How do cellular towers from different companies not interfere with each other?
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They operate at different frequencies. The providers buy licences to use various ranges of frequencies, within various bands. So all the 3G bits are next to each other, all the 4G bits and so on.
It’s like how different radio stations within an area don’t interfere.
The frequency ranges used for cellular communication are regulated. You are only allowed to transmit on them with governmental permission. The usage permission is in some way distributed to the different companies often as a result of a public auction.
The result is that only one company has the right to use a part of the frequency range in a geographical area. So different companies use different frequency ranges and as a result, they are not interfering with each other.
You can get in a lot of problems if you transmit on a frequency you are not allowed to use. Fines, seizure of equipment and even prison time is a possible punishments. I would assume that the license agreement from companies also includes the possibility of losing them if you use a different frequency than you are allowed to. So cellular companies will not use different frequencies then they are allowed to use.
The same frequency is reused by multiple cellular towers. Reuse and small cells covered by individual cell towers are a fundamental part of the large capacity of the cellular communication system. But the rescue will only be by the same company so they have to manage the system so their different towers do not interfere with each other.
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