Top 100 Tower Companies in the U.S.
Total does not include foreign-owned tower portfolios. In some cases the tower company might not own the structure, but has lease rights and the ability to acquire the towers after a set period of time. Totals do not include DAS and small cells.
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The Top 100 Tower Companies in the U.S. list is from a database maintained and updated by Wireless Estimator. If you are a representative of a tower company and have additional updates to your total tower count, or if you are not listed and have 10 towers or more, please contact info@wirelessestimator.com. You cannot republish this information without obtaining permission from WirelessEstimator.com, and only the Top 10 Companies can be published along with WirelessEstimator.com as the source of the information.
Portfolio Smoke & Mirrors
US tower counts and site information are often inaccurate and purposely misleading
Tower Portfolio News
Is American Tower CEO Steven Vondran eyeing Ameren’s towers as its newly minted board member?
Steven O. Vondran, CEO of American Tower Corporation—one of the world’s largest owners of communications infrastructure—has accepted a director position on Ameren Corp’s board, effective January 1, 2025. While Ameren praised Vondran’s leadership and expertise in real estate, a...
The death of tower contracting from an insider: How industry practices are driving contractors to the brink
To the Editor: Is the industry of contractors who build towers and upgrade and maintain wireless networks dying? In the opinion of this contractor and others we have spoken with, the answer is yes, and unless something changes very...
Engineering director dodges felony conviction in Wyoming Public Radio transmitter sabotages
Paul Montoya, former Laramie City Council candidate and longtime figure in Wyoming’s broadcasting industry, avoided a felony conviction after reaching a plea agreement involving alleged tampering with Wyoming Public Radio’s (WPR) transmitters. The case, which stemmed from incidents in...
New FCC Chairman-elect Carr’s vision and Senator Thune’s legislative backing will support tower crews
President-elect Donald Trump announced yesterday that he is tapping Brendan Carr of the Federal Communications Commission to chair the agency. With Senator John Thune (R-SD) taking on the role of Senate Majority Leader, both individuals’ relationships and support of...
Wireless Estimator unveils new Top 100 Tower Companies in the U.S. list with enhanced industry filters
To accurately count the top 100 U.S. companies owning ten or more towers, Wireless Estimator has adopted the 1980s Russian proverb popularized by President Ronald Reagan: “Trust, but verify.” Because the FCC’s database and subscription-based FCC programs don’t allow...
New Valmont Site Pro 1 heavy duty ring mounts ensure antennas stay on the tower
By Sharpe Smith, Contributing Editor Recently, more attention has been paid to the interaction between antenna mounts and towers to avoid failures. To ensure that today’s larger, heavier antenna mounts and antennas remain secured to a monopole, Valmont Site...
CapEx climbs at big 3 carriers, offering the industry niche opportunities
By J. Sharpe Smith, Contributing Editor The major carriers appear to be healthy, generating strong cash flows, paying down debt and buying back stock. But will tower construction and maintenance companies be healthier in the coming year? That might...
NTSB report supports SBA Communications’ defense in $50 million lawsuit for tower lighting outage
Houston helicopter air tour company National Helicopter Solutions promoted on their website, “We promise to deliver safe, professional, and exciting helicopter travel in the skies over the city of Houston and Greater Texas.” Sadly, one such tour on October...
Industry questions why a co-worker wasn’t on site when a MasTec tech died after falling from a 500-foot tower
UPDATE: November 11, 2024 – Services have been set for James Belecher, the 38-year-old tower technician supervisor who died on a Crown Castle site while working for MasTec Network Solutions. A tower technician is dead today after having fallen...
Helicopter slams into SBA’s Houston 999-foot radio tower, igniting blaze, collapsing it and killing all aboard
UPDATE – October 22, 2024 – SBA Communications has released a press statement to address what it described as “incomplete and/or inaccurate information” circulating in news reports concerning the helicopter crash that occurred in Houston, Texas on Sunday. The...
End of an era: Stainless ceases operations, selling tower documentation and engineering assets
After 77 years of shaping the American landscape with more than 50% of the nation’s broadcast towers, in addition to microwave structures and other communications installations, Stainless is closing its doors, according to FDH Infrastructure Services, LLC. FDH, which...
No casualties as hot air balloon collision collapses 645-foot tower at Albuquerque fiesta
In 1972, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta began as the highlight of 770 KOB Radio’s 50th anniversary. It broadcast the 13-balloon event’s activities from its two-tower array. The annual event now features 1,000 balloons in the sky, drawing hundreds...
UScellular pleads its case before the FCC, stating if T-Mobile doesn’t acquire it, the future looks bleak
In a pivotal step toward finalizing T-Mobile’s acquisition of U.S. Cellular Corporation’s (UScellular) wireless assets, key representatives, including UScellular CEO Laurent C. Therivel, met with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officials last week in meetings to discuss the transaction’s implications...
Massachusetts cell site contractor faces prison for failing to pay over $1M in payroll taxes
Kenneth Marston, 67, a business owner from Kingston, Massachusetts, has pleaded guilty to willfully failing to collect, account for, and pay over payroll taxes owed by his companies, Bowmar Steel Industries Inc. and Teleconstructors Inc., located in Hanson. This...
Country’s second deadliest hurricane still has catastrophic cell service failures as Musk lends a hand
According to yesterday’s FCC outage reporting, large areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, particularly in Western North Carolina, remain without cell phone service. In counties like Buncombe, where Asheville is located, approximately 56% of cell sites are still down, mainly...
Southeast is still reeling from Helene’s impact: Lives lost, cell networks down
When Hurricane Helene swept through and inundated communities across the Southeast with flooding and destruction, many towns were in crisis mode, struggling to recover without one of the most critical lifelines: cell phone service. According to the FCC, over...
Hurricane Helene wreaks havoc with broadcasters, forcing them off the air
As of yesterday, Hurricane Helene has damaged broadcast stations in a five-state area hit by the devastating Category 4 hurricane at landfall that has killed 128 people across six states. In Georgia, there are 2 TV stations out of...
Vertical Bridge and Verizon seal a $3.3B deal for 6,339 towers, the largest buy in almost a decade
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) and Vertical Bridge today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for Vertical Bridge to obtain the exclusive rights to lease, operate and manage 6,339 wireless communications towers across all 50 states...
Unprecedented outage: No hurricane has knocked out more cell sites than Category 4 Helene
Hurricane Helene has severely disrupted cell phone communications across the affected regions, particularly in Western North Carolina. The storm caused widespread power outages, flooding, and infrastructure damage, which led to the shutdown of numerous cell towers and fiber optic...
A Phoenix Rising: Catherine Piche soars back to Crown Castle in previous COO role as Kavanaugh retires
Crown Castle Inc. has announced the upcoming retirement of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer–Towers, Michael J. Kavanagh, effective October 28, 2024. Kavanagh, who has held various leadership roles during his 14-year tenure, will remain in an advisory...
Cell tower evidence is convincing factor in denying bail for Ryan Routh in attempted Trump assassination
Ryan Routh, the would-be assassin who targeted former President Donald Trump, was tracked by authorities using cell tower data. This information revealed that Routh was surveilling the area and plotting the assassination, according to a document in support of...
Dish Network pushes for an extended deadline on its 5G rollout
In a formal request submitted to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), DISH Network’s Executive Vice President of External and Legislative Affairs, Jeffrey H. Blum, has sought an extension of the company’s deadline to complete its 5G wireless network buildout....
Tower Family Foundation appoints Pete Hagstrom and Steve Ouzts to its endowment committee
The Tower Family Foundation announced today that Pete Hagstrom, Vice President of Procurement at Viking Maintenance, Inc., and Steve Ouzts, founder and principal broker at Tower Advisors, LLC, have been appointed to serve on the Foundation’s Endowment Committee. The...
Luxury lifestyles, no bars: America’s wealthiest town in Texas blocks cell tower, Vertical Bridge lawsuit alleges
If you reside in Westlake, Texas, you’re part of the wealthiest community in the state, where the average home sells for nearly $5 million, and the mean household income soars to $508,000. In this exclusive enclave, dandelions dare not...
In mixed ruling, Ninth Circuit invalidates FCC’s concealment provision, citing procedural missteps
On Friday, the United States Court of Appeals three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit issued a mixed ruling in a case brought by several California cities and organizations against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding its 2020 Ruling that...
Verizon’s nearly $2 billion severance charge sparks speculation of tower sale as financial pressures mount
According to a regulatory filing, Verizon expects to incur a severance charge between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion in the third quarter of 2024. This is part of a voluntary separation program the company announced in June, targeting select...
American Tower exits India market in $2.3 billion deal as it cuts its global portfolio by one third
American Tower Corporation (ATC) has officially exited the Indian telecom tower market, completing a $2.2 billion deal with a Brookfield-led consortium. This marks a significant shift in India’s telecommunications landscape. The consortium, which includes Brookfield Asset Management, British...
Lather, rinse, fraud: FCC Ponzi cell tower scammer Merced-Torres can’t stop repeating himself
A man previously convicted for orchestrating a multi-million-dollar cellular tower investment fraud, after serving years in jail, once again has found himself behind bars. Miguel Merced-Torres, 57, who served six years in prison for his role in a $14.2...
Elon Musk confirms T-Mobile will get exclusive access to Starlink mobile internet for one year
Elon Musk’s Starlink and T-Mobile have partnered to expand mobile coverage by using Starlink’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. This collaboration aims to eliminate dead zones in remote areas, providing connectivity even where traditional cell towers don’t reach. The service...
Lawsuit seeks $6 million from an airplane’s insurer after a crash destroyed a radio station’s tower
Agape Broadcasters, Inc., a Christian radio station operator, has taken legal action against American National Property and Casualty Company (ANPAC) to enforce a $6 million judgment against the estate of Marcus Todd Sampson, whose aircraft crash in 2018 destroyed...
DigitalBridge to expand Japan’s telecom sector with the acquisition of JTower for $631 million
In a landmark deal, DigitalBridge Group, Inc. has announced its acquisition of Japan-based JTower Corporation. The acquisition, executed through a tender offer, is a significant step in DigitalBridge’s strategy to expand its global footprint and enhance its presence in...
Court says workers’ compensation law provides SAC with immunity from tower site electrocution lawsuit
The Eleventh Circuit, a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, on Wednesday, declined to renew a lawsuit against SAC Wireless LLC by a crane oiler who was electrocuted and seriously injured...
Louisiana tower tech gets up to 20 years for killing a crew leader at a Nebraska work site shooting
David Phillips Jr., a 22-year-old tower technician from Kenner, Louisiana, was sentenced Monday by Nebraska Judge Bryan Meismer in Cedar County District Court to two to 20 years in prison for the involuntary manslaughter of his coworker, crew leader...
Verizon said to be readying a sale of up to 6,000 of its cell towers
New York-based Verizon is reportedly exploring options to sell thousands of its mobile network towers in the US, reported Bloomberg today. According to sources familiar with the matter, the telecom giant has hired advisers to gauge interest from potential...
Two California counties wanted $25.5 million for student towers; FCC denies holey Trinity application review
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released an order denying the Trinity County Connectivity Consortium’s request for $25.5 million in funding from the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) to construct 16 wireless towers in Trinity and Humboldt County, California. In...
NTIA approves BEAD proposals for New Hampshire, Colorado, Illinois, Oregon and Puerto Rico
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) initial proposal volumes two for Illinois, Oregon, Colorado, New Hampshire, and Puerto Rico, advancing efforts to close the digital divide. This approval grants...
Dish adds another cut to the possibility of the contracting industry’s ‘death by a thousand cuts’
In a recent legal battle, Dish Wireless Inc. emerged victorious against Crown Castle USA Inc., with a Denver jury ruling on April 11, 2024, that Dish did not violate the 30-year master lease agreement between the two companies. The...
American Tower is gaveled a $4 million award: Court says yes, tenant’s wallet says no
In a recent decision from the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney granted a motion for default judgment in favor of American Tower Corp. against TPT SpeedConnect LLC (TPT), a subsidiary of...
Florida contractor’s owner succumbs from a 200-foot fall off a Crown Castle cell tower in North Carolina
A 52-year-old owner of a Kissimmee, Florida, contracting company that specialized in structural reinforcements and welding passed away on Monday when he fell from a Crown Castle tower in Shelby, North Carolina. Wireless Estimator has identified the deceased as...
Nebraska Fire Chief: Tower crew should be credited with tower technician’s rescue
Although media reports said that the York, Nebraska Fire Department and other agencies helped to extricate a tower technician whose hand was reported to have been pinned by a mounting frame on top of a cell tower on Tuesday...
Crown Castle announces significant job cuts amid industry uncertainty
Crown Castle USA Inc. has announced it will cut 10% of its workforce and close certain offices as part of a broader effort to reduce costs and refocus its capital expenditures. The telecommunications infrastructure company detailed these measures while...
U.S. Cellular to retain tower operations amidst $4.4 billion acquisition by T-Mobile
In a strategic move within the telecom industry, T-Mobile has announced an agreement to purchase U.S. Cellular’s wireless operations and select spectrum assets for $4.4 billion. This deal, which combines cash and up to $2 billion of assumed debt,...
With 5G at 50% completion, NTIA is jump-starting 6G deployment with questions on a range of issues
At last week’s Connect X in Atlanta, panelists in multiple sessions estimated that 5G had been rolled out across approximately 50% of America. However, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) wants to jump-start 6G deployment. It requests public...
Vertical Bridge kicks broadcast squatter off its towers after running up $2 million in unpaid leaseback payments
A Texas-based radio station network has been kicked off Vertical Bridge’s towers for ignoring its rent payments for years, forcing the company to take nine stations silent. In February 2018, Vertical Bridge, REIT Inc. purchased 43 towers and the...
Industry leaders at Connect X foresee massive growth for indoor 5G networks
The wireless industry is abuzz with anticipation for the potential of bringing 5G technology indoors. This technology promises faster and more reliable connections, lower latency, and the ability to connect a massive number of devices simultaneously. During the Wireless...
Legal battle heats up as Bloosurf sues T-Mobile over alleged spectrum interference
In a high-stakes legal battle that could set a precedent for the telecommunications industry, Bloosurf LLC has filed a lawsuit against T-Mobile USA, Inc. and its subsidiary TDI Acquisition Sub, LLC. The lawsuit, lodged in the United States District...
Industry influencers Adelstein and Borghei make strategic moves to new company leadership roles
Two seasoned leaders, Jonathan Adelstein and Bernard Borghei, have announced new positions within the digital infrastructure industry. Adelstein has joined TWN Communications as the new Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer. He was previously a managing director...
Tillman Infrastructure lands $1 billion in funding to drive its growth
Tillman Infrastructure, LLC, a leading provider of wireless communication infrastructure, announced this morning the completion of a financing package totaling $1 billion. The proceeds will refinance existing loans and provide additional growth capital to support the infrastructure needs of its...
Russian missile successfully kayos a Kharkiv TV tower as tower tech warriors risk their lives to restore networks
On March 6, 2022, a Russian fighter jet attacked a television station in Kharkiv, Ukraine, releasing eight 1,100-pound bombs at the station’s 790-foot tower and the adjacent building. Despite substantial damage, the broadcasting infrastructure was quickly repaired, and operations resumed. However, a...
NYC Comptroller Lander leverages pension fund clout for tower worker safety reporting, but is it necessary?
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, representing the five New York City pension funds, has successfully secured agreements with leading telecommunications infrastructure firms—SBA Communications Corporation (SBA), American Tower Corporation (American Tower), and Crown Castle—to improve their reporting on...
Crown Castle’s $325 million cabinet door opening lease lawsuit against Dish is closed by a Denver jury’s verdict
A jury last Thursday found Crown Castle USA Inc. failed to prove Dish Wireless Inc. violated the parties’ 30-year master lease agreement (MLA) by taking up three extra feet of space on cell tower sites without paying an additional...
Crown Castle snags Steven Moskowitz as its CEO, the second former American Tower executive onboarded for growth
Crown Castle Inc., a leading communications tower company, announced a significant leadership change that is effective today. Steven J. Moskowitz will take on the roles of President and Chief Executive Officer and join the company’s Board of Directors. This...
Everest’s defense in Vertical Bridge’s trade secrets theft lawsuit is they weren’t even close to trade secrets
In an April 3, 2024, Western District of Pennsylvania court filing, Everest Infrastructure Partners moved to dismiss an amended complaint filed by Vertical Bridge, arguing that the trade secrets Everest is accused of stealing and benefitting from were not...
High 90 mph gusts collapse two West Virginia AM radio station towers
High winds with gusts reaching 90 mph struck Charleston, West Virginia, on April 2, causing significant damage by bringing down two of the four broadcast towers utilized by WCHS (AM) and impacting its sister station WSWW (FM). These towers...
Believing he’s a T-Mobile tech, Florida man climbs to their sector, causing up to $500K in damage
In an event that seems to increase in frequency throughout America, on Wednesday in the Allapattah neighborhood of Miami, Florida, 38-year-old Richard Smith was arrested after climbing a cell tower without safety gear, causing extensive damage and a significant...
Over 3 feet, Dish and Crown Castle’s MLA marriage is on the rocks and a Denver trial will decide its fate
When Dish Wireless announced its infrastructure partnership with Crown Castle to lease space on up to 20,000 towers in 2020, it was an engagement arranged by Dish’s EVP of network development, Dave Mayo, that married the two companies to...
Alabama contractor’s tower crews to share in an expected $120 million windfall from an unexpected fine art find
All 22 employees of a four-crew wireless contracting firm in Bessemer, Alabama, are about to get a financial windfall so huge that they wake up each morning rereading a letter from Sotheby’s to ensure it’s not a dream. Each...
WTB grants exemption to Vertical Bridge and Drake Services for quarterly inspection requirements
The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday granted Vertical Bridge REIT, LLC, and Drake Services, Inc., an exemption from the mandatory quarterly inspections of antenna structure lighting systems stipulated under existing regulations (see...
DigitalBridge’s corporate move to downtown Delray Beach will provide an uptown setting for its employees
When a large corporation moves to a new headquarters, it’s often a problem for employees who have to relocate. Still, DigitalBridge’s announcement today that it is moving its entire staff north to a new mixed-use complex is being welcomed...
New Board members will help shape the future for the Tower Family Foundation’s worker support initiatives
“As an Executive Committee, we are excited to add the visionary leadership and philanthropic spirit of Ron, Eric, Jake, and Michael to the Tower Family Foundation’s Board of Directors,” said President Jim Tracy. The Tower Family Foundation announced...
‘Mentally stressed’ RF expert bails on Roswell, GA in the final days of a T-Mobile lawsuit costing $1 million-plus
This week, T-Mobile continued its 14-year battle with Roswell, Georgia, to erect a 108-foot monopine near Lake Charles Drive that was denied multiple times. The ongoing lawsuit is the costliest and most protracted siting litigation in the United States,...
Crown Castle co-founder Miller says the company deserves better and needs ‘people who live and breathe towers’
Ted B. Miller, co-founder of Crown Castle Inc. and his investment vehicle Boots Capital Management, LLC, issued an open letter yesterday to the Crown Castle Board of Directors, the company’s employees, and its shareholders. Miller said he believes Crown...
Former T-Mobile tech president Neville Ray elected to American Tower’s board of directors
American Tower Corporation announced that its Board of Directors had elected Neville R. Ray as a director. Ray most recently served as T-Mobile’s President of Technology until 2023. He joined T-Mobile (then VoiceStream) in April 2000, and from December...
New ADA lawsuit tells American Tower, T-Mobile and AT&T to relocate their tower or reconfigure their network with beamforming antennas
After American Tower, AT&T, and T-Mobile did not respond by February 1, 2024, to Duluth, Minnesota resident Marcia Haller’s request to mitigate RF levels that continued to make her ill at her home (as detailed on February 29, 2024, by...
‘Inchworm’ tower erectors’ desert demo video shows how robots can easily build lunar telecom towers
GITAI USA Inc. (GITAI), the space robotics trailblazer, unveiled a game-changing giant leap for moon construction automated tower erectors. They’ve pulled off a stellar first by showcasing their robot squad building a 16.5-foot-tall cell tower, mimicking moon-like conditions. This feat...
Deputies bust dad on his bring your son to work day at tower site; multi-site copper thief gets probation
Two North Carolina men, a father and son team, are facing criminal charges after being accused of stealing transmission lines from a cell site tower in eastern Richmond County for their copper value. According to the Richmond County Sheriff’s...
An unsafe 1,541-foot Texas TV broadcast tower is decommissioned with a picture-perfect landing
On Wednesday, Nexstar Media Group Inc. discovered that a 1,541-foot guyed tower in La Feria, Texas, was unsafe because one of its guy wires had detached. Instead of retrofitting it with a new outer anchor wire, the company decided...
Residents urged to evacuate area near Texas 1,541-foot TV tower after distressed guy wires failed
The Nexstar Media Group Inc. has raised concerns about a TV tower located south of La Feria, Texas, indicating a slight risk of collapse. Jeff Miller, Nexstar’s VP and General Manager, reported that the issue was investigated on Wednesday...
Verizon’s Fresno faux brick building cell site is a slight to the community and an eyesore, residents say
OPINION — “What the’ x&!*’ is that monstrosity?” a member of the “For the Love of Downtown Fresno” Facebook group asked. “Looks like low-quality brick wallpaper,” commented another member. “This looks like crap, and if this is the finished...
Four faux T-Mobile contractors arrested after caught in the act of ripping off ‘3G’ cables
A brazen communications cable theft at a West Boylston, Massachusetts, cell tower on Friday afternoon led to the arrest of four New York men accused of posing as subcontractors to steal the cables for their scrap value. The incident,...
Phoenix Tower International enters Ireland after acquiring Cellnex’s 1,900 towers for $1.1 Billion
Spanish telecom infrastructure company Cellnex has announced the sale of its Irish mobile tower unit to Boca Raton, Florida-based Phoenix Tower International (PTI) for about $1.1 Billion, equivalent to a multiple of around 24x EBITDA. This move comes as...
Shentel strikes a $310 million deal with Vertical Bridge to sell its tower portfolio of 226 sites
Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel), a prominent provider of broadband services, including cable TV across the Mid-Atlantic region, has announced a significant transaction with Vertical Bridge Holdco, LLC, a company based in Boca Raton, Florida, led by President and CEO...
Having to sleep in a Faraday cage, Minnesota couple threatens ATC, T-Mobile and AT&T with a lawsuit
In 2008, Marcia and Jason Haller moved into their newly constructed home with an oversized free-standing garage in a peaceful setting in a rural area just north of Duluth, Minnesota. Within months, Minnesota Tower, Inc. erected a 295-foot guyed...
Crown Castle boots Boots Capital and Ted Miller’s turnaround fiber plan to the curb
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...
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...
Stolen Alabama AM tower sparks a broader conversation about the station’s ‘bizarre’ operational history, and video debunked claims
Other than local, state, and industry media covering a communications tower collapse, unless it involves a fatality, failure incidents seldom get national legs. However, when an AM station general manager in Jasper, Alabama, reported earlier this month that vandals...
Unanticipated stop work order issued by concrete truck driver after he topples a 199-foot tower
While a contractor’s crew was attempting to finish a slab pour on Sunday for a foundation being installed for WNIX’s new transmitter building in Greenville, MS, a concrete truck driver backed into a guy wire, causing the station’s 199-foot tower...
Stealth steal: Vandals walk off with a 200-foot AM broadcast tower
On Friday, Brett Elmore, general manager of WJLX radio, a nondirectional AM radio station, went on Facebook and announced that someone had made off with his 200-foot-tall guyed tower from a site in Jasper, Alabama, that is located at a...
North Carolina copper theft suspect’s spree against AT&T ended in December but charges keep coming in
A 36-year-old Balsam Grove, North Carolina man facing 47 charges in Henderson County, North Carolina, also faces eight more charges in Buncombe County as investigators look into incidents of coaxial cable theft from cell towers. The Buncombe County Sheriff’s...
Gun-toting Texas arsonist sentenced to 78 months for allegedly torching 22 cell towers
A 30-year-old San Antonio, Texas man was sentenced Wednesday in a federal court to six and a half years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and setting fire to approximately 22 cell towers, according...
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,...
Taking editorial roads less traveled seen as the successful driver for Wireless Estimator’s 20th Anniversary
In 2004, two years before Facebook became accessible to the general public and Yahoo! Groups were getting their internet legs, there was the now-defunct Tower-Pro group. It boasted 2,200 members at its peak, and was one of the few...
Naked woman falls from the 175-foot level of a monopole and is snagged to safety by two firefighters
In an unprecedented rescue operation, firefighters in Gastonia, North Carolina, demonstrated incredible bravery and skill as they saved an impaired, naked woman who had climbed 175 feet up a 200-foot monopole cell tower owned by TowerCom. The incident unfolded off...
Injured tower tech rescued after falling from a “rat’s nest” tower site outside of Chicago
A tower tech is in stable condition after falling approximately 15 feet off a 65-foot monopole yesterday that sits atop the 125-foot tall Frankfort Grainery tower in Frankfort, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. At approximately 2:00 p.m., the Frankfort...
“Rip and Replace” remains in limbo as only five unidentified telecom companies replace Chinese equipment
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a report for Congress, underscoring that only five telecommunications companies have concluded the removal of technology equipment provided by firms closely associated with the Chinese Communist government. Based on the latest status reports...
American Tower starts packing its bags with $2.5 billion for an India exit, leaving 78,000 towers behind
After a 16-year run in India, American Tower Corporation (“American Tower”) is exiting the country in a deal with Data Infrastructure Trust (“DIT”), an Infrastructure Investment Trust sponsored by an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management (“Brookfield”), under which DIT...
Starlink sets in orbit six satellites as America’s towers remain a fixed stable for communications
SpaceX marked the beginning of 2024 with a groundbreaking mission, launching on Tuesday the first six Starlink satellites equipped with direct-to-cell capabilities. Collaborating with T-Mobile, SpaceX aims to eliminate cellular dead zones in the most remote areas in the...
CTI Towers expands its footprint with acquisition of 56 towers in North Dakota
CTI Towers, Inc. (“CTI Towers”), a prominent player in the wireless tower industry and a portfolio company of Palistar Capital LP (“Palistar”), an alternative asset manager specializing in mission-critical communications and digital infrastructure, has unveiled its latest strategic move....
Towerco’s ‘synthetic’ leases surface in a 3,100 tower site deal that could be near $2 billion
Under the exploratory teaser name of Project Lighthouse, a U.S.-based towerco is looking to sell a portfolio of 3,100 real estate interests consisting of perpetual easements that might be sold at 25 times the $80 million base rent paid...
North Carolina catches up to India’s ongoing homeowner lease scams
Ashe County, N.C. Sheriff B. Phil Howell is reaching out to residents, urging their support and collaboration in addressing a recent potential cell tower scam that has reportedly fleeced money from “many potential victims.” The Asche County Sheriff’s Office...
TowerCo and Everest acquire 546 towers from Charter, which once had 1,200, lightly eclipsing CTI 525-tower deal
Everest Infrastructure Partners, Inc. (“Everest”) and TowerCo (“TowerCo”) have jointly revealed the acquisition of 546 wireless towers for an undisclosed amount from Charter Communications, Inc. (“Charter”) to be completed over multiple closings starting this month. The wireless tower assets...
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...
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...
Thieves find it more profitable in India to steal the entire cell site instead of stripping cable
Thieves normally specialize in stealing batteries or transmission lines at communications sites in the U.S., but in an incident in India, thieves went for the full monty, stealing the entire cell site. The theft occurred last March but wasn’t...
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...
Delusional ‘Postmaster General’ serial coax thief Douglas Lee arrested again in North Carolina
In August, Yadkin County NC Sheriff’s Office investigators received a report that someone had climbed a tower in East Bend and cut off several hundred feet of coaxial cable that would likely be sold to a scrap metal firm....
Big policy decisions loom over the future of America’s wireless networks, says WIA CEO Halley
By Patrick Halley, President and CEO, WIA – Wireless Infrastructure Association Access to broadband – fixed and mobile – is table stakes for participation in today’s Internet-driven economy. Hence the billions of dollars coming out of Washington to connect every...
After an excellent Q3 financial report by DigitalBridge, the stock unexpectedly falls off a cliff
When American Tower Corporation (ATC)) released its Q3 earnings report on October 26, 2023, analysts were pleased with the company, beating its earnings per share of $1.26 by 11.51%. The company also had a surprise increase in revenue of...
Following a tech’s death, the industry unites for best practices for wire mesh grips in new NATE advisory
After a 32-year-old tower technician passed away last December in Texas and Wireless Estimator identified that a hybrid cable hoisting grip failure might have caused the fatality, NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association engaged a Hoisting Grip Task Team...
Ohio tower technician succumbs from injuries following a 250-foot fall during an AT&T installation
Services have been announced for Darren Bishop, 28, of Proctorville, OH, who passed away on Monday, September 25, 2023, after falling approximately 250 feet off a 300-foot guyed tower in Huntsburg Township, OH. According to individuals knowledgeable of the...