CELL PHONE TOWER MANAGEMENT
Tower Management
Steel in the Air assists independent tower owners with tower and antenna site management, wireless asset valuation, lease administration and tower brokerage.
If you are a tower owner, you may find that the day-to-day operation and management of the tower is time consuming. Wireless carriers and tenants make frequent requests. These include attempting to renegotiate their lease, extend their lease, add equipment, or in rare cases, terminate their lease. If owning towers isn’t your main business, it can be hard to know what to do. That’s where we come in. Steel in the Air provides tower site management services. During the last 20 years, we have helped hundreds of tower owners with their towers. Please note that our site management services DO NOT include marketing services- we can’t help you find new tenants for your tower or find someone to lease your property for a tower.
Our services do include:
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• AUDITING YOUR LEASES AND THEIR EQUIPMENT
As part of our cell tower management services, the first thing we do is review your lease agreements, any amendments, construction drawings, structural analyses, and other documentation so that we know your tower(s) inside and out. We confirm that the rent they are paying is correct and that you are being properly reimbursed for utilities, taxes, and maintenance to the extent your leases provide for such. We physically inspect the site and audit the equipment on and off the tower, confirming that the tenant is in compliance with the lease. If they aren’t in compliance, we advise you on the steps necessary to bring them into compliance and to collect unpaid reimbursements or rent.
• NEGOTIATING LEASES WITH WIRELESS CARRIERS
Over those 20 years, we have provided cell tower lease management and advisory services on thousands of leases. We have amassed a database of 15,000 plus leases (with lease rate information) across the country. Cellular leases, broadcast leases, WISP leases, government leases, and paging and mobile radio leases- we’ve negotiated them all. By far, our clients have much better leases with better terms and better conditions/language.
• NEGOTIATING AMENDMENTS FOR EQUIPMENT MODIFICATIONS OR EXPANSIONS
Some tower collocation leases do not restrict the carriers’ ability to modify their equipment load, such as the addition of antennas, but many do. We are regularly surprised by the willingness of small tower owners to allow modifications to their towers without asking for additional compensation. We review your lease and amendments and the proposed construction drawings, and we tell you whether you have an opportunity to charge additional rent for the modifications. Then we will negotiate on your behalf.
• ADDRESSING REQUESTS TO RENEGOTIATE YOUR LEASE
If you haven’t been contacted by a “lease optimization agent”, it’s just a matter of time. Eventually, they contact almost every tower owner. They can be quite persistent and will imply that the tenant will terminate their lease if you don’t agree to lower rent, give them rights to expand their equipment at no charge, or make other changes that are not favorable to you. We review your tower’s location, the presence of other towers in the area, and your current lease. We will then let you know if you have anything to worry about. We then negotiate on your behalf with the lease optimization agent if there is anything to negotiate. Many times, we politely tell them to take a hike.
• ADVISE ON MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTIONS
You may not know it, but all towers should be regularly inspected every few years. Failure to maintain and inspect the tower may result in damage to the tower or worse, potential liability if something was to occur due to the lack of maintenance. It is far easier and cheaper to address maintenance issues sooner than later. We can help coordinate inspections for the tower and review and advise any recommendations the inspector might have.
We offer tower site management services on a fixed fee basis and on an ongoing basis based upon a small percentage of the revenue from the tower.
Please contact us for more information about cell site management and how we can help you maximize your revenue while minimizing the hassle of lease negotiations.