Neutral host

Industry Insights: Telecom Infra Project FYUZ Event 2024
Over two days during FYUZ 2024, our team engaged in dynamic discussions and panel sessions covering a range of topics, from Open RAN to TelcoAI. During the event, we sat down with Daniel Herb and Lee Dawson to explore how the industry is evolving toward a venue-pays model to enhance in-building connectivity. We also connected with Andy Hobbs and Neil Jackson to discuss the rapid acceleration of neutral host solutions, from initial ambition to refined execution.
Read more below from the TIP website: Posted Nov. 14th 2024: Telecom Infra Project wraps a successful FYUZ 2024
From November 11th to 13th, 2024, the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) held its flagship industry event, Fyuz™, at the Convention Centre Dublin (CCD) in Ireland. This year’s theme, “Accelerate: Accelerate your deployments, business, and innovation,” set the stage for three days of in-depth discussions and insights into the future of open and disaggregated network technologies.
Fyuz™ 2024 stood out as the only event that comprehensively covers every aspect of open and disaggregated network solutions and Telco AI, attracting a diverse audience of C-Level executives, visionary thought leaders, innovators, and disruptors. The event focused on how the latest developments in network technology can be deployed, scaled, and leveraged to drive business growth and foster industry innovation.
Day 1 zeroed in on accelerating deployments, featuring case studies and updates from the Telecom Infra Project, highlighting practical strategies for implementing open and disaggregated solutions. Day 2 focused on accelerating business growth, with discussions on how organizations can leverage network advancements to unlock new revenue streams and transform their business models. The final day was all about accelerating innovation, diving into how emerging technologies like AI, Open RAN, and other disruptive tools are reshaping the telecom landscape.
Fyuz™ 2024 welcomed 1200 registrants from 51 countries, representing mobile operators and other service providers, vendors, systems integrators, regulators, investors, consultants, analysts, business and trade media, with over 60% of attendees holding senior positions (Director and above). Approximately 30% of all attendees were service providers.
Kristian Toivo, Executive Director of TIP, said, “Building on the positive feedback and recognition we received for Fyuz™ last year, our aim for 2024 was to elevate the event even further for our community, sponsors, and event attendees. We’re thrilled by the level of engagement from our delegates and the meaningful discussions that have taken place here in Dublin. A key focus this year has been on advancing testing and certification across all domains and Telco AI, driving the progress of open and disaggregated networks. Fyuz™ has become the platform where our community can engage in open conversations about these developments, and we’re grateful for their commitment to making this event the industry’s leading forum for innovation and collaboration.”

TIP Announces Neutral-Host Network Framework and Three Associated Playbooks
Nov 5, 2024, Telecom Infra Project News
The Neutral Host & Infra Sharing Project Group (NHIS PG) Releases Four New Deliverables Ready for Fyuz™ 2024
The Neutral Host & Infra Sharing Project Group was launched in April of 2024 with Co-chairs Andy Penley, Group CTO, Boldyn Networks; Kunal Bajaj, CEO & Co-Founder, CloudExtel; Shirish Nagaraj, Wireless CTO, Corning Wireless; and Daniel Herb, Chief Product Officer, Dense Air. The group quickly formed three work streams: (1) Indoor Verticals, (2) City Connectivity, and (3) General Frameworks, and have now produced four new deliverables (for a total of five) ahead of Fyuz™ 2024.
The five cumulative 2024 deliverables are:
- A Neutral Host Network Framework (new)
- Neutral Host Vertical Analysis Playbook—U.S. Hospitality Sector (new)
- Neutral Host Vertical Analysis Playbook—U.S. Sport Venue Sector (new)
- How does the Neutral Host approach support City Connectivity Objectives (Available at Fyuz)
- TIP NHIS PG Case Study—CloudExtel Leverages TIP’s Neutral Host Resources to Bolster Railways Connectivity in Mumbai (published Oct 8th)
The first deliverable, A Neutral Host Network Framework, is a foundational piece that defines what a neutral host network is and provides a framework for evaluating a particular neutral host deployment.
The second and third deliverables, Neutral Host Vertical Analysis Playbook—U.S. Hospitality Sector and Neutral Host Vertical Analysis Playbook—U.S. Sports Venue Sector, launch a series of planned playbooks that provide a primer for a particular market vertical with a regional focus.
Finally, the fourth new deliverable (available at Fyuz™), “How does the Neutral Host approach support City Connectivity Objectives,” outlines and highlights the output and roadmap resulting from TIP NHIS PG’s partnership with the City Telecoms Association, which coordinates connectivity requirements and objectives from City Leaders.
The complete deliverables will be the focus of the action-packed Neutral Host Agenda at Fyuz™2024 in Dublin.

Day 1: Voice of the Cities (Break-out Session)
November 11, 2 pm to 3:30 pm
Speakers include (1) Jaime Cudden, Smart City Program Manager, City of Dublin (2) Luke Kehoe, Industry Analyst, Europe, Ookla (3) David Wilkins, Head of Smart City, City of Westminster (4) Max Van Meerten, Smart City Manager, The Hague (5) Pilar Gonzalez Blanco, Deputy Director General of Communications and Workplace, Madrid City Council (5) Sylvie Lienard, CTSO, TOTEM (6) Andy Penley, Group CTO, Boldyn Networks (7) Juan De Miguel, Head of Technology Strategy and Innovation, Vantage Towers.
Day 2: Enhancing Connectivity: Neutral Host and Infra Sharing Business Models—Global Case Studies (Main Stage)
November 12, 12 pm to 12:30 pm
Speakers Include: (1) Brendan O’Reilly, Group COO, Boldyn Networks (2) Jennifer Artley, SVP, Verizon Business (3) Kunal Bajaj, CEO and Co-Founder (4) Dr. Mulyadi, Director of Post and Informatics Device Standardization, Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) (5) Dean Bubley, Tech Industry Analyst & Futurist, Disruptive Analysis
Day 2: Indoor and City Connectivity Developments from a Neutral Host & Infra-Sharing Perspective (Break-out Session)
November 12, 4 pm to 5:30 pm
Speakers include: (1) David Nowicki, Ecosystem Development Advisor, TIP (2) Daniel Herb, CPO, Dense Air (3) Shirish Nagaraj, Wireless CTO, Corning Wireless (4) Tadhg Kenny, President of Strategic Accounts and Partnerships, Druid Software (5) Mikael Lundman, CEO, Proptivity (6) Howard Buzick, SVP of BD, American Bandwidth (7) Sadayuki Abeta, CTO of OREX SAI and Chief Open RAN Strategist, NTT Docomo (8) David Morris, Architect, VM02, (9) Amit Kausal, Senior Principal Commercial, Digital Nasional Berhard, Malaysia (10) Dean Bubley, Tech Industry Analyst & Futurist, Disruptive Analysis (11) Jaime Cudden, Smart City Program Manager, City of Dublin (12) Luke Kehoe, Industry Analyst, Europe, Ookla (13) Sylvie Lienard, CTSO, TOTEM (14) Andy Penley, Group CTO, Boldyn Networks (15) Jaimie Abril, Head of Product, Vantage Towers.
About NHIS PG
The Neutral Host & Infra Sharing Project Group (NHIS PG) of the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) focuses on advancing neutral host business models for In-Building Solutions (IBS), Outdoor Densification, and Edge Solutions. By fostering collaboration among stakeholders, the PG accelerates the adoption of shared infrastructure and open business models, which reduce both capex and opex while enabling cost-effective connectivity deployments.
A neutral host operates a shared network infrastructure that service providers use through commercial agreements. This model—gaining momentum globally—promotes shared passive and active network components, driving competition and lowering costs across indoor and outdoor urban environments.
The NHIS PG is a global catalyst for neutral host deployment, bringing together neutral hosts, vendors, system integrators, MNOs, policymakers, and other stakeholders to eliminate barriers and promote innovative solutions. With growing momentum from industry leaders, policymakers, and real estate stakeholders and growing interest from users in higher QoE and more ubiquitous coverage, now is the time to join the Neutral Host & Infra Sharing PG and shape the future of connectivity.
For more information about TIP’s NHIS PG, please visit https://telecominfraproject.com/neutral-host-infra-sharing/

Dense Air partners with Citymesh and Digi to expand 5G access across Belgium
As the widespread adoption of 5G accelerates, Dense Air is delighted to partner with Citymesh and Digi. Through this partnership, Citymesh and Digi will strengthen their 5G network across Belgium by deploying Dense Air’s RAN-as-a-Service (RaaS) small cells, which will enable the MNOs to offer enhanced coverage, higher speeds, and greater capacity. The deployment of Dense Air’s small cells will densify Citymesh and Digi’s existing macro network across the country while expanding 4G and 5G service availability in hard-to-reach places that the macro layer struggles to reach.
This partnership and deployment build on Citymesh and Digi’s acquisition of Dense Air Belgium, a subsidiary of Dense Air Networks, earlier this year. Dense Air Belgium has enhanced the MNOs’ spectrum portfolio with its 2.6GHz TDD spectrum, which added 45MHz of prime 4G/5G spectrum to Citymesh and Digi’s spectrum portfolio, and provides access to Dense Air’s unique RaaS 4G and 5G neutral host solution, both of which will play an important role in enhancing 4G and 5G services in high-density urban areas – all at a significantly reduced cost.

Dense Air’s mission is to help communities and carriers realize the promise of 5G, which we achieve by driving down the costs of small cell deployments through RAN infrastructure that can accommodate multiple operators and multiple use cases. This approach yielded breakthroughs in 2023: current multi-band radio units now support up to 400 MHz wideband radios carrying MNO-licenced and shared spectrum for public and private networks.
By using big data insights provided by Dense Air’s proprietary DenseWare analytics platform, Citymesh and Digi will now be able to target deployments street-by-street and even building-by-building, identifying where mobile networks are not performing — and, importantly, where macro investment is not viable.
Working with Citymesh and Digi, Dense Air will deliver meaningful improvements to existing end-users while also helping to drive and support new 4G and 5G business cases. Be it street-side, indoor, or outdoor, understanding where 4G and 5G networks are failing offers hugely valuable insight for operators as they consider where shared and as-a-service solutions can be deployed on a cost-optimized and shared basis.

A new leader for a growing team
Dense Air was founded to challenge the status quo of today’s wireless communications infrastructure. Using small cell networks to enhance and extend networks built by incumbent telecom companies, Dense Air has a vision to scale equitable mobile broadband access to communities, increasing opportunities across education, healthcare and employment.
We are thrilled to announce that Richard Staveley, who shares our vision and aspirations, has joined our team. Taking on the role of President, he will oversee and lead Dense Air’s growing team in the UK, Europe and Asia-Pacific regions.
Richard brings with him years of valuable experience growing companies across the complete business lifecycle from incorporation to exit. Most recently CEO of ip.access, he led its strategic turnaround resulting in the acquisition of ip.access by Mavenir. He previously held executive roles at Stratto (now part of Freshwave), Ubiquisys (now part of Cisco) and IPWireless (now part of General Dynamics).
Five months ago, we announced Dense Air’s acquisition by Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP). Operating under SIP’s CoFi innovation platform, we’re helping to build the future of equitable 5G broadband access. Since the acquisition, our team has doubled in size, and we continue to attract talent across engineering, software and business development roles.
“I am delighted to join the Dense Air team to help bring equitable broadband to more communities. I look forward to working closely with the teams in the UK, Europe and Asia and build upon Dense Air’s remarkable work to date to grow the business internationally. Through building partnerships, we will enable cities to achieve their goals of scaling technology necessary to bridge the gaps in wireless communications infrastructure. Broadband and cellular should be available and accessible to all, and I am excited to lead Dense Air’s international team as we bring stable access to the communities that need it most.”
Richard Staveley, President of Dense Air
As President of Dense Air, Richard is responsible for all regions outside of the USA, including the development of Dense Air’s 5G CoFi solution, and the execution of P3s (Public Private Partnerships) with cities, municipalities and local authorities.
The small cell 5G network market has grown significantly in recent years and is expected to grow further, from USD$626 million in 2020 to USD$2.4 billion by 2025. As the market grows, Dense Air’s model of using small cell networks enables real change, scaling a new deployment model of broadband in which no one is left behind.
Deploying small cells discreetly on street lights, street furniture and/or rooftops across city districts, campuses and private neighbourhoods is proven to provide high-speed, high-performance cellular coverage over hundreds or thousands of feet. This supports better coverage closer to users, eases network congestion, and improves access in areas where macro service deteriorates, to bring stable access to all communities.

Get in touch if our vision matches yours. We have open roles across a range of departments, ideal for people who are goal-driven innovators who enjoy a new challenge and will excel in a globally growing team.
Visit our website for more information: https://denseair.net/contact/ or contact careers@denseair.net