In the era of forth industrial revolution, we talk about digital transformation to improve our daily life – be it in education, health care, banking system, financial services, retail, entertainment, government services – in every aspect of our life.
There is touch of advanced technology in every corner of life – it is not concentrated only in city life, rather it is dispersed to remote and rural life as well.
To enable transformation into digital economy, connectivity is the key factor where mobile technology plays the pivotal role.
GSMA Intelligence report states that global mobile internet penetration stands at around 57% in 2024 and is projected to reach approx. 65% by 2030 considering unique mobile subscribers.
The report further estimates that Bangladesh will add around 25 million new mobile internet users by 2030, increasing penetration from about 46% in 2024 to approximately 55–60% by 2030, driven by expanding 4G coverage and new 5G deployment.
Mobile technologies and services generated about 6.2 % of Bangladesh’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015, equivalent to roughly $13 billion in economic value.
This figure includes the direct, indirect and productivity effects of the mobile ecosystem including operators, infrastructure, distribution, services, and the efficiency gains mobile technology brings.
GSMA’s broader regional reports (like The Mobile Economy Asia Pacific and The Mobile Economy 2025) provide updated insights into the mobile industry’s impact at a regional level (e.g., Asia Pacific), where mobile technology contributes around 5.6 – 6.6 % of regional GDP in 2024.
Furthermore, 1 percentage point increase in 4G penetration resulting in a 0.015% GDP uplift, based on GSMA Intelligence report (2020).
Therefore, mobile technology is perceived as one of the key enablers for economic growth.
Future mobile infrastructure outlook
To build a strong mobile network, especially in the context of a heterogeneous network (HetNet) comprising macro cells, small cells, and other infrastructure, it is essential to utilize a mix of different spectrum bands optimized for both coverage and capacity.
Low-band spectrum (typically below 1 GHz like 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz) is ideal for wide-area coverage and deep indoor penetration due to its deep propagation characteristics, making it crucial for rural and suburban areas.
Mid-band spectrum (1–6 GHz), such as the 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz or 2.6 GHz bands, strikes a balance between coverage and capacity, offering broader reach than high bands while delivering higher data than low bands.
High-band spectrum, especially in the millimeter-wave (mmWave) range (above 24 GHz), delivers extremely high capacity and speed but has limited coverage and poor penetration, making it best suited for dense urban environments and hotspot zones.
By combining these bands with a heterogeneous network deployment, operators can ensure seamless coverage, optimized user experience, and efficient use of spectrum resources.
Here comes the necessity of dense small cell sites.
Small cells are like mini, low-powered cell towers designed to provide reliable coverage across small areas.
They are densely deployed in areas where usage is typically high to complement macro cells. Each small cell can handle multiple devices and transfer data at fast speeds.
Therefore, towns and cities don’t have to exclusively rely on large cell towers located miles apart to stay connected.
Small cells can be found on streetlights, sides of buildings, and other physical structures. Some small cells are even deployed in buildings.
Their compact size allows operators to cover areas with otherwise weak or no signal.
Mandatory indoor coverage
With new technological evolution, it is evident that 4G will be the lead technology with 3G sunset and upcoming 5G technology in this market for the next couple of years.
Considering exponential data traffic growth forecast, average data consumption per customer per month is expected to reach 14 GB in 2030, 75% higher than 8GB in 2024.
It is obvious that to meet this massive data requirement more densified network deployment is necessary.
Moreover, it is evident that 80% of data is consumed indoors leading to more robust network requirements inside buildings.
To ensure seamless indoor connectivity and support the growing demand for high-quality digital services, it is essential to incorporate digital infrastructure requirements within modern building codes.
As mobile internet usage, IoT applications, and smart building solutions expand, indoor environments increasingly account for most of the data consumption.
By mandating provisions such as in-building telecom pathways, dedicated space for equipment rooms, rooftop access rights, fiber-ready ducts, power supply arrangements, and provisions for indoor small cells or Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS), building codes can ensure that new developments are future-ready and capable of supporting 4G, 5G, and beyond.
Embedding digital connectivity requirements alongside utilities such as electricity, water, and fire safety will reduce retrofitting costs, accelerate network deployment, improve quality of service, and ultimately strengthen the foundation of a robust digital economy.
Utilizing existing city infrastructures
Digital infrastructure providers or TowerCos across the globe are utilizing street furniture to install more radio equipment and associated infrastructure to enhance their 4G/5G coverage.
The use of public street furniture eliminates the need for greenfield towers or poles for small cells, thereby bringing down capital expenditure and the time involved for rolling out networks and services.
Compared to traditional macro cells, small cells offer stronger cellular coverage, lower latency and reduced deployment costs.
Their compact size makes them suitable for installation on existing public infrastructure, eliminating the need for deploying towers and other associated infrastructure.
Even in areas where coverage is not a key issue, small cells can assist in offloading traffic from macro cells as they have limited data carrying capacity.
Therefore, using street furniture is the most economically feasible and sustainable way to increase the densification of 4G/5G networks.
The furniture includes publicly owned structures such as smart poles, utility poles, billboards, lamp posts, traffic signals, and bus stops/passenger shelters, which can be used to deploy small cells.
This approach proves to be mutually beneficial for the public and the authorities that own these street structures as they leverage commercial use cases.
The use of street furniture for the development of smart solutions can help deliver bundled services to its citizens at an optimized cost.
The need to establish different structures for the provision of each of the smart services can be avoided by sharing available street furniture structures and equipping them to meet technology requirements.
For example, smart poles can assist in providing multiple services such as Wi-Fi hotspots, digital billboards, CCTV, sensors, public address board and mobile small cells.
Leverage existing towers for multi purposes - EV charging stations & advertising
Existing telecom towers can be transformed into multi-purpose digital infrastructure hubs by integrating complementary services such as EV charging stations and outdoor advertising platforms, thereby maximizing asset utilization and creating new revenue streams.
As per BTRC report February 2026, in Bangladesh we have total 46,567 towers throughout the country to serve the customers.
Telecom tower sites typically have secure land space, reliable power connections, and strategic locations in both urban and highway corridors, making them well suited to support EV charging infrastructure nationwide, particularly fast-charging units that require stable electricity supply and connectivity for payment and monitoring systems.
In parallel, tower structures and compound perimeters can host digital billboards, LED screens, or brand signage, while maintaining structural efficiency.
Such multi-functional utilization aligns with sustainable infrastructure principles, optimizes land use, and supports the evolving needs of a digitally connected economy.
Leveraging global experiences[1]
Several countries have adopted varying measures for right of way (RoW) provisions and frameworks to enhance access to street furniture, considering the technical and physical requirements, and existing regulatory provisions in the country.
For instance, the US has implemented defined timelines for the review and acceptance of permits and specified the types of fees that can be collected for small cell deployment.
Further, the European Union has been at the forefront of clearly defining physical and technical characteristics of small cells that are exempted from permits and following the installation classes outlined by the International Electrotechnical Commission.
For example, American Tower and Philips Lighting in US have jointly developed “Smart Fusion Poles” combining city lighting poles with integrated cell antennas.
This initiative is supported by the City of Huntington Beach, which provided access to 200 existing lighting pole locations.
These locations, predominantly situated along highways and congested downtown areas, blend into the urban landscape providing connectivity for several smart city initiatives with minimal disruption.
Similarly, UK’s Electronic Communication Code provides guidelines to facilitate access to macro and small cell infrastructure on both public and private lands.
As facilitating measures for 5G deployment, Office of the Communications Authority, Hong Kong, issued guidelines on the use of street furniture such as sheltered bus stops, public payphone kiosks and smart lampposts for installation of 5G Radio Base Stations in 2019-2020.
In Japan, operators are permitted to install 5G base stations on 208,000 traffic lights across the country.
Moreover, the Japanese government has proposed that the costs of using the traffic lights for 5G deployments be shared between operators and local administrations.
In September 2021, the UK government launched the Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Accelerator project, to explore ways to make it simpler and quicker for telecom infrastructure providers to use publicly owned buildings and use side infrastructure, such as CCTV poles and traffic signals, to host 5G radio equipment.
These measures can serve as valuable case studies for deployment models that facilitate the timely and cost-efficient utilization of street furniture.
Our roles to build next generation connectivity
To ensure widespread 4G/5G coverage, it is essential to foster cross-sectoral collaborations with smart cities, city municipalities, airport/port owners, bus/rail transport space owners, Roads & Highway divisions, Local Govt authorities etc., to use their street furniture & spaces for the deployment of small cells.
This coordination will build the aligned framework and ensure accountability from multiple stakeholders to establish next generation connectivity.
Moreover, telecommunications being the basic service like all other utilities, concerned public & private property owners should keep the provision for indoor coverage inside the building following the aligned modern building codes.
All these initiatives will support building optimum indoor and outdoor coverage to enable future connectivity supporting transformation into digital economy.
The writer is head of regulatory affairs, associate director, telecommunication at Edotco Bangladesh
[1] https://www.gsma.com/about-us/regions/asia-pacific/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Small-Cell-Report.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com
