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Apple iPhone- Impact on Cellular Networks

September 15th, 2008 by admin Posted in AT and T, iPhone | No Comments »

A little over 1 month ago, I purchased the iPhone 3G. This post is an admission that until I did so, I really didn’t understand how this particular device has and will continue to change the very industry I work in.

Simply put- the device is amazing and is truly unlike any other device I have used. I count myself among the technical adapters and have used many so called “smart” phones over the last few years. None of these devices no matter how advanced they were remotely changed my data ARPU- but I can assure you the iPhone has. I have an unlimited plan and use it constantly.

I access full page regular websites regularly. (It is so convenient to be able to access a website while out of the house to look up a fact or reference item)

I check my stock portfolio a few times a week. (More than I do on my computers).

I am addicted to Facebook’s “twitter” like “what are you doing” application. (the utility comes from having friends on Facebook- not the other way around)

I use Google Maps much more often when I travel because it is faster and easier to access.

I check feeds to a number of blogs- which I now do more often because I can check them while I have even a few minutes of downtime.

The only thing that I don’t do more often than I did before was check my email. Why – because of the crappy keyboard and Apple’s stupid auto correction for typing. I like that it pushes email- but hate responding to email on the device. (Apple- why not allow bluetooth keyboards?)

The long and short of it is- that until you have actually used the iPhone daily- you more than likely don’t understand how device makers (not the carriers) will change our industry and increase ARPU. The iPhone is that groundbreaking. And until Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile get equally accessible and functional devices, they won’t see the same uptick as AT&T does in data usage and return.

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Black Dot’s New Pitch to AT&T Cell Site Owners

April 4th, 2008 by admin Posted in 700 MHz Auction, AT and T, ATT Mobility, blackdot | No Comments »

According to a client of mine, Black Dot Wireless has a new pitch that they are trying on landowners with AT&T cell site leases. Most of these pitches, I don’t bother to post. Today’s pitch was so patently ludicrous that I felt it necessary to call them out on such a ridiculous statement. (even worse than the balloons will take the place of cell tower pitch) Black Dot is now claiming that due to AT&T’s acquisition of a spectrum in the 700MHz auction, that AT&T will no longer need 9 out of 10 towers because AT&T’s towers will now have an effective radius of 50 MILES. These unneeded towers will be terminated within 2 years. Of course, the only way that the landowner could protect his lease was to reduce it WITHIN 5 DAYS.

There is truth to the fact that 700MHz spectrum is more efficient than either the 850MHz spectrum or the 1900MHz spectrum that AT&T currently uses. But to suggest that AT&T will terminate 9 out of 10 towers within 2 years is reckless at best.

Hopefully, Black Dot’s management and AT&T’s management aren’t privy to the fact that Black Dot’s agent are making such completely unfounded and reckless statements. If they are, shame on them. And if you are a landowner reading this- you might consider contacting your state attorney general and asking whether Black Dot can legally make such misleading statements.

Please note that Steel in the Air, Inc. is not affiliated with Black Dot Wireless or AT&T. If you have found this post while searching for Black Dot- please go to www. blackdotwireless .com. If you are looking for AT&T- please visit http://www.att.com/

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BlackDot Wireless and AT&T Still Trying To Get Reductions

February 9th, 2008 by admin Posted in AT and T, T, blackdot, cell phone tower lease, cell tower ground lease, cingular, mcdonalds, walmart | No Comments »

Cell site lease groundowners who thought they had heard the last from AT&T and Blackdot after refusing to lower their ground lease rates are being contacted again by Blackdot Wireless with the same pitch- just a different angle. These landowners or building owners with AT&T cell sites weren’t persuaded by the earlier pitch that AT&T and Cingular were merging and that there was possible duplication in the AT&T network that might lead to lease terminations.

Blackdot clearly believes in the old addage: If at first you don’t succeed… because they have a new pitch to try to get some of the higher lease rate landowners to reduce their leases. Blackdot’s people must have time on their hands, because the new attempt is a glossy document called a Site Appraisal Form that they have generated that attempts to show all of the other options available to AT&T in the nearby vicinity. There is a shiny map and a list of all possible alternative sites within 1 mile which also lists the lease rate that Blackdot “purports” that AT&T could get from either the tower owner or landowner.

Blackdot represents that AT&T has signed master lease agreements with Walmart and McDonalds to place towers on their properties at $1500/mo. They also represent that either Walmart or McDonalds will pay the relocation costs to move AT&T to their facility. The pitch is that if the landowner does not agree to the proposed reduction, that AT&T will move it’s cell site to either a Walmart or a McDonalds because of the lower lease rate.

The Site Appraisal Form includes all types of official looking comparisons and graphs- like a Performance Index that shows the rent of the various options in graph form. There is a Current Lease Consensus- that looks like the threat level bar at the airport- which undoubtedly will show yellow or orange or red for every site they send it to. (Because that constitutes danger to the lease longevity)

The funny thing is that I doubt that the wireless carriers have ever even seen this form- and definately don’t use graphs or threat bars to determine whether a landowner’s lease is over market average. However, Blackdot does not show other lease rates that other landowners are receiving in the area- because that might show that in fact that the subject landowner’s lease is not really that expensive.

Ironically, Blackdot is not even sure enough of its own information – there is a conspicuous statement at the bottom that states that Blackdot does not guarantee or warranty the accuracy of this information that they are using to try to convince the landowner that they need to reduce their rent. If they can’t guarantee this information- how can they expect you to rely upon it to make a decision?

If you have been approached by Blackdot to renegotiate your lease, please contact us and we can help sort through the fact and the fiction behind the possibilities that AT&T would actually move to another location. We can evaluate what the costs would be for the relocation and whether it makes sense based upon the expected savings. Lastly, we can make suggestions on how to respond.

If you have found this post in error while looking for information on Blackdot and wish to visit their website- please insert www blackdotwireless.com into your browser. If you are looking for AT&T, please goto http://www.wireless.att.com/home/. If you are looking for McDonalds- http://mcdonalds.com/ or Walmart at http://www.walmart.com/. Please note that Steel in the Air, Inc. is not affiliated with Blackdot Wireless, AT&T, McDonalds or Walmart in any way. Blackdot Wireless, AT&T, McDonalds, and Walmart are registered trademarks of those companies.

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AT&T to Build Cell Sites in McDonald’s Arches?

August 22nd, 2007 by admin Posted in AT and T, blackdot, cell phone tower lease | No Comments »

We have received recent inquiries from AT&T cell site owners who have been approached by Blackdot to renegotiate their leases. Of course, there is a new pitch, because the old pitch that the merger between AT&T and Cingular was going to cause terminations just doesn’t ring true anymore.

The new pitch by Blackdot Wireless is that AT&T has now signed deals with McDonald’s, Walgreens, and other miscellaneous large landowners at a fixed rate which allegedly is cheaper than the lease that AT&T has with the landowner. While the pitch is flawed, there is some reality behind it. AT&T has master lease agreements in place with large multi-site landowners and is looking to reduce their high dollar rents by looking at alternatives.

However, the savvy landowner should not take Blackdot’s pitch at face value. There are radio frequency engineering criteria that must be met for each site. The criteria may not be met at the burger joint next door. Furthermore, it may be difficult if not impossible to get approval for a new tower in the area. Lastly, at some point, the costs of relocating the site outweigh the savings to be gained by the relocation on a monthly basis.

If you have been approached by Blackdot Wireless on behalf of AT&T to reduce your rent recently, we can assist you by evaluating the following:

1. Whether your cell site lease rent is significantly high
2. Whether AT&T could relocate the site and still meet their engineering goals
3. Whether the local municipality would even allow the relocation
4. Whether the relocation would cost more than would be justified by the savings in rent

Please contact us to discuss any offer from Blackdot Wireless related to your AT&T cell phone tower lease.

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    Steel in the Air was formed in January of 2004 to assist landowners, both public and private, with issues regarding cell tower leases. In the last six years, we have assisted over 1500 clients with various issues regarding cell towers.


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