During a recent panel discussion at TowerXchange Meetup Europe, industry leaders suggested the future lies in small cells, edge computing, and low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites for rail and road deployments that demand always-on coverage.
In dense urban environments, where macro towers struggle to meet rising capacity demands, small cells are on the up.
Jamie Hayes, chief commercial officer at Cornerstone, highlighted that thousands of small cells have already been deployed in the UK.
“We’ve passed the hype stage, now it’s about strategic, performance-led rollouts,” he said. “When macro coverage isn’t feasible due to rooftop constraints or permitting, small cells provide targeted capacity relief, particularly in urban canyons.”
Jaime Abril, head of product and business development at Vantage Towers, added that Haye’s view highlights the growing demand for indoor and inter-venue coverage.
Coinciding with the demand for indoor, mobile network operators (MNOs) are increasingly stepping back from owning indoor systems, with towercos stepping in as neutral hosts.
“We’re seeing high interest in our small cell projects in Spain,” Abril said, “and we’re scaling those learnings across other markets.”
Despite the opportunity for towercos, Abril suggested that success hinges on collaboration with local authorities and municipalities, adding: “Without streamlined permitting and cost-effective access to energy and fibre, small cell rollouts are still complex.”
Transport corridors: new frontier, old problems
If cities are one frontier, then rail and road corridors are another, albeit one that’s more complex.
INWIT are supporting a sizable smart city project in Rome, connecting metro tunnels and deploying Wifi across major public squares.
Andrea Mondo, head of technology and operations at INWIT, said the ongoing project “shows the scale of collaboration required”.
“We’re talking two hours per night for work inside the tunnel, plus heritage and design constraints,” he said. “But if you can build in Rome, you can build in any city in the world.”
Mondo sees smart transport infrastructure as a systems integration challenge as much as a technical one, with projects now including AI-powered surveillance, smart street furniture, and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors—all running on a blend of macro towers and small cells.
Another potential solution that could form part of a wider multilayered connectivity offering is LEO, which is starting to be deployed in a complementary role.
Omar Al Rasheed, general manager of commercial excellence at TAWAL, outlined the company's collaboration with satellite operators to provide backhaul in rural and hard-to-reach areas.
“We’re not seeing LEO serve onboard train connectivity just yet—but they’re part of the overall resilience strategy,” he said.
Cornerstone’s Hayes agreed, framing LEO as a backup rather than a primary option.
“When it comes to mission-critical systems like train signalling, terrestrial networks still take precedence. But LEO can support redundancy in remote corridors, especially when paired with multi-layered terrestrial networks.”
Beyond infrastructure, the panel discussed the challenge of enabling seamless, cross-border connectivity, particularly in Europe’s fragmented rail systems.
Stefan Schnitter, technical project lead for the 5GMEC4EU project, spotlighted emerging use cases like vehicle-to-vehicle communication and emergency data exchange between ambulances across national borders.
“We’re investing in infrastructure that goes beyond coverage—it’s about enabling new services that create value,” he said.
Schnitter also warned against chasing futuristic use cases like air taxis or so-called flying taxis without first addressing immediate mobility needs.
“Rail and road remain key areas for future services, you don’t have to look as far ahead as flying cars. Just look at rail: there’s a huge transformation coming with FRMCS (Future Railway Mobile Communication System), and that’s where the real demand is. But with regulation, getting the permits is a real challenge, even more so than in the tower industry.
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