Make your company’s concerns count As wireless contractors are acutely aware, contractor firms in the industry have experienced trends that have seen payment terms go from 30 days to 60 days, and now are settling in at 90 to 120 days, placing an undue financial burden on contractor companies. It’s not whether these terms could potentially compromise safety and hinder …
Verizon’s ‘Bubba’ remark angering community is first in dozens of Fast-Forward Friday articles
Fast-Forward Friday is Wireless Estimator’s latest news offering that provides an overview of relevant industry news stories presented during the week by other media that were not covered by our staff, along with a link to the article to go upstream and read it in its entirety. After all, the articles’ authors did all the heavy lifting, and capsuling their content and …
Nation takes a deep dive into contractor obstacles threatening 5G with industry supported survey
Wireless contractors have recently raised the distinct possibility that due to what they identify as ‘onerous’ payment terms and other issues created by carriers and tower owners, the industry could see a shakeout, and all of the recent successful legislative moves to speed up the implementation of 5G in America could be stymied as cash flow problems keep contractors from …
Vertical Bridge’s collection chances increase with iHeartMedia bankruptcy court action
Vertical Bridge, one of bankrupt iHeartMedia’s largest unsecured creditors, might have a better chance at securing its past due lease revenues following a filing from iHeartMedia’s unsecured creditors to a Texas bankruptcy judge on Monday that could affect the media giant’s creditors’ Chapter 11 recoveries. The committee of unsecured creditors want to prosecute and settle claims based upon allegations that many …
Towerco financial support of wireless workers accelerates with a ‘buck a tower’ sponsors
The Tower Family Foundation (TTF), a 501c-3 non-profit, today recognized the updated support of tower owner/vertical solutions provider companies who are donors to the organization’s “$1 Per Tower” fundraising campaign with towercos Cellcom, Performance Development Group, Ltd. and Vogue Towers joining the inaugural list of donor firms participating in the capital campaign. The “$1 Per Tower” effort involves firms who …
‘Un-towerco’ says there will be some pain with a T-Mobile/Sprint merger
If the marriage of Sprint and T-Mobile is approved by regulators, the majority opinion of towerco executives at Connect (X) in Charlotte, N.C. last week was that business would still be robust. Jay Brown, President and CEO of Crown Castle, said during the View From the Top presentation, “It will almost be irrelevant how many carriers we have.” He said …
Lee Brice rocks Music Movement charity concert at ConnectX
Nonprofit organization, Music Movement, hosted their 3rd annual charity concert last night at Rooftop 210 in Charlotte, N.C. with North Carolina native and country music superstar, Lee Brice, donning his backwards baseball cap, setting the stage for a special evening as the ConnectX event headliner. Music Movement Founder, Stacie D’Agostino, was thrilled with the success of the event, saying, “we …
Vertical Bridge is a major creditor In the iHeartMedia bankruptcy
In a prearranged bankruptcy worked out with creditors, debt burdened radio conglomerate iHeartMedia, with 850 stations, many of them losing money, has been giving some breathing room to shed under-performing stations and focus upon growth potential stations that are profitable. The company has been saddled with $20 billion in debt, the legacy of a leveraged buyout in 2008. In a …
Foundation launches ‘$1 Per Tower’ campaign and highlights donors
The Tower Family Foundation today recognized the tower owner/vertical solutions provider companies who are the inaugural donors to the organization’s “$1 Per Tower” fundraising campaign. The “$1 Per Tower” effort involves firms who own and manage vertical communications infrastructure sites and commit to donating $1 for every tower the company owns directly to the Tower Family Foundation. The foundation made …
Industry movers and shakers to serve on National Wireless Safety Alliance Board
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today that Bernard Borghei, Executive Vice President – Operations and Co-Founder of Vertical Bridge, Doug Dickinson, Western Region Environmental Health & Safety Manager at Ericsson; Bruce Eades, President of USA Telecom Insurance Services; Pat Moore, Field Service Specialist at Stainless; Paul Roberts, Vice President of Compliance for American Tower Corporation; Jose Tarafa, Corporate …
Towercos headed for some stiff competition with formation of Lendlease Towers
When Lendlease recently entered the U.S. tower market in May with its purchase of Parallel Infrastructure’s 450 towers, it is likely that major tower operators viewed the acquisition as a missed opportunity and another competitive thorn in their rosy future, and possibly shrugged off Lendlease Americas CEO Denis Hickey’s statement that he would expand those holdings. True to his promise, …
Court tosses Tall Tower’s lawsuit filed after Vertical Bridge acquired Clear Channel’s towers
A lower court should have dismissed Tall Tower Capital, LLC’s lawsuit accusing Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, LP of breaching an agreement in a deal to buy Clear Channel’s 472 broadcast tower assets, a Florida appeals court ruled Friday, finding that the firm had not established personal jurisdiction in Florida. A three-judge panel for the Florida Second District Court of Appeals unanimously …
FCC appoints WIA members and leaders to broadband deployment committee
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai today announced that members and leaders of the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) were selected to serve on the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC), a new federal advisory committee charged with exploring ways to accelerate deployment of high-speed Internet access nationwide and to close the digital divide. WIA members named to the Committee include: Marc Ganzi, Chief …
Alaska’s largest telecom company, GCI, is acquired for $1.12 billion
General Communication Inc. (GCI), Alaska’s largest telecommunications company, will be acquired by Liberty Ventures Group, a subsidiary of Colorado-based media conglomerate Liberty Interactive Corp., the company announced in a statement. The $1.12 billion buyout allows GCI to expand its already leading position in Alaska and expand to markets outside the state so the company will continue to have staying power …
Telecom proponent Jeb Bush teams up with Boca Raton’s Vertical Bridge
Vertical Bridge, the largest private owner and manager of communication towers and locations in the U.S., announced today the appointment of former presidential hopeful and Florida Governor Jeb Bush to its Board of Directors. Governor Bush will serve as an independent director. “Governor Bush understands and appreciates the need for greater wireless telecommunications infrastructure,” said Marc Ganzi, Executive Chairman of Vertical Bridge and co-founder …
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 …
Pilot dies after clipping guy wire of Vertical Bridge Texas tower
The pilot of a small airplane was killed when he crashed in Rusk County, Tex. yesterday on a clear afternoon on County Road 497 after its wing reportedly clipped a 449-foot tall tower’s guy wire, according to Rusk County Office of Emergency Management spokesperson David Chenault. Chenault informed Wireless Estimator that the plane was an older Cessna. The guyed tower, …
Univision deal adds 66 broadcast towers to Vertical Bridge’s portfolio
Vertical Bridge, one of the largest private owners and managers of wireless communications infrastructure in the U.S, today announced that it has signed an exclusive five-year agreement with Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) to manage a portfolio of 66 premium broadcast towers in key markets located across the United States. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed. Vertical Bridge’s portfolio …
Alaska’s contractors could feel the pinch of GCI’s capex belt tightening
Alaska’s General Communication, Inc. (GCI) announced yesterday that its deal to sell approximately 275 urban wireless towers and rooftop sites to Florida-based towerco Vertical Bridge closed Monday, providing the company with approximately $90 million in the transaction that was announced in May. The largest Alaska-based and operated, integrated telecommunications provider, however, also announced some unsettling news to its vendors and …
Vertical Bridge uses 1,500 tower sites to close on $321 million in funding
Vertical Bridge, the largest private owner and manager of wireless communication infrastructure in the U.S., today announced it has closed on a $321 million asset-backed securities offering led by Deutsche Bank Securities and Barclays. The issuance, which is secured by more than 1,500 Vertical Bridge tower sites across the U.S., gives the company additional flexibility to continue its real estate …
