The Society of Broadcast Engineers, the association for broadcast and multimedia technology professionals, announced the results of the 2017 election for the national board of Directors. Jim Leifer, CPBE, was elected as the society’s president. Leifer is senior manager of broadcast operations at American Tower Corporation, Andover, Mass. Regarding the election, Leifer said, “I look forward to serving the Society …
Crown Castle makes a $7 billion bet on going horizontal with Lightower
Crown Castle International Corp had reportedly made an offer to acquire Lightower Fiber Networks for more than $7 billion, including debt, according to Reuters. Another company courting an acquisition of Lightower was Uniti Group Inc., Reuters said. Formed by Berkshire Partners, Lightower’s network extends over 33,000 route miles throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest, providing dense connectivity to over 22,000 service …
Tech’s condition is stable after he allegedly rode guy wire down from an ATC Texas tower
Update: July 11, 2017 – According to reliable sources, the company that the injured worker was employed by was Advanced Data Technology of Pearsall, Tex. Established in 1995, Advanced Data is a systems integrator of voice, data, and video solutions in rural markets. The company did not respond to a request for additional information regarding the incident. The injured technician has …
American Tower’s CEO says revenues to fly by its U.S. incomes
American Tower Corp. expects its international revenue to top its U.S. sales in three to seven years as the company expands into Asia and Europe through acquisitions, according to CEO James Taiclet. “We would like to deepen our position in the anchor markets and then enter the adjacent markets,” Taiclet said in an interview with Bloomberg. “We want to create …
SBA chief takes a payday; Crown takes new Florida office space
SBA Communications CEO Jeffrey Stoops recently sold 94,289 shares of SBA stock at an average price of $133.76 for a total value of $12,612,096. However, the chief executive is still hanging on to 329,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44 million. The company’s shares hit an all-time high on June 2, closing at $138.69. The all-time low …
FCC investigating unlawful transactions after contractor takes ownership of 40-plus towers
A Wisconsin wireless contractor discovered a flaw in the FCC’s Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) database, and changed the ownership of more than 40 towers from multiple carriers and tower owners into his company’s name during the past five months without the rightful owners being notified by the agency, according to FCC documents and sources knowledgeable of the illegal transfers. Sprint, …
Steven Marshall elected Chairman of Wireless Infrastructure Association
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) today announced that Steven Marshall, Executive Vice President and President of the U.S. Tower Division at American Tower Corp., was elected to serve as Chairman of the WIA’s Board of Directors. Marshall has served on the WIA Board of Directors since 2010 and brings a depth of industry experience and business leadership to WIA. He …
American Tower cracks the mighty ‘500’; Crown Castle is catching up
Fortune has debuted their 2017 Fortune 500 List, described as the ultimate testament to a company’s success, and American Tower went from an aspiring vertical realtor at position No. 526 last year to breaking into the exclusive club in 2017 to position No. 449 with revenues of $5.8 billion. Crown Castle International, the only other industry candidate vying to join …
Crown inks lease for new 56K sq. ft. Alpharetta, Georgia office
Crown Castle has signed a 55,622 square-foot lease at 8000 Avalon, a 224,000 square-foot office development that was completed last month in Alpharetta, Ga. It is expected that they will move their current Alpharetta operations, less than three miles from 8000 Avalon, in November to the new high rise office building. The 86-acre complex offers almost a half-million square feet …
Broadband investment heads south, 5G Michigan trials soar successfully
Samsung, Cisco deliver multivendor end-to-end 5G trial with Verizon Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and Cisco, in partnership with Verizon, today announced the successful deployment of the first multi-vendor end-to-end 5G trial network in the field, which took place in Ann Arbor, a suburb of metropolitan Detroit, Mich. Earlier this year, Verizon announced plans for customer trials of 5G technology for …
Crane collapse takes the life of a 51-year-old Texas industry worker
Update: April 26, 2017 – The cell tower compound that RMCI’s crane toppled into is owned by Crown Castle International. April 25, 2017 – A 51-year-old industry worker was killed yesterday afternoon when a crane tipped on its side in downtown Dallas, Tex., crashing into a cell tower compound in the 1700 block of Arts Place, according to Dallas Fire-Rescue …
American Tower pulls out of Florida’s corporate row, affecting 56 employees
American Tower Corporation (ATC) will be closing its office in Boca Raton, Fla. at 750 Park of Commerce Blvd., and laying off many of their 56 employees, according to a Florida worker adjustment and retraining notice dated March 1. Terminations are scheduled to begin on May 1. The office is located within a stone’s throw of Digital Bridge’s headquarters and …
Broadcaster taunts American Tower who could easily pull the plug on its stations
UPDATE: March 10, 2017 – A Jackson Hole, Wyo. Broadcaster most likely doesn’t agree with the cautionary idiom of not biting the hand that feeds you. Radio stations KMTN, KZ95, KJAX and KID broadcast from American Tower’s towers and the stations’ owner was given until March 8 to either pay ATC over $500,000 it owed in back lease payments or negotiate a …
DAS debuts at University of Iowa as ATC’s lawsuit still dawdles in court
U.S. Cellular announced on Wednesday that it has completed its DAS network at the University of Iowa Carver-Hawkeye Arena and Kinnick Stadium, much to the chagrin of American Tower Corp. (ATC) who is suing the university and its Board of Regents after they yanked a 2013 contract that ATC says is still in effect. “The new network system supports a …
Judge: American Tower can’t evict tenant owing over $500,000
A U.S. bankruptcy court judge in Utah has ruled that American Tower Corporation (ATC) cannot kick its tenant off of a number of their towers until March 8, 2017 if ATC and Rich Broadcasting Idaho, LLC (RB) do not reach an agreement on amended or new leases – an action that is highly unlikely. According to court documents, RB owns radio …
Bankrupt Limitless Mobile wants to reject 140 cell tower leases; creditors cry foul
UPDATE: January 27, 2017 – The bankruptcy court has agreed to a revised motion to reject the leases of Limitless Mobile. It stated, “For each Lease, any Tower Equipment remaining on or at the Tower or the associated premises is hereby deemed abandoned pursuant to section 554 of the Bankruptcy Code, effective January 30, 2017.” Tower owners can now remove …
ATC picks up 66 towers while CTI Towers picks up 125 new sites
American Tower Corporation (ATC) has purchased 66 towers from Brazil’s TIM Cellular S.A., and CTI Towers, Inc. has acquired the marketing rights to 125 commercial properties. ATC paid $8 million for the 66 towers as part of a continuing deal that began in 2014 when TIM said it would sell up to 6,481 towers. Currently, 5,753 towers have been sold. …
Canadian investment group agrees to pony up $1.6 billion for 43,000 towers in India
India’s Reliance Communications (RCOM) has sold its tower business to Canadian private investment firm Brookfield Infrastructure Partners for $1.6 billion. The deal was announced in October. RCOM and Reliance Jio, the telecom arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, will continue as major long-term tenants of the new tower company, along with other existing carriers on the 43,000 towers. In addition to …
FPS says oui to American Tower’s $726 million offer for 2,400 towers
American Tower Corporation and Dutch pension fund manager PGGM today announced their entry into a definitive agreement to acquire FPS Towers, which owns and operates approximately 2,400 wireless tower sites across France, through their previously announced joint venture, ATC Europe. The price was set at approximately $726 million. FPS, founded in 2012 when it acquired the towers of Bouygues Telecom, …
Eco-Site appoints former American Tower exec to lead site development/operations
Eco-Site, Inc. (www.eco-site.com), a North Carolina-based wireless tower and densification solutions company, announced the appointment of Scott Lewis to the position of senior vice president, site development and operations. Lewis brings more than 15 years of wireless infrastructure experience in his new role, most recently leading network engineering and deployment for American Tower. Lewis is responsible for creating a single, …
