Towerco stocks notched a slight increase on Friday, but they’re still way off their 52-week highs. All four of the publicly traded companies saw significant declines beginning in December 2021, with considerable losses last week. DigitalBridge Group is down a reeling 45%, while Crown Castle Int. Corp. declined 26%, and SBA Communications Corp. saw a 25% drop. American Tower Corp. …
Pieter Nel elevated to CEO of American Tower Europe; Julian Plumstead takes M&A Post
American Tower Corporation, one of the world’s largest real estate investment trusts and a leading independent owner, operator and developer of telecommunications real estate and infrastructure, continues to grow in Europe. Pieter Nel was appointed CEO for Europe, one of the key markets for the multinational. Pieter has more than 25 years’ experience in the telecommunications sector and has spent more than a …
Nationwide strike of contractors averted after carriers and towercos agree to meaningful concessions
An organized work stoppage action by U.S. wireless contractors that could have exceeded the breadth of economic damage caused by the steel workers strike of 1919, that shut down the nation’s steel industry, was averted yesterday after carriers and tower owners offered concessions to offset untenable matrix pricing being offered for 5G installations. The call to action for a national …
U.S. towerco is bid up in down under 2,000 tower deal that went to ATN and Singtel for $2.7 billion
UPDATE – April 1, 2022: Macquarie Asset Management today announced that, alongside its coinvestors, it has entered into binding agreements with Australia Tower Network (ATN), owned by AustralianSuper and Singtel, for the sale of 100% of Axicom for $2.7 billion (US). Earlier reports said that the assets, formerly Crown Castle’s towers, were expected to fetch approximately $2.1 billion US. American …
ATF accuses man of setting fire to American Tower cell site, trying to destroy multiple other locations
A Jackson County Mississippi man is facing federal charges from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) after a special agent said the arsonist maliciously set fire to an American Tower cell tower earlier this month. Manuel Alejandro DeJesus is alleged to have set fire to at least three cell towers in the Jackson …
American Tower reportedly a contender for 41,000 Deutsche Telekom towers for $20 billion
American Tower is reportedly a key contender for a 41,000 Deutsche Telekom towers acquisition. Deutsche Telekom reportedly started the sales process for its mobile towers business as part of broader efforts to maximize the value of its infrastructure assets. Reuters reported the Germany-headquartered operator is working with Goldman Sachs as adviser in the sale of its 40,600 towers, which the …
Wireless infrastructure pioneer Van Thompson passes away
Van Thompson, a cell tower development pioneer, passed away quietly at his home in Annapolis, Maryland on January 5. He was 66. Thompson was known as a founding force in managing, developing and implementing wireless infrastructure in the mid-Atlantic region. He began his career in telecom in 1987 as a consultant purchasing right of way for fiber optics in Texas. …
American Tower makes mammoth $10.1 billion deal to buy data giant CoreSite Realty
American Tower Corporation and CoreSite Realty Corporation today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement through which American Tower will acquire CoreSite for $170.00 per share in cash. The total consideration for the transaction, including the assumption and/or repayment of CoreSite’s existing debt at closing, is approximately $10.1 billion. The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the boards …
Day of remembrance includes American Tower subsidiary’s 13 employees who died on September 11
As we mark the passage of two decades since the day that changed our lives forever, the pain will be revisited on this day of remembrance and prayer, especially for those at a tower company who knew many of those people in a sister company who died in the collapse of the twin towers on September 11, 2001. General Telecom, a subsidiary …
India’s towercos in for a sharp tenancy decline if Vodafone Idea collapses leaving a duopoly
American Tower’s ATC Telecom and six other leading tower infrastructure companies could see their tenancies decrease overnight if Vodafone Idea (VI), the third-largest mobile carrier, goes bankrupt and leaves India with a duopoly telecom market. According to the Digital Communications Regulatory Authority of India (DCRAI) in a June report, VI lost its largest number of subscribers ever of 4.3 million …
It’s possible the infrastructure bill will require tower techs and other workers to receive huge pay increases
Since the text of the infrastructure bill was released earlier this month, industry media have been surgically dissecting the limited details in the $1.2 trillion act that provides $65 billion for the nation’s broadband development. What is known is that $42.45 billion will be funneled to states to fund projects each state approves independently, if their telecommunications provider can offer speeds …
The unvarnished Tennessee truth: Trained tower techs will save lives
The nation’s tower techs take pride in their work and their ability to safely rescue a fellow worker if the occasion ever arises. Most techs will spend their career never having to perform an emergency rescue on a tower, but when it’s necessary, it’s nice to know that the men and women working alongside you have you covered. Such was the case …
American Tower is convinced Crown Castle’s early Dish builds is not a long-term concern
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) …
