1.2 Connectivity solutions

Business model and value chain

Cellnex is the main neutral¹ infrastructure operator for wireless telecommunication in Europe, focused on the neutral and shared management. Cellnex was born in 2015 as the result of a spin-off from the telecommunications division of Abertis Group, and from that point Cellnex went public as an independent company under the name Cellnex Telecom.

Cellnex Telecom, S.A. (a company listed on the Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, and Valencia stock exchanges) is the parent company of a group in which it is the sole shareholder and the majority shareholder of the companies operating in the various business lines and geographical markets. Cellnex offers its customers a suite of solutions and technologies designed to ensure the conditions for reliable top-quality transmission for the wireless dissemination of voice, data, and audiovisual content. The company also delivers innovative connectivity solutions and develops the necessary infrastructure ecosystem for the roll-out of new technologies. Cellnex’s business model focuses on the neutral and shared management of telecommunications infrastructures while strengthening its commitment to sustainability, as Cellnex aims to keep improving in this matter and extend its commitment throughout its value chain and stakeholder groups.

The company is listed on the continuous market of the Spanish stock exchange and is part of the selective IBEX 35 and EuroStoxx 100 indices. It is also present in the main sustainability indices, such as CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), Sustainalytics, FTSE4Good, and MSCI.

Cellnex’s reference shareholders include GIC, Edizione, TCI, Blackrock, CPP Investments, CriteriaCaixa and Norges Bank.

The Group's organisational structure is as follows.

The Cellnex Group achieved many Milestones during 2022:

January 4: Deutsche Telekom renews Cellnex's rating as "Zero Outage Supplier" for the fifth consecutive year in Spain.

January 26: Cellnex enters the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for its commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.

February 3: Lorin Networks chooses Cellnex infrastructures to install and deploy a national IoT network in Portugal.

February 15: Cellnex is recognized by CDP as "Supplier Engagement Leader 2021" for its action in the fight against climate change and its effort to measure and reduce the environmental impact in its supply chain.

February 25: Cellnex and BT reinforce their partnership in the United Kingdom with a "multi-decade" agreement.

February 28: Cellnex presents the Augmented TowerCo model that makes it a comprehensive connectivity infrastructure operator, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

March 3: The CMA approves the acquisition of the CK Hutchison sites in the United Kingdom by Cellnex.

March 9: Cellnex and Segula Technologies join forces to make the capabilities of 5G private networks available to the automotive industry. Cellnex will deploy a private 5G network at the Segula test center in Rodgau-Dudenhofen, Germany.

March 21: Cellnex sells 3,200 sites in France to comply with the closing conditions established by the FCA after the purchase of Hivory.

March 30: Cellnex successfully completes the pricing of a bond issue for a total amount of 1.00 billion euros.

April 28: Cellnex holds the Shareholders' Meeting corresponding to the 2021 financial year.

May 5: Cellnex among the five leading global telecommunications companies in sustainability. The company obtains a rating of 14 points in the Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating.

May 13: The CMA approves and publishes the final commitments related to the acquisition of the CK Hutchison site in the United Kingdom.

June 8: Cellnex and Nokia reinforce their alliance to deploy private networks for companies.

June 9: the Board appoints Ana García Fau as Independent Director. She is the sixth female director out of a total of 11 members, thus exceeding the 50% threshold in terms of gender diversity in the company's highest governing body.

June 15: The UNED awards Cellnex an energy efficiency project based on IoT and Artificial Intelligence technologies.

June 17: the company pays a dividend of 0.01761€ per share charged to reserves.

July 1: The company publishes the Second Environment and Climate Change report, corresponding to the 2021 financial year, in which it has exceeded the green energy and emissions targets set.

September 22: Digi and Cellnex Portugal reach a long-term strategic agreement whereby the mobile operator will deploy 2,000 PoPs (Points of Presence) at Cellnex sites throughout the country, until the end of 2023.

September 23: Cellnex Netherlands provides indoor mobile coverage to Valley, an innovative and sustainable built residential and office complex in Amsterdam.

October 3: Cellnex acquires the British connectivity provider Herbert In-Building Wireless.

October 10: Cellnex and Ferrovial sign an international deal for the joint development of infrastructures that facilitate the adoption of 5G in the construction sector.

October 13: Cellnex partners with Paris La Défense to develop a 5G mmWave pilot in the economic district of the French capital.

October 18: Cellnex obtains the highest rating (A) in the GRESB Infrastructure Public Disclosure, positioning itself as the best valued company in the telecommunications infrastructure sector.

October 19: Cellnex completes a milestone of  the integration process in Poland and opens a new headquarters in Warsaw.

October 24: Cellnex reaches an agreement with WIG for the sale of nearly 1,100 sites to the British infrastructure operator, within the framework of the closing of the transaction with CK Hutchison in the United Kingdom.

November 11: Cellnex completed its acquisition of the telecommunications tower assets of CK Hutchison in the United Kingdom. This marks the closing of the last transaction included in the agreements entered into between Cellnex and CK Hutchison in November 2020.

November 18: Axión and Cellnex will implement a new digital network to provide security and emergency mobile communications services for the Andalusia government (Spain).

November 28: Cellnex, in collaboration with the Phinergy company, successfully completed the pilot programme to test and validate the use of aluminium-air batteries as backup power at its sites.

November 30: Cellnex receives award from Catalan Association of Accounting and Management (ACCID) for best practices in financial reporting.

December 9: Cellnex Sweden  signed an agreement with Bauhaus to equip two department stores with DAS.

December 13: CDP recognises Cellnex for its commitment to tackling climate change, securing a place on the prestigious ‘A List’ of CDP.

The company integrates Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors into its strategy, measuring and managing its impact on society and the environment in an efficient and responsible way. Cellnex's own value creation model, focusing on the shared management of telecommunications infrastructures, fosters sustainability, efficiency, and responsibility, in the use of the resources with which it works. By building partnerships with its customers, Cellnex enjoys a long-term relationship with them and manages the Company with the long cycle in mind, aware of the principles of ethics, good governance, respect for human rights and dialogue with its stakeholders, which should govern Cellnex's actions.

Global presence

Due to the success of its business model, Cellnex’s operations have grown exponentially in recent years. A product of this growth has been the expansion of its European presence, increasing operational complexity and widening the scope of products and services offered by the company. With the Group’s main offices in Spain, this growth has resulted in Cellnex having footprint in a total of 12 European countries (Austria, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom) with the goal of driving digitalisation and creating a pan-European telecommunications infrastructure platform.

Cellnex has a portfolio of 110,830 sites in the balance and 127,267 if including the ones in the process of completion or with planned roll-outs up to 2030. The resulting total amount of sites, as of 31st December 2022, built or acquired by Cellnex is presented as follows.

Cellnex portfolio

Cellnex in Europe

Cellnex Austria

Cellnex Austria joined the Group in 2020, as a result of the agreement between Cellnex Group and CK Hutchison. Since its entrance into the Austrian market, Cellnex has become the main independent operator of telecommunication towers in the country. Cellnex Austria operates more than 4,500 telecommunication sites located in urban, peripheral and rural areas throughout Austria. Cellnex Austria provides services ranging from accommodation and co-location to electrical connections, security and alarm detection, among many others. Notably, several dozen Cellnex sites have recently been deployed to provide mobile coverage for the first time to isolated rural towns in areas previously considered dead spots. All of this has been achieved by Cellnex Austria's employees, a team that has years of experience in the sector and provides efficient and quality solutions to customers.

Cellnex Denmark

Cellnex Denmark owns more than 1,500 sites throughout Denmark, serving telecommunications operators and technology companies through state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure. Cellnex Denmark has been part of the Group since 2020, when HI3G Networks Denmark officially transferred ownership of its towers and sites to Cellnex. Within the next few years, Cellnex Denmark plans to build more than 300 new sites in order to support the deployment of 5G in the country. At the forefront of these efforts is a proactive team of professionals with extensive experience in telecommunications, committed to providing telecommunications infrastructure services for the benefit of all interested parties. This link provides a video of how Cellnex Denmark erected a mast just outside Elsinore.

Cellnex Spain

Cellnex Spain, location of the Cellnex Group’s central offices, has a vast telecommunications infrastructure network in Spain that encompasses around 10,500 operational sites. This extensive network of sites has a broad geographical reach and enables Cellnex Spain to offer services to different types of clients, ranging  from mobile operators and broadcasters to administrations, among others.

Cellnex Spain, as a neutral operator, offers services to three customer segments: (i) Operators, (ii) Broadcasters and (iii) Public Administrations and Large Companies. (i) To the Operators, it provides collocation of base stations mainly and connectivity (data transmission), with a high degree of efficiency in the deployment of networks, a high degree of continuity in their locations and is strategically positioned within the Development Area of 5G networks. (ii) Public and private broadcasters entrust the distribution and broadcast of their signal to Cellnex, which has high quality parameters and extensive experience in spectrum management. (iii) Cellnex Spain provides services to state, regional and local public administrations, as well as large companies to provide them with network services such as Mission Critical Private Networks (PPDR, Public Protection and Catastrophe Response) and Critical Business Private Networks, among others services. Operational excellence is the objective in providing service to its customers.

Cellnex France

Cellnex in France was founded in July 2016 as part of an initial agreement to purchase more than 500 telecommunication sites from Bouygues Telecom. Cellnex France Group, which in turn is part of the Cellnex Group, is made up of seven companies: Cellnex France, On Tower France, Nexloop France, Springbok Mobility, ITM 1, Hivory and Cellnex France Infrastructure . The vast majority of the sites are located in quality locations in densely populated areas, an ideal situation for the future deployment of 5G. On Tower France, founded in December 2019, currently manages more than 8,000 sites throughout France. Nexloop France was created in May 2020 under a strategic partnership between Bouygues and the Cellnex France Groupe. Nexloop designs, implements, owns, manages, operates and maintains fibre optic infrastructure networks and numerous regional collection sites, as well as marketing services related to these activities. Springbok Mobility, a 100% subsidiary of the Group since 2019, develops and operates dedicated indoor infrastructures for companies and real estate businesses, in existing or planned buildings, under its Mobile Inside global service contract, which is based on ensuring that buildings are 100% connected. Hivory, a recent 2021 acquisition from Altice France and Starlight Holdco, manages the 11,000 sites that principally serve the French mobile phone operator SFR. In total, Cellnex France Group manages more than 24,500 sites. To highlight that France is the only country where Cellnex has three anchor clients (Bouygues, Iliad and SFR) with which it is deploying Build-to-suit programs.

Cellnex Ireland

Cellnex Ireland’s portfolio of sites consists of more than 1,900 sites located throughout the country, including the CK Hutchison sites, for which an agreement was reached in 2020. Cellnex Ireland is focusing primarily on the development and management of fibre infrastructure and tower sites to meet the requirements of the wireless communications industry. Furthermore, Cellnex Ireland is committed to providing the necessary infrastructure to support the improvement and availability of high-speed wireless broadband in rural areas and to help mobile operators address coverage in said communities.

Cellnex Italy

Cellnex Italy has been operating since 2014 and was the group’s first international market outside Spain. Cellnex manages a complex and far-reaching network of high strategic value for mobile telecommunications, as well as for the development of current ultra-fast mobile 4-4.5G networks and new 5G technology, that covers the whole of Italy, with a total of over 21,000  sites. Cellnex Italy provides multiple services in multi-operator mode, a key concept for the development of wireless networks and services, in order to optimize investments and ensure a more rational and efficient use both in terms of operations and the environmental impact of the existing and future network.

Cellnex Netherlands

Cellnex Netherlands' infrastructure is managed by a capable team of professionals with years of experience within the data centre and telecommunications sector. Main offices are located in Utrecht. Cellnex’s telecommunications infrastructure in the Netherlands consists of antenna masts, rooftops, broadcasting towers and networks, data centers, DAS and Private Network installations and advertising masts strategically located in both urban and rural areas. Cellnex Netherlands joined the company in 2016 following the acquisitions of Protelindo Netherlands BV (in 2016) Shere Masten BV (in 2016) Alticom BV (in 2017) On Tower Netherlands BV (in 2019) Cignal Infrastructure Netherlands BV (originally TMobile Infra BV) (integrated in 2021), Media Gateway (purchased in 2021) and Breedlink BV (in 2022). Cellnex Netherlands manages more than 4,000 sites.

Cellnex United Kingdom

Cellnex has been operating in the UK market since 2016 following the purchase of Shere Group’s assets. In June 2019, Cellnex United Kingdom (UK) acquired the marketing rights of 220 tall towers from BT, and in July 2020 it acquired Arqiva Services Limited. From this acquisition “On Tower UK Limited” was born to be integrated into the current structure of Cellnex UK. Cellnex UK has over 12,000 sites and has access to hundreds of thousands of street-level assets essential for outdoor Small Cells and 5G deployments in dense urban areas. Responsible for leading Cellnex's business in the UK, the management team is committed to developing collaborative partnerships with clients, portfolio partners and stakeholders across the industry, driving innovation and growth, and creating value for everyone in today's connected world.

In addition, pursuant to a sale and purchase agreement dated 12 November 2020, Hutchison agreed to sell to Cellnex UK 100% of the share capital of CK Hutchison Networks (UK) Limited. The completion of the CK Hutchison Holdings Transaction in respect of the United Kingdom was subject to the satisfaction or waiver of applicable conditions precedent, including in relation to anti-trust and national security clearances, as required.

The UK transaction between Cellnex and CK Hutchison was formally approved by the CMA on 3 March 2022, subject to the divestment of around 1,100 Cellnex’s existing UK sites which overlap geographically with CK Hutchison sites to be acquired.

Cellnex Telecom announced in Nov 2022 that it has completed its acquisition of the telecommunications tower assets of CK Hutchison in the United Kingdom (which includes interests in or revenues deriving from up to 6,600 sites, once the build-to-suit (“BTS”) programmes are completed), after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) accepted final undertakings proposed by Cellnex and CK Hutchison in May this year (Final Undertakings) and following the agreement by Cellnex to transfer approximately 1,100 of Cellnex’s existing sites to the UK telecommunications infrastructure operator Wireless Infrastructure Group (WIG).

Cellnex Poland

Following the completion of the transactions with two Polish MNOs (Play and Plus) in 2021, Cellnex companies in Poland operates more than 15,000 sites distributed throughout the country, mainly consisting of towers that provide telecommunications operators and technology companies with state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure. In more detail, in October 2020, Cellnex reached an agreement with Iliad to acquire a 60% of the shares in On Tower Poland, i.e. Play’s dedicated subsidiary holding the legal title to Play’s portfolio of towers in Poland. After receiving the green light from the Polish Office for Competition and Consumer Protection, Cellnex completed the transaction on 31 March 2021. In parallel, in February 2021, Cellnex announced a transaction with entities from Cyfrowy Polsat Group, concerning for the acquisition of 99.9% of the shares in Polkomtel Infrastruktura (currently: Towerlink Poland), a subsidiary dedicated to telecommunications infrastructure. This transaction was completed on 8 July 2021. The Polkomtel MSA is following a business model consisting in a long-term revenue that ensures the profitability and return on investment (Capex) executed by Cellnex on behalf of the customer, encouraging investment in the expansion and modernization of client infrastructure and allowing better customer quality services owing to new investments (Capex). The revenue of any year according to the MSA is composed mainly by the addition of the following items: i) a Capex payback (which tend to be 10 years, ii) an industrial margin on the Capex payback iii) an agreed opex required to run the Capex, (iv) electricity pass through, and (v) other opex items. This long term revenue model presents a tariff scheme that allow Cellnex to increase items ii), iii) and v) on year basis following the Polish CPI. Item i) will follow inflation as new capex cycles are considered in the long term revenue model. This business model presents similar characteristics to the BTS programs, as Cellnex is remunerated when Cellnex invests on the new Capex programme agreed with the client. Also, Cellnex i) can share the infrastructure with third parties, ii) has operating leverage, iii) strong backlog and iv) maintenance capex higher to its c. 3% of total Revenues.

Cellnex Switzerland

Cellnex is the leading independent and neutral telecommunications infrastructure and services operator in Switzerland.  Led by a team of experienced industry experts, Cellnex Switzerland manages a broad network of more than 5,400 telecommunications sites across the country.  Cellnex Switzerland is made up of the companies Swiss Towers AG and Swiss Infra Services SA. Swiss Towers AG was acquired in 2017 by integration the infrastructure of Sunrise Communications AG. In 2019, Swiss Infra Services SA was created by taking over the infrastructure of Salt Mobile (90%). In the first quarter of 2021, Cellnex (through Cellnex Switzerland AG), entered into an agreement with Matterhorn Telecom SA to acquire 10% of the share capital of Swiss Infra Services SA from Matterhorn, as described in Note 2.h.II of the accompanying consolidated financial statements. Pursuant to this acquisition, Swiss Towers AG held 100% of Swiss Infra as of 31 December 2021.

In the first half of 2019, the Group entered into a long-term industrial alliance with Matterhorn by virtue of which Swiss Towers purchased 90% of the share capital of Swiss Infra.

Cellnex Sweden

Cellnex has been operating in the Swedish market since 2021, following the acquisition of CK Hutchison’s assets and the consequent incorporation of On Tower Sweden. Cellnex Sweden has more than 2,800 sites throughout the country and includes everything from 72-meter towers to distributed antenna systems and private networks. This enables the company to offer operators extremely cost-effective and environmentally-friendly installations. Cellnex Sweden provides a full range of services, including the deployment and optimisation of  sites, installation services and site operation and maintenance. Cellnex Sweden is an infrastructure co-location partner of the main Swedish wireless operators. The company provides secure and well-maintained sites for mobile, broadcast, IoT, Wi-Fi and fibre operators. 

Cellnex Portugal

Cellnex Portugal joined the group in 2020 and is made up of Omtel (Omtel, Estruturas de Comunicações, S.A.), On Tower Portugal (On Tower Portugal, S.A.), Towerlink (Towerlink Portugal, S.A.), Infratower (Infratower, S.A.), Cignal Infrastructure and Hivory Porotugal. Towerlink was incorporated to the Group in 2019 and owns and operates a SIGFOX IoT network. In January 2020, Cellnex acquired the full share capital of Omtel, the first independent Portuguese tower company. In September 2020, Cellnex acquired the full share capital of Nos Towering - Gestâo de Torres de Telecomunicaçôes, S.A., which changed its corporate name on that date to On Tower Portugal, S.A. In the last quarter of 2021, Cellnex acquired 100% of the share capital of Infratower S.A., owner of approximately 223 macro-sites and 464 micro-sites (DAS and Small Cells) in Portugal. Through Omtel, On Tower and Infratower, Cellnex owns around 6,400 telecommunications sites located in urban, suburban and rural areas throughout mainland Portugal and the islands of Madeira and Azores. Of these, a few dozen Cellnex sites were deployed to strategic point areas to bring mobile coverage to remote rural areas for the first time. Cellnex has a highly experienced and diversified team in Portugal, totally independent from the telecommunications operators, dedicated to supporting its growth and commitment to service excellence.

Significant events in 2022

In 2022 the following significant events took place regarding corporate operations at Cellnex Group.

CK Hutchison

Milestones 2022: concluding the operation with Hutchison in the UK and the focus on organic growth with industrial agreements in Cellnex's main markets

In November, Cellnex concluded the agreement with CK Hutchison in the UK (which includes interests in and income derived from up to 6,600 sites, once the BTS Programme has been completed), following approval by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the Final Undertakings proposed by Cellnex and CK Hutchison in May, and the agreement to transfer a package of around 1,100 sites to the British telecommunications infrastructures operator Wireless Infrastructure Group (WIG).

This was the last of the set of acquisitions announced in November 2020 and concluded between Cellnex and CK Hutchison in Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom itself, with an overall investment of around EUR 10 billion.

In parallel, the Company has expanded its collaboration with Telefónica in Spain through an industrial agreement that includes the renewal of service contracts linked to 4,500 sites for a period of 30 years. Also in Spain, in the field of broadcasting infrastructures, RTVE awarded Cellnex the broadcasting rights for its radio and television signals for the next five years.

In Portugal, the company has expanded collaboration with NOS, in accordance with the agreements signed in 2020 when it acquired the infrastructure portfolio from the Portuguese operator, and has reached an agreement with Digi through which the mobile operator will deploy 2,000 PoPs (Points of Presence) at Cellnex sites in Portugal.

In the United Kingdom, Cellnex extended the current framework contract for the provision of services with BT through a multi-decade agreement.

Cellnex's Integration Process

Cellnex has demonstrated its ability to grow and integrate the different Business Units that have been joining the Group. Proof of this are the more than 40 deals executed since 2015 and its presence in 12 countries. Despite the deals carried out, the mission of the integration team remains the same: lead the integration processes to ensure business continuity, optimize synergies and maintain the highest level of team commitment.

Cellnex Integration's team main purpose is to be at Local and Corporate disposal throughout the whole integration, pushing both teams as well as helping and supporting them when needed while ensuring always a clear and transparent communication. With the valuable experience gained with all integrations, Cellnex has defined an Integration Playbook which is evolved year after year and has been implemented and tested successfully in more than 25 integrations (of which 9 of them were managed during 2022).

Using its own and continuously improved methodology, allows Cellnex to preserve the existing value of the acquired businesses and ensure coordination between teams; assess the acquired company’s processes, execute defined priorities and define deployment plans; always ensuring the deployment of the Cellnex Industrial Model.

As a reminder; the integration process begins right after the Pre-closing phase (M&A Deal Group phase) and is divided into three phases: Day 1 phase - whose objective is to preserve the existing value of the acquired business and ensure its business continuity as well as initiate coordination between local and corporate teams; 90 Days phase -  where the main integration actions are carried out; and the Optimisation Phase, which consists basically on performing the defined plans while deploying the Cellnex Industrial Model.

During 2021, a series of lessons learned have been identified and included in Playbook 3.0 (which has been applied and used in the 9 Integrations executed during 2022), some examples are stated below.

Cellnex is organised in a way that ensures that the Group is well-prepared for all Integrations (current and future ones): there is a small, dedicated and integration-experienced internal team which is reinforced with external support whenever it is needed. Cellnex has a framework agreement signed that allows an easy expansion of the services when needed. This helps the integration team to calibrate work peaks. Moreover, all Corporate and Country areas are committed and involved in the cases in which a company is acquired in a Country in which Cellnex has already presence, it is Local project team who leads the Integration. Depending on the needs of each Country and acquisition, Corporate team members can support the needs temporary in order to ensure control, give support based on expertise and monitor core processes.

In 2022 the complexity of the executed (and current) integrations has not diminished and has required a different approach, although the number of current integrations is lower compared to previous years. Information about these projects can be found in the "Significant events in 2022" section. Far from being able to predict the future, with the facts and the macroeconomic information available today, Cellnex wants to ensure its readiness for everything that may come, as well as take the 2023 as a year to assess the Integration degree and maturity of the acquired businesses in recent years, and build jointly the Company that Cellnex wants to build.

Cellnex's Industrial model

The Cellnex Industrial Model consists of a common way of working, that is replicable, scalable, homogeneous and that allows rapid growth, but not proportional in costs or consumption of resources. Therefore, the Cellnex Industrial Model is the key tool for supporting the Cellnex strategy and ensuring sustainable and scalable growth, as the Industrial Model is deployed both through integration projects of new acquisitions, as well as through value creation and/or continuous improvement projects.

The Cellnex Industrial Model is supervised by Cellnex's Senior Management at corporate and country levels (Global Governance), through a common Management Model for monitoring the strategy, objectives and results, and as a support for making the appropriate decisions in this regard. To that end, a scalable standard organizational structure has been formally defined for all Business Units, embodying basic general functions. The Cellnex Industrial Model has a matrix structure to facilitate a joint work between corporate departments and countries, combining a global and local vision. Consequently, in each country the various departments report to the Managing Director, who, in return, reports to the Deputy CEO; and have a functional relationship with the corresponding Corporate departments.

The Industrial Model is implemented through the following five elements and evolves for each department according to its needs.

Cellnex has the necessary levers to guarantee the expected response to the business strategy and provide the necessary capacities to support growth and business transformation.  To this end, Cellnex has developed a series of projects associated with the definition of the industrial model of a company function and/or a specific pillar of the function, such as Agora, Billing Industrial Model, and Active Network.

Agora

Agora is the technological support (IT tool) for the Industrial Model of Operations for the TIS Business Line. Agora supports the following Operations features:

• Services Inventory.
• Inventory of Equipment and Infrastructures of a site.
• Management of incidents.
• Preventive and corrective maintenance.
• Service provision.
• Management of permissions with the administrations.
• Site access management.
• Management of documentation associated with a site.
• Negotiation of contracts with the landlords.

Agora's objective is to facilitate the use of the Cellnex Industrial Model in these areas with a system that is:

• Homogeneous: collecting at the same time the best practices of each country as well as their specific needs.
• Integrated: facilitating end-to-end execution of processes.
• Scalable: incorporating new countries, companies and users in an agile way
• Connected with Cellnex clients and its subcontractors.

Agora is currently fully or partially deployed in France, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Portugal. During the year 2022, a technological update of the platform has been carried out, and during the 2023 it is planned to continue completing the use in the countries that already use it as well as incorporating new countries.

Billing Industrial Model

In 2022, an analysis  of the current billing model has been carried out for the whole group. All pillars of the industrial model were considered on the analysis. This project has been led by the Global Commercial team with the support of Operations, Finance and the Organization and Processes team to obtain an end-to-end vision of the model. The objective of this analysis was to identify opportunities to improve the model and redefine it considering:

• Improvement of the efficiency and digitization of processes.
• Increase control.
• Gather and leverage best practices from countries.
• Homogenise functions and tasks.
• Integrate processes and systems to the current structure of Cellnex.

Once the assessment phase has been completed, a new phase of the project will begin to:

• Define common responsibilities for each billing-related task.
• Defines a common end-to-end Billing Process.
• Review organizational model.
• Establish an objective Systems Map.

Active Network

With the integration of Polkomtel Infrastruktura in Poland, in addition to the purchase of the passive infrastructure, Cellnex has also acquired the Radio Access and Transmission network. Being the first purchase of this type of infrastructure, Cellnex Poland, with the collaboration of the Corporate teams, is working on the definition of the Active Network Model.

In addition, the development of this model aims to be the basis of the Cellnex Industrial Model for future countries where this line of business can be developed.

Technology and connectivity solutions

Cellnex offers its clients telecom infrastructure services for sustainable connectivity so that customers do not have to manage the infrastructures and networks over which their systems operate. Cellnex neutral host nature makes its model the most efficient possible, as Cellnex develops multi-operator sites which means decreasing costs to its clients, increasing sustainability to telecom and connectivity ecosystem, and rapidly meeting all stakeholders’ expectations as services are quickly deployed. In this regard, Cellnex sites are the option of choice for the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) as well as other telcos and operators for sustainable connectivity.

Cellnex range of services are aimed at ensuring the conditions for reliable and high-quality transmission for both fibre and wireless telecommunications. The services provided by Cellnex are:

• Telecom Infrastructure Service (TIS): Co-location, Built to suit, and Distributed Antenna System (DAS), and Small Cells.
• Broadcast: Terrestrial Network Operator for TV Broadcasters (Using DTT, Digital Terrestrial Television), and Radio Broadcasters (Using AM, FM and DAB technologies).
• Other network services: Mission Critical Private networks, Business Critical Private Networks, Connectivity services, Infrastructure management, Smart Cities and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.

Although the main service is Telecom Infrastructure Services, Cellnex offers other types of services in the different countries in which it is present, as presented below.

In this regard, the portfolio of services provided by Cellnex can be marketed in all the countries where the company is present, always complying with the market regulations and particular regulations of each country.

Finally, asset buy back options can be exercised in case of an explicit breach by a Group company of the contractual obligations under services level agreements with its customers (“SLAs”) or if a change of control clause included in any of the Group’s material contracts is triggered. These asset buy back options will be executed at a price below fair market valuation.

Policies are developed to ensure the availability of services throughout the value chain, from the engineering and design phase, the implementation of the technical solutions, up to the Service Assurance by the network operation and maintenance:

• As for engineering, the policies aimed at ensuring the availability and quality of services are based on the choice of resilient and minimum fault network architectures, those are: the selection of manufacturers and suppliers of recognized value and with products and processes that meet the maximum quality standards and a minimum level of failure contemplated in the selection process, the use of backup systems (redundancies of complete equipment and/or internal elements such as power supplies, interfaces, amplifiers, back-haul connectivity, etc.) and the duplicity of the most critical sections of the network (transport rings, alternative satellite links, backup technologies of different nature, etc.). Special attention is required for redundancy in energy assurance systems, such as duplicated power grid connections, uninterruptible power supply systems or backup generator sets, which are installed in the most critical centres of the network.
• Regarding implementation, Cellnex follows an end-to-end surveillance and management of the entire process, through a strict control of each phase of the service implementation, a follow-up of the work carried out both by internal field engineers and by suppliers, the completion of installation acceptance checklists to verify that the technical infrastructure is installed as defined in the designs and final strict service acceptance tests protocols to verify that the technical infrastructure provides to the customer the service quality levels defined in the initial requirements.
• For operation and maintenance, the policies to ensure the availability of services combine both preventative and corrective aspects. The use of preventative maintenance protocols stands out to ensure an adequate useful life of the installed equipment, as well as the surveillance of services through monitoring systems managed by a control centre that has location redundancy, being able to operate and monitor the services from different physical locations to allow working in parallel or one replacing the other. Likewise, there are contingency protocols for specific critical services and infrastructures that, following predefined processes within the limits established, allow the continuity of certain services to be guaranteed in the event of possible far-reaching incidents, such as for the headends and main distributions of DTT. With regard to corrective maintenance, in addition to what has already been indicated, the network operation centre manages the incidents, devoting and coordinating the needed resources to solve them and prioritizing the tasks according to the service levels agreed, to minimize the impact on the business and taking into account the objective of maximizing compliance with the SLAs agreed with the clients. Within the practices to maximize the availability of services, there is also the analysis of repetitiveness and the associated management of problems, within the processes of continuous improvement, whose purpose is to reduce the future probability of both the volume of interruptions and their times of restoration, so minimising service unavailability.

The services are provided continuously 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with continuous technical staff present at the service control centre, as well as staff from the Technical Units area and the different levels of escalation, so there are no periods of inactivity.

Telecommunications Infrastructure Services (TIS)

Cellnex operates in 147,581 Point of Presence (PoPs), has a portfolio of 110,830 sites, including BTS committed deployments and is committed to the development of new generation networks. A summary of the portfolio of Telecommunications Infrastructure Services sites as for December 31, 2022, is presented below. The Cellnex data centres have been set upper floor, compact and modular, so they can always be set  up according to the latest technology and fine-tune based on individual specific requirements.

Cellnex Site Share solution enables Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to develop and grow their networks, cost-effectively and efficiently, as Site Share allows MNO to place their radio base stations on Cellnex managed structures and sites in return for an annual license fee. This service involves adapting sites for new co-locations or multiple network modifications required by the operators (installation of new technologies, equipment changes, upgrades...). The objective is to meet and improve the SLAs (service level agreements) offered by Cellnex, which are of two main types: The delivery time SLA, when an Operator requests a new shelter or a network modification to carry it out with the highest quality and in the agreed time or better; and the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) SLA to provide the services with the agreed continuity and service level, and to work proactively in their improvement.

Moreover, Cellnex offers a diversity of topography from dense-urban and suburban to rural locations, including an unrivalled selection of high and privilege positioned sites, enabling its customers to extend its coverage to fill gaps, increase density of PoPs and enabling them to expand to new spectrum bands.

Also, wherever a new telecommunications site is required, Cellnex’s built-to-suit service will build on demand. In this sense, Cellnex will develop brand new, high quality, shareable infrastructures, taking care of everything: from the site location search, the permits and landlord agreements management, the site and tower construction to the connection to the power grid. The sites are available in a range of heights from 15m to more than 50m, and the site will be tailored to customer requirements and to the environmental regulations.

During 2022 Cellnex has been working on the concept of "The augmented TowerCo", a model aimed at supporting customers in defining, implementing, operating and maintaining infrastructures and assets adjacent to towers, including active equipment. These adjacent assets include distributed antenna systems (DAS) and Small Cells, which are key to increase the network coverage levels and capacity; fibre-to-the-tower (FTTT), to expand data transmission capacity; and edge data centres and edge computing, key to ensure the low latencies (response times) crucial for the delivery of critical applications and processes. The augmented TowerCo model is based on the company’s know-how and expertise in end-to-end services.

DAS (Distributed Antenna System) and Small Cells

Small Cells and Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) are systems aimed to increase the network coverage and capacity, by extending the mobile operators coverage, mainly in indoor and in outdoor highly crowded areas,  where the signal level and capacity of existing mobile operators base stations don't reach the required levels of service. Instead of providing coverage with high power base stations, Cellnex provides tailored coverage with a system of distributed radios and antennas. This allows outstanding mobile connectivity to spots where large numbers of users are concentrated, such as stadiums, skyscrapers, shopping malls, crowded outdoor areas or airports. These solutions also provide excellent coverage to underground places like tunnels, car parks or railway stations. In addition, DAS and Small Cells are one of the base infrastructures from which the new 5G communication standard will be deployed.

Network and other services

Cellnex offers integrated and adaptable solutions to develop a connected society and make the Smart concept a tangible reality in both urban and rural areas. These include: Mission Critical Private Networks (MCPN) services, Business Critical Private Networks (BCPN) services, connectivity services, Operation and Maintenance services and IoT and Smart City services.

Audiovisual broadcasting networks

Cellnex is one of the leading operators of broadcasting infrastructures in Europe. In its high tower sites Cellnex host main TV and radio broadcasters, from where it transmits TV and radio signals to all homes and users. Thanks to the defined operation processes and to the high reliability of the infrastructure in  its sites Cellnex can guarantee the stringent high levels of availability required by its clients.

Cellnex Spain has circa 3,000 sites that transmit Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and radio signals. It is leading the innovation of the DTT platform in Spain: better quality and hybrid services and Mobility. Cellnex has led the evolution of the broadcast quality to Ultra High Definition (UHD). In collaboration with Radio Televisión Española (RTVE), Cellnex has broadcasted the World Cup in Qatar in UHD (4K and HDR image and Dolby sound). Cellnex is providing to the main Spanish TV  broadcasters the LOVEStv platform using HbbTV (Hybrid broadcast broadband TV), this service is combining broadcast television and broadband capabilities to provide the viewer with a better, more flexible and high quality TV experience delivered through Digital Terrestrial Television. During past MWC 2022, Cellnex participated in a full end-to-end live streaming demonstration using 5G Broadcast, delivering content to smartphone devices and showcas-ting broadcast/multicast capabilities over 5G. For radio services, Cellnex offers FM and digital radio broadcasting (DAB).

In this sense, some of the outstanding projects of 2022 carried out by Cellnex Spain are the execution of the extension with RTVE (the state-owned public corporation of radio and television service) for DTT and FM services by the period of one year, and the concession of the contract for the supply and maintenance of Andorra Telecom's DTT stations. In addition, customers continue to trust in Cellnex for the renewals and extensions of their contracts, thanks to the operational excellence that Cellnex has been demonstrating, both in DTT and in radio during the many years of commercial relationship.some of the outstanding projects of 2022 carried out by Cellnex Spain are the execution of the extension with RTVE (the state-owned public corporation of radio and television service) for DTT and FM services by the period of five years, and the concession of the contract for the supply and maintenance of Andorra Telecom's DTT stations. In addition, customers continue to trust in Cellnex for the renewals and extensions of their contracts,  thanks to the operational excellence that Cellnex has been demonstrating, both in DTT and in radio during the many years of commercial relationship.

Mission Critical Private Networks (MCPN) services

Mission Critical Private Networks (MCPN) are networks for Security and Emergency forces that are provided with very high availability and communications security. Mission critical communications are networks that must comply with advanced services specifications and must provide a secure and resilient mobile voice, data and video service platform to address these needs. In this sense, Cellnex provides professional radio communication systems for public safety authorities complying all mission critical communications requirements from the network design and engineering to the end-to-end operation and maintenance service.

During 2022, customers have renewed the Critical Mission Networks with Cellnex Spain, from which services are provided to more than 100,000 users of security and emergency forces (police, firefighters, etc.). Is worth highlighting that the contract for the comprehensive management of mission-critical communications for emergency and security corps in Catalunya (RESCAT) have been renewed for a period of 5 years with the Generalitat de Catalunya, in Valencia (COMDES)  has been extended for one year more, and the LINCE project, the security and emergency network in Andalusia (the largest DMR technology network in Europe), has been awarded to Cellnex Spain.

Private networks

Private wireless network technology enables users and customers to integrate machines and people across a wide range of applications and usage scenarios in diverse industrial and business critical domains as in manufacturing, supply chain, transportation and energy, where is key assuring high degrees of security as is an isolated and dedicated network and also the allowance of network and services self-configuration and management.

Wireless connectivity provides employees with data and insight whilst on the move, real time insight into operational processes, allows for the wireless control of moving objects and vehicles, and for the permanent extraction and logging of sensor and status information from processes and assets. For the tightest, most controlled performances for critical business processes, Cellnex offers the option to establish a genuinely private network with all elements and control in the hands of the enterprise itself.

IoT and Smart Services

Being ‘smart’ indicates the building or premises dispose of wireless –and wired– infrastructures and the associated devices and sensors that allow the infrastructure to ‘think’ and act all by itself, optimising its performance and characteristics for the usage it is intended for. These infrastructures are Internet of Things (IoT) based; a network where an internet is used to connect countless numbers of electronic systems, computers, sensors and action devices (‘things’).

IoT is expected to rapidly increase to enhance our daily world with ‘smart’ and autonomous environments. Cellnex operates IoT networks, deployed either at a local or national level, in order to offer smart services to its clients.

Innovation

Innovation at Cellnex is led by the Product Strategy and Innovation Department, which is responsible for the following three areas of work:

• The Innovation area, which focuses on monitoring existing and future technologies that may have an impact on the company's business (e.g. 6G).
• The Product Strategy area, which is in charge of new products definition, from design and validation to launch and implementation (such as Edge Computing).
• The Project Management Office, responsible for economic and administrative control of the innovation and product strategy activities.

These areas of work focus on the development of three main types of projects, which are the communications for connected and intelligent infrastructure (e.g. highways, railways, maritime, ports) (Mobility), broadcast and media services (Broadcast evolution) and infrastructure for the future of telecom communications (Site of the future).

In line with this commitment to innovation and technology improvement, Cellnex is investing EUR 4.17 million in the development, testing and launch of new innovative products and solutions in the countries in which Cellnex operates. The main projects developed are presented as follows.

Parvis de La Défense 2021 © Paris La Défense - Sabrina Budon

Regulatory context

Ensuring safety and service continuity

The COVID-19 crisis has meant a great disruption in public health, economic and social terms and for its synchronous impact worldwide. This is a disruption such as we have not seen in the past 100 years, precisely because of its global scope, not even during wartime. At the same time though, as a society, digitalisation and connectivity have provided the antidote that has mitigated the impact of this crisis. It is still too early to draw conclusions about what we will have learned and what will be left when we come out of this crisis. Nonetheless, a certainly inescapable fact is the acceleration of digitalisation in our daily lives.

Over the past three years, this has highlighted the need to maintain connectivity, as we all depend on technology to obtain information, observe social distancing, stay in touch with loved ones, and work from home. The maintenance and continuity of Cellnex Group's business has therefore been critical throughout the course of this worldwide pandemic.

Cellnex Group has more than 110,500 infrastructures (towers and communication nodes) throughout Europe that provide mobile network communication, television and radio broadcasting, dedicated communication networks for security and emergency services, and communication and security within the maritime rescue network, among other things. Cellnex connects more than 338 million people in Europe.

Right from the outset of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Cellnex Group has deployed its contingency and business continuity plans in the countries in which it operates. The Group’s main goal has been to preserve the security and availability of the services it provides while also ensuring the strictest protection measures for its employees and co-workers. Furthermore, under the umbrella of the “Cellnex COVID-19 Relief Initiative”, the Group maintains several lines of cooperation to the tune of €10 million with NGOs and various hospitals that are helping to minimise the health, economic, and social impact derived from the pandemic.

In this regard, even though national COVID-19 measures were not as strict throughout 2022, Cellnex professionals continued to work on contingency plans to ensure the proper functioning of telecommunications infrastructures, which in turn has ensured round-the-clock continuity of uninterrupted services throughout the entire COVID-19 pandemic. A specific Global Contingency Plan was drawn up in order to guarantee the continuity of critical services and a Global Crisis Committee, in addition to local crisis committees (which report periodically to the global committee), were set up to monitor the contingency plan and take action based on the current situation.

A number of engineers and technicians, grouped in the Service Operation Center (SOC), are in charge of basic tasks to ensure that services keep operating, with permanent 24/7 assistance, while continuously assessing the state of the networks, data transmission, the operation of DTT and digital radio, and the IT security of Cellnex facilities.

In Spain, the main support centre is the Network Operation Center (NOC), which for security reasons is split across two sites (Madrid and Barcelona). This is a surveillance centre, similar to that of air traffic controllers or large transport networks, which safeguards the services of the network managed by Cellnex in broadcasting activities (DTT television, digital radio, and multimedia services, such as streaming), its own network (self -provisioning services for its own television signal, for example) and third-party network services, for fiber or radio customers, with more than 10,400 sites in Spain.

There are other services that also require uninterrupted communications to which Cellnex has to give very high guarantees of continuity. One of the most important is the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System. This is an essential service to aid maritime navigation. Cellnex provides maritime coverage from its towers from which weather forecasts and navigational warnings are broadcasted, distress calls are received and ships can communicate directly with Salvamento Marítimo.

Next Generation EU

Next Generation EU is a temporary recovery instrument endowed with more than €800 billion that will help repair the immediate economic and social damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The aim is to make post-COVID-19 Europe greener, more digital, more resilient, and better adapted to current and future challenges.

The Next Generation EU funds are based on three pillars involving public administrations, businesses, and society as a whole: Green Transition, Digitalisation and Reindustrialisation.

Ecological transition: The European Union (EU) aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, transforming the EU into a sustainable and climate neutral economy based on decarbonisation, energy efficiency, pollution 0, circular economy, sustainable mobility, and "farm to fork" .

• Digitalisation: The EU's data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) strategies seek to boost and develop new technologies: to create a single European market for data, both public and private, allowing it to flow freely across the EU and between sectors; and proposals to promote the development of AI by setting out the options available to maximise the benefits and address the challenges.
• Re-industrialisation: The EU has identified six strategic value chains to boost industrial competitiveness and help achieve the climate ambition: cybersecurity, Internet of Things (IoT), Smart Health, hydrogen systems, CO2 reduction, and autonomous vehicles.

Cellnex is present in several EU countries and will therefore be able to actively contribute to the achievement of the objectives set by the European Union. This is especially true when dealing with the digitalization of rural areas, where the objective is to bridge the divide between rural and urban areas, thereby mitigating depopulation by creating the necessary conditions for reliable and resilient access to communication networks and providing coverage through high-speed networks for the development of local public services, such as education and health.

Cellnex's position as a neutral and independent infrastructure operator presents the opportunity to provide its customers and society with solutions to promote new technologies throughout Europe. Next Generation funds can be a mechanism for this, which is why Cellnex Group aspires to participate in initiatives to which, as a company, it can add value. The current lines of action are as follows: urban and rural agenda and combating depopulation, resilient infrastructures and ecosystems, 22nd century administration, and modernization and digitization of the business ecosystem.

Accordingly, Cellnex has actively worked on multiple proposals for the deployment of Next Generation funds within Cellnex's operational scope, providing ideas, proposing different approaches, and acting as a partner for the main stakeholders (public administrations and industry) through the figures established (MDI Spain, AMi, France, etc.).

All the proposals are aimed at meeting the connectivity needs included in the national resiliency plans. Digital connectivity is a key factor for the development of economic activity, for increasing productivity, boosting innovation and territorial and social structuring.

All these initiatives should help Cellnex and the countries where it operates to establish themselves as a benchmark for connectivity, and enable a transformation of their productive network, helping the process of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cellnex can help to improve the coverage of urban spaces, providing greater digitalisation of public spaces and public services such as hospitals, schools, research centres, etc.). In this regard, Cellnex is focusing its efforts on the development and roll-out of 5G technology.

Broadband Cost Reduction Directive

To make high-speed broadband available quickly, in 2014 the European Union established a set of harmonised measures to reduce the cost of broadband deployment, through the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive. The European Commission is reviewing the infrastructure deployment framework and a new framework is expected in 2023.

The Broadband Cost Reduction Directive reduces the cost and helps to accelerate broadband deployment by simplifying permit procedures for civil works; promoting better coordination and synergies between civil engineering projects and the various authorities involved; providing companies with a better overview and access to existing infrastructure, including inside buildings, which could host network elements; and equipping new buildings and major renovations with high-speed physical infrastructure.

Therefore, the Directive introduces measures to simplify permit procedures and make them more transparent. This leads to time savings and, potentially, advanced services being provided earlier to end-users. In addition, it lowers barriers to market entry, which favours competition.

In this regard, addressing the forthcoming review of the  Broadband Cost Reduction Directive, as well as the opportunities it will bring, is a strategic priority for Cellnex's business. Indeed, the European Commission is currently reviewing the Directive to provide a better, quicker and easier framework for the roll out of connectivity services.  The Company will closely follow the review which is envisaged to take up to 2025.

Digital decade

The digital society and digital technologies present new ways to learn, entertain, work, explore, and fulfil ambitions. They also offer new freedoms and rights and give EU citizens the opportunity to reach beyond physical communities, geographic locations, and social positions. However, there are still many challenges associated with digital transformation that need to be addressed during the “digital decade”.

In this regard, on 9 March 2021, the European Commission presented a vision and pathways for Europe's digital transformation by 2030. The Commission proposes a Digital Compass (communication) for the EU's digital decade that evolves around four cardinal points: skills, government, infrastructures and business. Key policy areas to ensure that these objectives are met include cloud computing, artificial intelligence, digital identities, data and connectivity.

On 14 November, Member States, Parliament and Commission concluded the negotiations on the declaration (text not available yet).

In addition, the digital decade can also help the EU meet the objectives of the European Green Deal, helping Europe reach its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. One example is the "Twin Revolution: Digital and Green", where the transition to a more digital and a more green Europe go hand by hand and can reinforce each other in many areas.

The Commission would first develop projected EU trajectories for each target to monitor progress towards the goals. In turn, Member States would define the projected trajectories at national level, to the extent possible, and propose national strategic roadmaps, outlining their plans, to achieve them. Progress along the national and EU trajectories would be assessed annually.

Some of the proposed projects fall under the umbrella of 5G deployment in transport networks, as well as deployment in European cities to provide seamless connectivity. As well as making BTS servers more sustainable (lower consumption and lower carbon footprint). This is why Cellnex is monitoring the proposals at European and country level that are being developed within the framework of the Digital Decade.

EU Electronic Communications Code

The European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) regulates electronic communications networks and services, updating the regulatory framework governing the European telecom sector in order to deal with new and emerging challenges. The Code is a critical step in ensuring the participation of citizens across the EU in the development of a digital economy and society, and modernises telecommunications regulations through the stimulation of competition and investments and the strengthening of the internal market and consumer rights. It was adopted in December 2018, initially giving Member States a timeline of two years to implement its rules. Since this time, ten Member States have been referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union over their failure to fully transpose and communicate to the Commission how national measures transpose the EECC.

Cellnex Group has closely followed the regulatory process and has a favourable framework for network deployment. Almost all countries that were originally referred have been transposed. Cellnex has been actively involved in the process and continues to work with all stakeholders involved. In addition, Cellnex UK has been an active participant in the legislative change to the UK Electronic Communications Code.

Exposure to electromagnetic fields

Exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) comes from many different sources and occurs in various situations in everyday life. EMF in the extremely low frequency (ELF) range are ubiquitous, where the main sources of these fields are in-house installations such as household appliances and powerlines. The environmental exposure from EMF is dominated by broadcasting antennas, antennas from private and governmental telecommunication services and mobile communications base stations.

In 2015, an opinion of the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) of the European Commission was published on the potential health effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields. The results of current scientific research show that there are no obvious adverse health effects if the exposure is kept below the levels recommended by EU legislation.

In 2018, the European Commission published the EU Electronic Communications Code, which calls for consistency and predictability throughout the Union in granting the use of the radio spectrum, while protecting public health and ensuring more consistent 5G deployment conditions throughout the Union.

According to the EU Electronic Communications Code, exposure to electromagnetic fields caused by wireless communications equipment is subject to the limits defined in a Council Recommendation. These limits are established in accordance with the guidelines published by the International Commission for the Protection against Non-Ionizing Radiations (ICNIRP).

Cellnex complies with the defined limits, both for workers and for the general public.

Furthermore, Cellnex complies with the local legislation regarding electromagnetic emissions in each of the countries in which the company operates.

Reflecting public concern about the possible effects of electromagnetic radiation on human health and the natural environment, Cellnex supports the development of scientific studies and monitors the reports published on this subject (some of the most extensive catalogues of EMF studies are on the IEEE ICES, ARPANSA and RWTH Aachen University’s EMF-Portal websites).

Several scientific reports produced by prestigious health and environment organisations have been published in recent months. Among other aspects, the possible correlation between the use of mobile telephony for long periods of time and the incidence of cancer cases in the population has been analysed, but no correlation between the two has been established (ANSES, 2022 and SSM, 2022). Other studies (BAKOM, 2021) have also analysed the reduction in the amount of electromagnetic radiation to which the population is exposed with the use of new antennas, which delimit much more precisely the space to which they direct their emissions, thereby reducing both energy consumption and the total radiation emitted by the antenna.

In the light of these studies, the balance of evidence indicates that there is no general risk to the health of people living near to base stations as long as exposures are under the thresholds set by international guidelines (ICNIRP, 2020) and national regulators.

Cellnex also participates in activities related to the evaluation, management and communication of the possible risks that this exposure may pose to health.

In this regard, Cellnex has set up an internal Task Force, a multidisciplinary group that coordinates the Cellnex approach to EMF issues with the vision of being an internal forum to exchange knowledge and best practices; monitoring international, European Union and national developments; coordinating the Technical and Regulatory approaches; and working on an eventual EMF strategy.

The EMF Task Force includes representatives from different functional areas and from all the countries in which Cellnex operates. The working group strives to involve and engage the stakeholders (MNOs, public administrations, sector associations, business associations) in each country. To this end, the EMF Task Force collaborates with telecom sector associations at national and international level, supports initiatives such as “Speed up Britain” and “Chance5G, participates in events, webinars and training sessions and drafts and distributes a report in this regard.