Municipal Cell Tower and Cell Site Leases

Municipal governments, whether small towns or a large counties, are being increasingly requested to help find a suitable location for the transmission of wireless services. In some cases this is a cell tower owned and operated by the municipal government. In other cases, this is the lease of municipal property or structures for the purpose of building a cell tower or attaching antennas. With the telecommunications industry changing rapidly and new technological advances altering the means in which wireless carriers provide service, it is imperative that municipalities keep up.

Steel in the Air has consulted for a number of municipal governments.. While the task to be undertaken differ widely from case to case, there is one universal component of the consultation. Every single consultation has involved a discussion over the "boilerplate" lease that the municipality utilizes for execution with wireless tenants. And every single consultation has shown that many municipalities really do not understand the technical aspects of the leases, especially in light of the recent mergers.

Many municipalities use the same lease that they modified from a wireless carrier's template language 5-7 years ago. Yet while technology and the carrier's requirements have changed, the leases have not. In some of Steel in the Air's recent consultations, this failure to update the lease from a technical perspective is resulting in the loss of revenue. This revenue loss could have been prevented.

With the advent of new technologies like WI-FI and WI-MAX, it is becoming more crucial that the underlying lease document reflect the threats the new technology presents. Steel in the Air can help you review your lease document from a technical standpoint and make suggestions for your municipal attorney to implement that will protect you from losing lease revenue in the future.

We would be happy to provide references from past municipal clients and a free quote for service.

Please contact us for more information.

If you are interested in seeing more information on how your municipality can maximize its revenue from developing its own cell towers for lease, please click here.