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Metricell and M2Catalyst connect real-world network needs with opportunities to grow tenancy, develop new sites and unlock property portfolios.
For tower companies, the strongest commercial proposals start with a clear understanding of operator need. A site may offer an attractive location, but the investment case depends on who would benefit, what improvement it could deliver and whether other operators could share the infrastructure.
Metricell and M2Catalyst have partnered to help tower companies and neutral hosts answer these questions. By combining crowdsourced mobile network measurements with data on asset locations, demand-scoring methodology and geospatial information, the offering helps teams to identify promising opportunities faster and build stronger, operator-specific proposals.
M2Catalyst collects mobile network performance measurements from end-user devices across more than 200 countries. Metricell’s network intelligence platform brings this real-world evidence together with data on tower locations, predicted coverage, population density, demand indicators and network technologies.
Together, the crowdsourced data and network intelligence platform support five practical use cases for tower companies and neutral hosts, outlined below.
1. Grow tenancy on existing or planned towers
The first step is to identify operators with potential coverage or capacity needs around existing towers. Then, by considering current tenants and competing sites, leasing teams can build a targeted co-location proposition backed up with real-world data.
For planned or build-to-suit towers, the same analysis can identify potential tenants beyond the anchor operator. Applied across a portfolio, the approach enables teams to generate more revenue from each site.
2. Identify and prioritise new infrastructure opportunities
Crowdsourced data can be used to identify where new towers or small cells could make the greatest impact to a towerco's existing asset portfolio. Coverage gaps, performance and congestion indicators can then be assessed alongside population, points of interest and competing infrastructure to identify between greenfield or densification opportunities.
Distinguishing areas that need wider coverage from those that may need more capacity helps teams prioritise the right type of investment. The analysis highlights where to search for new sites, which operators could benefit and why each area warrants further investigation, including along road and rail corridors.
3. Assess the potential of property estate agreements
Securing access to a chain of petrol stations or retail stores can accelerate the expansion of a tower company’s asset portfolio compared to negotiating individual agreements. However, these agreements can be complex and time-consuming to negotiate, making it important to establish the commercial potential before investing significant time or resources.
Crowdsourced data can reveal whether an estate contains locations likely to attract operator demand, and whether that potential is concentrated in a few areas or spread across the portfolio. By using a network intelligence platform to mapping each property against observed coverage gaps, tower companies can identify where a new tower could improve coverage and which operators may benefit.
4. Target indoor neutral-host opportunities
Busy venues with poor connectivity across operators can present opportunities for shared distributed antenna systems (DAS) or small-cell solutions.
Comparing indoor and surrounding outdoor network performance helps identify affected operators and buildings that warrant closer investigation.
In-building and enterprise sales teams can then prioritise venues for surveys and approach operators or property owners with evidence of where connectivity needs to improve.
5. Optimise site selection and deployment design
Once opportunities have been shortlisted, crowdsourced evidence can be combined with radio planning models to compare candidate locations, tower heights, frequency options and more. Assessing modelled improvements against the current baseline helps technical teams evaluate the potential benefit for each operator, including overlap with existing infrastructure.
Comparing these options helps teams select the most promising site and design for detailed engineering, feasibility assessment and discussion with the operator.
Turning Insight into Growth
The partnership enables towercos to identify and present clear business cases, backed by real-world data. Using the network intelligence platform enables sales, property, development and technical teams to move from identifying network needs to presenting a focused infrastructure proposition. Sample volume, recency and location accuracy inform confidence in the findings; supporting datasets, modelling and validation establish the strength of each opportunity.
For tower companies, this creates clear routes to growth by increasing tenancy across existing assets and building greater confidence in where to develop next.
Meet Us at Tower & Co. Global Hub
Metricell and M2Catalyst will be exhibiting together on Booth 20 at the Tower & Co. Global Hub, taking place at the Business Design Centre in London on 29–30 September 2026.
Visit our stand to explore how crowdsourced data and network intelligence can help you grow tenancy, assess your next development or unlock opportunities across a property estate.
