Expert Opinion Radio Mast Infrastructure Company Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

The Project

In many municipal administrations, the idea of influencing and controlling the expansion of mobile communication infrastructure is increasingly maturing. The constant exchange with citizens, the local economy and tourists provides information about coverage gaps and areas with insufficient coverage quality. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is the first state to choose a completely new approach. The state wants to build mobile phone sites and connect them to the fibre optic network and then lease them to the mobile network operators.

Goals

In the last legislature, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania founded a cell site infrastructure company (FMI 1) with the aim of erecting passive mobile radio infrastructure in white spots and leasing them to mobile network operators. Beyond the mere closure of white spots, the state government also sees the need for a densification of mast locations in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In the coalition agreement 2021 to 2026, it was agreed that the state will now erect all cell sites that are necessary for a nationwide mobile phone expansion with 4G/5G. Privatisation of these cell sites is not planned. The radio mast infrastructure company (FMI 2) is to erect the masts (incl. fibre optic connection) as a “tower company” and lease them to the mobile network operators.

aconium responsibilities

According to official reports, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has relatively good and almost nationwide mobile phone coverage (across all technologies). However, the usual representations are positive assumptions and cannot stand up to practice. aconium was commissioned to investigate the actual coverage and to provide the planning basis for a further expansion with mobile radio sites and to determine the investment requirements and the economic viability for a radio mast infrastructure company. This was done computer-aided on the basis of existing data from aconium, data from the state and the three established network operators, and with the help of a geo-information system from aconium. The results were recorded in an expert report.