The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) auction to buy spectrum from television stations, repack the spectrum, and then sell it to wireless providers, kicked off yesterday with broadcasters having to make a commitment as to whether and how they would participate. But a 39-month post auction deadline is seen as too compressed by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). And the …
Communications Sales & Leasing to purchase 32 of Windstream’s towers
Communications Sales & Leasing, Inc. (CS&L) today announced that they have entered into an agreement with Windstream Holdings, Inc. to acquire 32 wireless towers owned by Windstream and operating rights for 49 wireless towers previously conveyed to the company in its spin-off from Windstream in April of last year. With a portfolio of 81 towers after closing, CS&L will rank …
One Georgia tower down while another planned structure heads to court
Tower developer Municipal Communications LLC took Cobb County, Ga. officials to court last week for having an “impossible condition” placed upon it for a new 190-foot monopole, when the county asked it to move the structure 300 feet – while in Screven County, a tower decided to move hundreds of feet on its own when it collapsed yesterday. Although there …
New site projections see a modest increase in 2016 for the tower industry
In RBC Capital Markets’ latest network and site leasing update, analysts Jonathan Atkin, Bryan Hyun and Bora Lee are projecting a modest improvement in leasing in the second half of 2016 from 2015 with Verizon and T-Mobile remaining the most active carriers. Their report said that AT&T’s site additions should remain below the 1,000 mark at approximately 600. They expect …
Popular analyst’s tower sector downgrade will be tested in coming weeks
Commentary It almost appears that journalists have keyboard reader software on Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche’s computer since as soon as she writes something – even a knee-jerk observation – it instantly appears in the media as unchallenged sacred telecom guidance. So it was no surprise when Fritzsche downgraded the tower sector on Friday that it would be picked up …
American Tower’s CEO isn’t struggling after not receiving a raise in many years
James D. Taiclet, Jr., Chairman of the Board and CEO of American Tower Corp. (ATC), hasn’t received a raise again with his $1.1 million salary for 2016, but it is likely he is not complaining since his compensation committee takes care of him with handsome perks – and perhaps, rightfully so. Although his salary hasn’t increased in at least three years, …
Alpha Media balloons with new stations as it sheds its unmarketed towers to Vertical Bridge
Tower owner Vertical Bridge has announced that it has acquired close to 200 towers from Alpha Media, although no financial terms of the transaction were disclosed in a press announcement. The portfolio consists of 113 new sites, many with AM arrays accounting for the additional 87 towers announced in the deal. The acquisition, according to Wireless Estimator’s Tower Owners List, …
Digital Bridge seen as top contender in $2 billion Saudi Arabia Mobily deal
During a panel discussion last week during NATE UNITE 2016 in New Orleans, La., Robert Paige, Senior Vice President of M&A for Vertical Bridge, the cell tower leasing arm of Digital Bridge LLC, said that more than adequate capital is available for the industry to expand, stating that the amount was seen as “mind boggling”. And if a Bloomberg Business …
A bright future predicted for wireless work by leading industry experts at NATE UNITE 2016
As three leading industry experts gazed into their crystal balls Tuesday during their NATE UNITE 2016 presentation, “The Future of the Wireless Industry,” their consensus indicated a robust build program that could last for more than a decade. However, Clayton Funk of Media Venture Partners, Christopher Fisher, Cuddy & Feder LLP; and Robert Paige, Vertical Bridge, cautioned National Association of …
Crown Castle’s chief, Ben Moreland, to hand the reins over to CFO Jay Brown
The CEO of Crown Castle International Corp. will retire effective June 1, 2016, the Houston, Tex.-based wireless communications infrastructure provider announced yesterday during its analysts conference call. Ben Moreland will leave as the company’s president and CEO, but remain executive vice chairman of the board of directors. Jay Brown, the organization’s CFO will become president and CEO. Brown, a certified …
Sprint provides a sound thrashing to Re/code for their scoop that duped journalists, tanking stocks
Sprint: Towercos have nothing to worry about – for now At two conference calls this morning, Sprint said that an article by tech website Re/code on Jan. 15, 2016, was not accurate, and Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, during a media call, said the misinformation regarding a Sprint radical network overhaul “caused a lot of damage”. Re/code had claimed, according to …
Sprint should have a sanity check before it commits ‘Network Suicide’ with its pole plans
By Iain Gillott – Commentary Much has been written and speculated in the last week about Sprint’s network plans after the publication of a Re/Code article and the plan to significantly cut network expenses. Aside from the resulting pressure on the stocks of several wireless companies, including Sprint’s, it also appears that the article has caused Sprint to move up …
Tower company executives’ ears will be on Sprint’s conference call tomorrow
Sprint moved its quarterly analysts’ earnings call to tomorrow morning in what some analysts believe is an apparent move to ease the concerns of investors after an article on a tech website said that the carrier was going to move its base stations from American Tower and Crown Castle sites to government properties “which costs much less”. The carrier had …
Report of Sprint dumping its tower companies is slowly being debunked as industry stocks nose-dive
After the media threw Sprint, American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA Communications under the bus during the past five days by republishing unsubstantiated statements that appeared on a tech website, without adding research of their own, editors are starting to reassess their ‘need to be first’ news blast that resulted in all four companies’ stocks tanking Friday. Sprint suffered the most …
Misleading Re/code Sprint story is long on conjecture, short on facts
Facts that would have made better reading and more sense By Ken Schmidt After reading Wireless Estimator’s article, “Towercos tank after radical unconfirmed report of government competition,” and seeing the original article from Re/code on Friday, I felt compelled to respond. It seemed reckless to me that a website like Re/code could publish an unconfirmed report, have it copied by …
Towercos tank after radical unconfirmed report of government competition
Report seen as ‘nonsense’ by siting professionals UPDATE, Jan. 19, 2016 – Deep diving industry expert Ken Schmidt has provided a detailed analysis of why Re/code’s “improper deductive reasoning” in their article doesn’t dovetail with available information regarding Sprint’s Next Generation Network. The story, published on Jan. 15, 2016, claimed that Sprint would be relocating its cell sites from American Tower Corporation …
Cortel and TowerCom Technologies picked up by newly-formed J5 Infrastructure Partners
Under the direction of a new CEO, two well-established wireless services companies will expand their deployment services in the Western U.S. with an infusion of cash from two equity investors. Ridgemont Equity Partners and SR Capital Advisors announced Friday that their newly formed company, J5 Infrastructure Partners, includes the talent and assets of Cortel, Inc. of San Diego, Calif., and …
Slim’s Telesites towerco spinoff is off to a rocky start
Telesites SAB, a spinoff from Carlos Slim’s America Movil SAB, has a majority of analysts recommending selling the shares. The wireless-tower company started trading in Mexico this week and after its debut on Monday when there appeared to be market interest, it proceeded to drop yesterday 2.9 percent to 11.99 pesos ($.70). Mexico City-based Telesites, created to manage the operator’s …
Mt. Wilson’s iconic Poole complex acquired by InSite Towers
A deal to buy the multi-tower Poole Tower complex on Mount Wilson in California that was expected to be close to being inked in April, according to a report in Wireless Estimator, took another seven months, but finally closed last week, according to Media Services Group’s Bob Heymann, Jr. who served as the broker for Poole Properties, in announcing the …
Indiana’s tallest building picks Subcarrier Communications to manage its rooftop assets
Subcarrier Communications has been selected to provide rooftop management services for the Chase Tower in Indianapolis, Ind., expanding their building rooftop management portfolio. The team leaders for this transaction were Operations Manager Greg Weger, and VP of Engineering Bill Cordell from Subcarrier’s Houston Office. The iconic Monument Circle building opened in 1990. At 830 feet, it’s the 47thth tallest building …
