The Impact of Shared Telecom Infrastructure on Digital Connectivity and Inclusion

2025-07-25

AI Summary

Nearly half the global population remains unconnected, with financial constraints impeding network infrastructure deployment in low-income countries. This paper provides the first systematic causal assessment of mobile base station sharing on digital inclusion. Leveraging a novel dataset comprising 107 sharing agreements across 28 low-income countries, we employ an event-study–based staggered difference-in-differences design, instrumenting for sharing adoption using PPP-adjusted price indices and mobile connectivity data. We find that base station sharing significantly reduces service prices—mobile voice tariffs decline by 50.6% and per-GB data costs by 29.3%—while expanding access: rural internet penetration increases by 4.7 percentage points and internet adoption in female-headed households rises by 3.6 percentage points. Sharing also intensifies market competition. Our results uncover a dual-channel mechanism—price transmission and coverage expansion—through which infrastructure sharing fosters digital inclusion. These findings offer rigorous empirical support and actionable policy insights for cost-effective connectivity expansion in developing economies.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Mobility, Driving & Flight
• Multiagent Systems: Mechanism Design
• Search and Optimization: Other Foundations of Search & Optimization

Application Category

• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: The sharing economy
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Experiences and lessons learnt from Web-based algorithms and system deployments
• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements

Abstract

Nearly half the world remains offline, and capital scarcity stalls new network buildouts. Sharing existing mobile towers could accelerate connectivity. We assemble data on 107 tower-sharing deals in 28 low-income countries (2008-20) and estimate staggered difference-in-differences effects. Two years after a transaction covering over 1,000 towers, the PPP-adjusted mobile-price index falls USD 1.60 (s.e. 1.10) from a baseline of USD 3.16, while data prices drop USD 1.00 (0.29), baseline USD 3.41 per GB. The number of mobile connections increases. Rural internet access increases by 4.7 pp and female-headed households by 3.6 pp. Tower-sharing agreements increase product market competition as measured by Herfindahl-Hirschman Index.

Problem

• Evaluates impact of shared telecom towers on digital connectivity
• Measures effect on mobile prices and internet access in low-income countries
• Assesses tower-sharing's role in increasing market competition

Innovation

• Shared telecom infrastructure reduces costs
• Tower-sharing boosts rural internet access
• Increases mobile connections and competition