Houston-based Crown Castle International announced that it is selling its Australian subsidiary, CCAL, to Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets for $1.6 billion, of which they’ll net $1.3 billion after transaction fees and other expenses. “The sale of CCAL allows us to redeploy capital towards our growing small cell networks, which we expect will be accretive to our long-term AFFO and …
Some wireless industry musicians and singers can easily quit their day job
A traditional scathing barb heard when garage band musicians try to imitate legendary rock stars is: “Don’t quit your day job.” But at last Wednesday’s PCIA – The Wireless Infrastructure Association’s, All-Star Jam Session in Hollywood, Fla., it was obvious that the only things being skewered, were buffet offerings as PCIA members led a rousing session that made the house …
Thousands of revelers pay $30 to watch a Crown Castle tower burn in North Carolina
UPDATE: A spokesperson for Crown Castle International, the owner of a self-supporting tower that caught fire on Saturday when a number of wayward lanterns set some transmission lines on fire during a festival at the Carolina Speedway, said that the extent of the damage is still unknown. Spencer Humiston, the Lantern Fest event director, said that his and Crown Castle’s …
Vertical realtor Crown Castle makes a $1 billion bet on going horizontal
Crown Castle International’s appetite for a fiber rich footprint in major cities across America expanded last week with the acquisition of Sunesys for approximately $1 billion. The wholly owned subsidiary of Quanta Services, Inc. owns or has rights to nearly 10,000 miles of fiber in major metropolitan markets across the U.S. such as Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Silicon Valley, …
PCIA’s ‘view from the top’ shows a little bottoming out; tall tower crew shortage possible
A common thread throughout yesterday’s PCIA – The Wireless Infrastructure Association’s Hollywood, Fla. conference was that AT&T has pulled back on their builds, Sprint is almost in a holding pattern and T-Mobile is providing a number of opportunities. Verizon, however, is seen as a steady engine that is assisting a slower than expected build in the second quarter. “Verizon continues …
Competitive spirit can be cutthroat in leasehold ground wars of towercos
Although the nation’s major tower owners present a public face of spirited friendly competition and collective initiatives to ensure worker safety, when it comes to protecting their interests it can be a no holds barred battle between them to keep their most valuable assets, their long-term leases. One clash got so nasty that the counter-complainant wanted a leasehold aggregator’s executives …
Safety climb system failure seriously injures tower tech in 50-foot fall
A Kentucky tower climber who had been in an induced coma for the past 10 days had additional surgery yesterday, and this morning for the first time was able to talk, but he is unable to remember his traumatic fall off of an Ohio tower that required him to be airlifted to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown to be treated for …
Crown is exploring sale of its Australian towers and settling in the US
Crown Castle International Corp. announced today that it plans to explore the potential sale of its Australian subsidiary (CCAL). “In light of recent unsolicited offers we have received for our interest in CCAL, we have determined that fully exploring the options available to us will ensure the best long-term results for our shareholders,” stated W. Ben Moreland, Crown Castle’s President …
ATC leads slightly over Crown with their $5 billion 11,324 Verizon tower deal
American Tower Corporation today announced that it has been the successful suitor in acquiring the rights to approximately 11,324 wireless communications towers and purchase approximately 165 additional towers from Verizon Communications, Inc. for $5.056 billion. Under the agreement, American Tower will have the exclusive right to lease and operate the Verizon towers for a weighted average term of approximately 28 …
Almost 1,000 Crown Castle antennas will support Super Bowl network needs
Crown Castle pulled back the curtain Tuesday on its $32 million-plus distributed antenna systems in Glendale, Ariz. just in time for Super Bowl XLIX on Feb. 1, 2015 at the University of Phoenix stadium. The state of the art network includes the stadium and Gila River Arena as well as the Renaissance Glendale Hotel & Spa, and throughout the Glendale …