American Tower Corp. EVP, Treasurer and CFO Rod Smith said at Monday’s J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications conference call that he’s not concerned that a competitor is expected to get a larger than typical share of Dish Network colocations. Although J.P. Morgan Managing Director Phil Cusick did not mention Crown Castle as the competitor in his interview, he …
American Tower shocks industry analysts with its planned acquisition of China Tower for $17.4 billion
Boston-based American Tower Corp. (ATC) is close to inking an agreement to buy China Tower Corp. Ltd. for $17.4 billion, a huge deal that will see ATC acquiring China Tower’s 2.2 million towers, expanding ATC’s 186,000 worldwide towers by 1,100 percent, according to a Forbes report today. The well-kept secret took the industry by surprise, and analysts are still trying …
Colocations unknown as a sealed deal with American Tower provides DISH with it final site selections
American Tower Corporation and DISH Network Corporation announced today that they have entered into a master lease agreement through which DISH may lease space on up to 20,000 American Tower communications sites. Through the agreement, DISH will secure access to American Tower’s extensive U.S. portfolio of communications sites as it deploys its new nationwide 5G network, and American Tower will …
SBA inks a master lease agreement with DISH for its 5G network
DISH and SBA Communications Corporation today announced a new long-term master lease agreement providing DISH access to SBA’s extensive nationwide portfolio of wireless communication sites. The announcement builds upon DISH’s continued progress in acquiring access to the essential infrastructure needed to deploy its greenfield 5G network coast to coast. As part of the agreement, DISH will lease towers from SBA, …
American Tower enters Europe in $9.4 Billion Telefonica deal
American Tower Corporation today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements with Telefónica, S.A. (“Telefónica”), under which it will acquire Telxius Towers, comprising approximately 31,000 existing communications sites in Germany, Spain, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Argentina. The total consideration for the transaction is approximately €7.7 billion (approximately $9.4 billion at current foreign exchange rates), subject to customary closing adjustments. …
Tipsy Bobcat operator arrested for threatening cell site workers
Over the years, cell site techs have been shot at with handguns, rifles and even arrows, but a new worksite violence wrinkle occurred Tuesday morning at a rural site in Dassel Township, Minnesota when a 67-year-old man weaponized a Bobcat skid loader because he was upset that the men were working where he could see them from his nearby home. …
American Tower is undaunted by Dish’s 20,000 tower deal with Crown, they’ll wait for their turn
When questioned as to whether Crown Castle will become the main beneficiary of Dish Network’s entry into the carrier space during a UBS Global TMT conference call earlier this month, American Tower CFO and Treasurer Rod Smith said that history might be the best prophet to identify if his company will profit. Smith said he thought it was “great” that …
American Tower picks up InSite Wireless Group’s American and Canadian assets for $3.5 billion
American Tower Corporation this morning announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire InSite Wireless Group, LLC (InSite), which owns, operates and manages approximately 3,000 communications sites, primarily in the U.S. and Canada. The portfolio includes more than 1,400 owned towers in the U.S., over 200 owned towers in Canada and approximately 70 distributed antenna system (DAS) …
Oregon’s towering inferno captured on video by the Department of Transportation
Although American Tower Corp. and other towercos skated damage as flames licked their towers on Mount Wilson in California late last month, the Beachie Creek Fire in Marion County, Oregon on September 8, 2020, wasn’t kind to the tower owner as it ripped through a 120-foot guyed tower’s compound. The Oregon Department of Transportation captured the moments before the area …
T-Mobile inks a 15-year tower deal with American Tower
T-Mobile and American Tower Corporation announced today that the companies have signed a new long-term agreement designed to drive significant value for both parties over its nearly 15-year term. The new agreement enhances T-Mobile’s access to American Tower’s U.S. sites while locking in synergies and facilitating T-Mobile’s continued rapid, efficient deployment of broad and deep nationwide 5G. The agreement also …
FCC’s full day full-court press to develop O-RAN sported key industry experts
The FCC convened the top experts in the field yesterday in a ground-breaking virtual event to discuss the benefits of an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN), the challenges of implementing it, and the lessons learned from recent deployments. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai lead the all-day sessions that included aroster of public- and private-sector experts who discussed the current state of …
Elderly Vertical Bridge AM tower goes horizontal after being walloped by 130 mph winds
A 310-foot self-supporting tower owned by Vertical Bridge that broadcast WMT-AM radio’s signal throughout Iowa collapsed last week after tornado-type winds swept through Linn County. According to the National Weather Service, a powerful line of severe thunderstorms known as “Derecho” tracked across Minnesotta, eastern Iowa, and northwest Illinois in the afternoon of August 10. Straight line winds were estimated to …
Is Ganzi’s Colony Capital at $2 an opportunity for those who missed out on profitable towerco stocks?
SBA Communications stock price closed at $311.28 Friday with American Tower’s stock at $257.61 and Crown Castle trailing at $168.19, but it’s still a price that cautious investors might shy away from during uncertain times. However, well-known wireless infrastructure magnate Marc Ganzi has what he believes is a wise investment, a $2 stock which he’s convinced has huge potential — …
SBA is doubling down on data centers after successful Chicago edge experiment
SBA Communications jumped into edge computing almost a year ago with the purchase of Chicago data center New Continuum to learn how to maximize their interest in the growing field that their competitors were taking an active role in, and the experiment was successful. During Monday’s Q2 earnings call, CEO Jeffrey Stoops announced that the company has bought their second …
Thriller in Manila: American Tower to get all nationwide permits in 16 days, but telcos could be seized
Philippine government officials threw the nation’s towercos a sweet sixteen party last week with the signing of an Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) joint memorandum circular (JMC) titled Streamlined Guidelines for the Issuance of Permits, Licenses, and Certificates for the Construction of Shared Passive Telecommunications Tower Infrastructures (PTTIs). With the signed JMC, the oversight agencies have reduced the requirements and processing …
Fire in the field, MTN cell tower thief gets 500 years, Peter Sandore splits from wireless
Field fire kayos AM station, but only for hours Texas radio station KCTA, whose call sign means Know Christ The Answer, couldn’t find an immediate answer as to why their Corpus Christi 50 KW AM station went off the air last week. However, an Ionos Communications consultant quickly found that it was a field fire, luckily without brimstone, and technicians …
Tower techs put their life in danger if they accidentally disable a cartel’s ‘parasite’ antenna in Mexico
A tower tech in Mexico turned off the power to an American Tower site to perform routine maintenance and within minutes three armed men in fatigues embroidered with a prominent drug cartel logo braced him in the site’s compound since their “parasite” antennas on the structure for their narco-network went down. He was released with a warning “I was so nervous… …
Top towerco execs enthusiastic about the industry’s future
Executives gave upbeat assessments of the tower industry on the “View From the Top: Tower Executive Roundtable,” moderated by Jonathan Adelstein, President and CEO of the Wireless Industry Association during its virtual Connect (X) All Access conference yesterday afternoon. Panelists included Jay Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer, Crown Castle; Alex Gellman, Chief Executive Officer, Vertical Bridge; Jeffrey Stoops, President …
American Tower expects accelerated T-Mobile work beginning in Q3, manages COVID-19
American Tower Corporation reported steady financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, emphasizing how the company is responding to the ever-changing coronavirus landscape. Tom Bartlett, American Tower’s Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we delivered a solid first quarter, including U.S. organic tenant billings growth of 5.6%, consistent international leasing activity and a 20% …
American Tower’s Taiclet to leave the tower space and go back to his roots in aerospace
American Tower Corporation today announced that Jim Taiclet, President, Chief Executive Officer and executive Chairman of the Board, will be leaving the company to become President and CEO of Lockheed Martin, where he currently serves on the company’s Board of Directors. Taiclet, who was President of Honeywell Aerospace Services, joined American Tower in 2001 as President and Chief Operating Officer and …
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