Twenty-two years after stepping down as Crown Castle’s leader, co-founder Ted Miller wanted back one of his old jobs. Still, after the company reviewed his resume as an applicant for Chairmanship and his plans to turn around the company’s lagging stock price, they rejected his employment on Tuesday. Crown Castle said it had confirmed that Boots Capital Management, LLC, which …
Co-founder launches Crown Castle proxy fight after being rebuffed by Elliott, to reshape its ‘ridiculed’ image
Ted Miller, the co-founder of Crown Castle, stated today that the U.S. telecom infrastructure firm could sell its fiber assets for up to $15 billion if he and his partners were added to the board of directors. In a conversation with Reuters, Miller expressed confidence that his team is ideally suited to secure buyers for the fiber division and to assist …
Former American Tower CFO Bradley Singer will now guide his former arch-competitor, Crown Castle
When American Tower Corporation (ATC) CFO Bradley Singer left the Boston-based company in 2008 for his new role as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Discovery Communications, LLC, he reflected upon his eight years at the company, stating,” I am gratified with what we have achieved together, and I believe that American Tower’s strategic and financial position and talented …
Crown Castle’s surprising about-face on Canonsburg relocation sparks employee confusion
Crown Castle Inc., in a dramatic turnaround, has left its employees in Canonsburg, PA, scratching their heads after abruptly canceling plans to relocate them to the corporate headquarters in Houston, TX. The decision comes following activist investor Elliott Investment Management’s call for changes within the company as CEO Jay Brown prepares to step down in January. Interim CEO Anthony Melone, …
Crown Castle CEO Jay Brown announces retirement amid activist investor pressure to resign
Communications infrastructure provider Crown Castle Inc. is undergoing a significant leadership change as CEO Jay Brown has decided to retire, effective January 16, 2024. The announcement comes amidst pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, which has been advocating for leadership changes and strategic improvements at the company. Brown’s departure follows a series of scathing critiques from Elliott, known for its …
Valmont initiates legal action against Better Metal for patent infringement
Nebraska-based Valmont Industries, Inc. has taken legal action against Tennessee’s Better Metal, LLC, filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court Middle District of Tennessee. The lawsuit alleges that Better Metal has violated four of Valmont’s patents through the manufacturing and sale of comparable products. Valmont seeks a jury trial to recover damages resulting from the patent infringements, requesting an …
Elliott Investment Management turns up the heat on Crown Castle with another scathing critique
Elliott Investment Management L.P. (“Elliott”), which manages funds that collectively have an investment of approximately $2 billion in Crown Castle Inc., on Wednesday submitted a Section 220 demand and accompanying letter to the Crown Castle Board, requesting inspection of the company’s books and records. This request follows the company’s adoption of shareholder-unfriendly amendments to its bylaws that compromise the fundamental tenets of the …
Crown Castle CEO Jay Brown must go, says Elliott Investment Management, after investing $2 billion
Elliott Investment Management L.P., which manages funds that collectively have an investment of approximately $2 billion in Crown Castle Inc., released a letter and presentation today detailing its perspectives on the company’s history of underperformance and calling for significant changes. One of those adjustments is for the Board of Directors to immediately provide an interim CEO to replace Jay Brown, who has held that position …
Crown Castle’s Federal Sales Director says he was fired in retaliation for whistleblowing
A US District Court judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, on August 23, 2023, denied Crown Castle USA, Inc.’s request to dismiss a whistleblower’s complaint for failure to make a claim, and the company is now required to answer Matthew Foosaner’s amended complaint by September 15, 2023. Foosaner alleges one count of retaliation against Crown Castle according to the …
Karmen Rajamani joins WIA as VP of Government Affairs, bringing a wealth of towerco experience
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) today announced that Karmen Rajamani has been hired as Vice President, Government Affairs, effective September 5, 2023. Rajamani joins WIA from Crown Castle where she was Vice President of Government Affairs working with state and local governments to drive tower, fiber, and small cell deployments nationwide. At WIA, while supporting all advocacy efforts, she will …
Almost half of Maui’s cell sites are operational in six impacted areas as communications on the island improves
Since yesterday, when 90% of cell sites were out of service in six hard-hit cities on Maui following the deadly wildfire that swept through the island’s west coast, carriers have considerably recovered, with 48% of sites being operational today. Ten out of 21 cell sites are in service, according to the FCC’s Communications Status Report of August 15, 2023. The …
DigitalBridge is betting a quarter billion dollars on its competitors becoming more profitable
On Monday, during its second-quarter earnings call, SBA Communications cited a slowdown in U.S. carrier activity, similar to previous announcements by American Tower Corp. and Crown Castle, whose Q2 activity had declined a whopping 50%. DigitalBridge Group, whose tower arm Vertical Bridge has 11,000 owned and master-leased towers, will release its quarterly report on Friday and takes no comfort in …
Crown Castle consolidates offices and axes 750 employees, many of them providing construction management
Crown Castle Inc. initiated a restructuring plan this week as part of the company’s efforts to reduce costs to better align the company’s operational needs with lower tower activity, as discussed in Crown Castle’s second quarter 2023 earnings release. The plan includes reducing the company’s total employee headcount by approximately 15%, discontinuing installation services as a product offering within the …
Doctor Joyce examines a tower site to appreciate how the industry can assist in curing the digital divide
Although Crown Castle’s safety protocols do not require having a medical doctor on a tower site when technicians are present, one was available for Novotech Construction’s safety-conscious tower techs recently should a medical emergency present itself during a recent tower compound visit by Pennsylvania Congressman John Joyce. Dr. Joyce has represented Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District since January 2019 and has …
Collecting $3 million from an ISP will be a tough road to hoe for American Tower and Crown Castle with its $386k
American Tower Corp. (ATC) has filed a lawsuit against a wireless and satellite internet, phone, and DISH television provider, alleging it stopped paying rent payments on 60 of its structures on November 24, 2021. ATC says it is due $2,891,885 plus attorneys’ fees and other costs from TPT SpeedConnect, LLC. SpeedConnect advertises that it is proud of the role it …
Dish meets its 70% buildout deadline with assistance of three major towerco partners
Dish Wireless announced yesterday that as of June 14, the carrier is offering 5G broadband service to over 70 percent of the U.S. population, giving more than 240 million Americans access to its technology. This marks a significant milestone for Dish and the U.S. telecom industry, as Dish designed, built, and deployed a first-of-its-kind 5G network in three years. Dish …
Aggravated over aggregator Everest’s ‘multi-million dollar scheme’, Vertical Bridge files a lawsuit
Vertical Bridge REIT, LLC has filed a lawsuit against competitor Everest Infrastructure Partners (EIP), alleging that it ran an unfair “multi-million dollar scheme to unlawfully improve its market share” at Vertical Bridge’s expense through trade secret misappropriation, interfering with existing contractual relations and false advertising. Vertical Bridge, the tower arm of Digital Bridge, requests that EIP provide an accounting of …
Crown Castle’s Cathy Piche joins WIA Board of Directors, Alex Gellman elected chairman
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) today announced that Cathy Piche, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer – Towers, Crown Castle, has joined WIA’s Board of Directors and Alex Gellman, Vertical Bridge Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, was elected Chair. Piche, who was also elected to serve as Vice-Chair, will replace Crown Castle President & CEO Jay Brown on the Board. …
National Wireless Safety Alliance adds key industry executives to its Board of Governors
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced that Johnny Crawford, Executive Vice President of Tower Development at Vertical Bridge, Amanda Freeman, Director of Safety – Tower Assets at Crown Castle, Leticia Latino-van Splunteran, Chief Executive Officer at Neptuno USA, Corp, and Jim Tracy, Co-Founder at Legacy Telecommunications, LLC, have been appointed as members of the organization’s Board of Governors. In …
Crown Castle petitions FCC to clarify that nutrition labels are for retail only
Although Crown Castle has informed the FCC that it supports the new broadband “nutrition” labels for mass market retailers, they want the agency to clarify that new required labels containing metrics about internet service to apply only to mass-market retail and not to the services provided to schools, libraries and health care under FCC universal service programs. In November, the …
