One would assume that all mobile cell towers would be a priority target. Given that they are not I think it's safe to assume that it's a goldmine for the intell

One would assume that all mobile cell towers would be a priority target. Given that they are not I think it's safe to assume that it's a goldmine for the intelligence services. Just imagine all the side channels they have access to if they get access to the cell network. Doesn't really matter if messages are encrypted on the wire if all phones in a certain area is backdoored through a trusted network. It's not hard to locate a cell tower from a safe distance.