory obligations, and rural communities, who can access digital services and opportunities¹.
• Smart cities: Neutral hosts can deploy smart city infrastructure such as smart poles, which are multipurpose street furniture that consolidate road facilities, minimize visual clutter, and use public space efficiently. Smart poles can host various applications such as 5G small cells, Wi-Fi access points, CCTV cameras, environmental sensors, electric vehicle chargers, digital signage, and emergency buttons.
• Private networks: Neutral hosts can offer private network solutions to enterprises that require dedicated wireless connectivity for their operations. Private networks can enable various industry 4.0 applications such as automation, robotics, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), and internet of things (IoT). Neutral hosts can leverage shared or unlicensed spectrum bands such as CBRS in the US or n78 in Europe to provide private network services².
• Multi-tenanted spaces: Neutral hosts can offer wireless connectivity to multi-tenanted spaces such as factories, hospitals, universities, stadiums, where different tenants have different service requirements and preferences. For example, a factory may have multiple tenants such as the owner, the operator, the supplier, the customer, and the regulator, who may need different levels of data speed, latency, reliability, and security. Neutral hosts can provide a common network infrastructure that can accommodate the diverse needs of multiple tenants through network slicing and virtualization techniques².

Benefits of Neutral Hosts

Neutral hosts can offer various benefits to different stakeholders in the telecom ecosystem, such as:

• MNOs: Neutral hosts can help MNOs reduce their network deployment costs, accelerate their time-to-market, optimize their network performance, increase their service differentiation, and enhance their customer satisfaction¹.
• Enterprises: Neutral hosts can help enterprises access reliable and secure wireless connectivity for their business needs, improve their operational efficiency and productivity, enable new use cases and innovations, and create new value propositions for their customers².
• End-users: Neutral hosts can help end-users enjoy seamless and consistent wireless service across different locations and providers, access higher data speeds and lower latency, benefit from new digital services and applications, and save on their mobile bills¹.
• Regulators: Neutral hosts can help regulators promote fair competition and innovation in the telecom market, foster universal service provision and digital inclusion, encourage efficient use of spectrum resources and infrastructure assets, and protect consumer interests and rights¹.
• Neutral hosts: Neutral hosts can benefit from new revenue opportunities and market segments, increased network utilization and efficiency, reduced network complexity and maintenance, enhanced network flexibility and scalability, and improved network security and resilience².

Challenges of Neutral Hosts

Neutral hosts also face some challenges and barriers that may hinder their adoption and growth, such as:

• Regulatory uncertainty: Neutral hosts may encounter regulatory issues such as spectrum allocation and sharing, network access and interconnection, network security and privacy, and network quality and reliability. Different countries may have different regulatory frameworks and policies that affect the viability and feasibility of neutral host models¹.
• Commercial complexity: Neutral hosts may face commercial challenges such as negotiating contracts and agreements with multiple parties, establishing pricing and revenue models, managing service level agreements (SLAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs), and resolving disputes and conflicts. Different stakeholders may have different expectations and interests that affect the profitability and sustainability of neutral host models¹.
• Technical difficulty: Neutral hosts may encounter technical difficulties such as designing and deploying network infrastructure, integrating and interoperating with multiple networks, optimizing and managing network performance, and upgrading and maintaining network equipment. Different technologies and standards may have different requirements and specifications that affect the quality and functionality of neutral host models¹.
• Resource allocation: Neutral hosts may face resource allocation challenges such as how to allocate radio resources to various slices or tenants in a fair and efficient way. Different slices or tenants may have different demands or preferences for radio resources such as bandwidth, power, or subcarrier. Neutral hosts need to balance the trade-off between resource utilization and resource availability to meet the capacity needs of each slice or tenant².

The Future of Neutral Hosts in Saudi Arabia

The future of neutral hosts in Saudi Arabia looks promising and bright, as the country is undergoing rapid digital transformation and economic diversification. Some of the factors that may drive the demand for neutral host services in Saudi Arabia are:

• 5G deployment: Saudi Arabia is one of the leading countries in 5G deployment, with over 10, 000 5G sites covering more than 50% of the population as of 2020 which is a long time ago ! . 5G requires more network infrastructure such as small cells and fiber to deliver higher data speeds, lower latency, and massive connectivity. Neutral hosts can help MNOs reduce their 5G deployment costs and accelerate their 5G rollout.
• Digital services: Saudi Arabia is witnessing a surge in digital services such as e-commerce, e-government, e-health, e-education, e-entertainment, and e-tourism. These services require reliable and secure wireless connectivity to enable seamless user experience and satisfaction. Neutral hosts can help service providers enhance their service quality and differentiation.
• Industry 4.0: Saudi Arabia is pursuing industry 4.0 initiatives such as smart manufacturing, smart logistics, smart agriculture, smart mining, smart energy, smart water management, smart transportation. These initiatives require dedicated wireless connectivity to enable various applications such as automation, robotics, IoT. Neutral hosts can help enterprises access private network solutions that meet their specific needs.
• Smart cities: Saudi Arabia is developing several smart city projects such as NEOM, Qiddiya, Red Sea Project, Amaala. These projects aim to create sustainable urban environments that offer high quality of life and economic opportunities. These projects require smart city infrastructure such as smart poles that can host various applications such as 5G small cells. Neutral hosts can help smart city developers deploy smart city infrastructure efficiently.

TAWAL is the largest passive infrastructure company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), with a portfolio of over 15,000 towers across the country. TAWAL was established in 2018 as a spin-off from STC, the leading MNO in KSA, to provide neutral host services to other MNOs such as Mobily, Zain, and Virgin Mobile.TAWAL's vision is to become a leading ICT infrastructure provider in the region, offering not only tower services but also small cell, fiber, edge computing, private network solutions to various customers such as MNOs, enterprises, government agencies, and smart city developers.

TAWAL's strategy is to leverage its existing assets and capabilities, expand its service portfolio and market segments, diversify its revenue streams and business models, innovate its products and solutions, and partner with local and global players.

The future of neutral hosts in Saudi Arabia also depends on the leadership and vision of the key players in the telecom ecosystem. TAWAL is one of the leading players that is shaping the future of neutral hosts in Saudi Arabia by providing innovative ICT infrastructure solutions to various customers. TAWAL is also collaborating with other players such as Nokia, Huawei, Ericsson, AWAL Telecom, STC, Mobily, Zain, Virgin Mobile, CITC, MCIT, NEOM, Qiddiya, Red Sea Project, Amaala to create a vibrant telecom ecosystem that supports digital transformation in Saudi Arabia.

Conclusion

Neutral hosts are a new paradigm for telecom infrastructure that can offer various benefits and opportunities to different stakeholders in the telecom ecosystem. However, neutral hosts also face some challenges and barriers that may hinder their adoption and growth. TAWAL is one of the leading players that is shaping the future of neutral hosts in Saudi Arabia by providing innovative ICT infrastructure solutions to various customers. TAWAL is also collaborating with other players to create a vibrant telecom ecosystem that supports digital transformation in Saudi Arabia.

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