Crown Castle

Core moat drivers are strong and multi‑faceted. Switching costs are high: relocating a carrier’s equipment off a tower is complex, time‑consuming, and expensive, which protects cash flows once a site is on air.

Efficient scale also matters because new entrants face zoning, permitting, and site acquisition hurdles, especially in dense or strategically located areas where Crown Castle already operates about 40,000 towers. Intangible assets such as permits, ground leases, and established site rights add friction for challengers.

Cost advantages arise from shared infrastructure economics and low incremental costs for adding a second or third tenant per tower; company data show 2.2 to 2.9 tenants per tower by vintage and cash yields on invested capital of 10% to 21%.

Network effects are limited relative to payments networks but exist locally as carrier demand tends to coalesce on already permitted, well‑located assets.

Risks to the moat include carrier consolidation effects (e.g., Sprint cancellations), alternative network architectures, and future spectrum deployments that could favor different topologies; however, management now focuses exclusively on towers where these moats are strongest.

Component scores and weights: Switching costs 90 (35% weight), Efficient scale 90 (25%), Cost advantage 80 (20%), Intangibles 75 (15%), Network effects 35 (5%).