Tech District · VIDEO ESSAY

Crown Castle: The Tower Giant That Bet on Fiber and Small Cells—Then Sold Both for $8.5 Billion

Crown Castle built one of America’s biggest communications infrastructure empires, betting heavily on fiber and small cells alongside its massive tower business. But that strategy eventually changed, leading to an $8.5 billion sale of its fiber and small-cell assets. This video breaks down how Crown Castle grew, why it made such a huge bet on next-generation wireless infrastructure, what went wrong with the strategy, and why the company ultimately chose to refocus on towers.