Harmoni Towers Acquires Parallel Infrastructure to Create Top 10 Private Towerco

By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor

Harmoni Towers has agreed to acquire Parallel Infrastructure, a tower platform and build-to-suit provider. The transaction creates one of the top ten largest private independent tower companies in the U.S., with more than 2,000 built and in-construction towers. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.  Palistar Capital LP, which backs Harmoni, expects to provide ample growth financing into the combined platform, according to Omar Jaffrey, Managing Partner and Founder of Palistar. The combined company will have locations spanning the country across 41 states, with the capacity to build hundreds of towers per year in all regions of the U.S. "Palistar expects, over time, to deploy in excess of $1 billion via equity and debt financing into the combined platform in order to promote the expansion of the business,” Jaffrey said. Continue Reading

Bidding Ends in Auction 108

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

After 73 rounds, bidding ended yesterday in the 2.5 GHz auction. Final, total gross bids were more than $427.7 million, according to the FCC. There were 82 qualified bidders for about 8,000 county-based, flexible-use licenses of spectrum in the 2496–2690 MHz band. Many of the licenses up for auction for wireless use must be shared with incumbent educational broadband services users. That’s why the total amount of money the auction raised was not expected to be as big as previous FCC auctions. Bidders won 7,872 licenses and the Commission held back 145. Analysts predicted T-Mobile would be the big winner in the auction. NewStreet Research said yesterday with the auction behind it, T-Mobile “has cleared all the visible hurdles to share repurchases.” NSR acknowledged “the board still needs to sign off for them to start, and there could be other factors we can't see.” Continue Reading

T-Mobile, Starlink Face Heavy Lifting for Satellite Cell Phone Plan

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

UPDATE T-Mobile and SpaceX have a lot to figure out before they can begin testing the ability of Starlink broadband satellites to connect to cell phones next year. Inside Towers reported on Friday concerning their plan to fix dead spots in cell phone coverage with broadband satellites. However, SpaceX needs to develop a much bigger and more powerful rocket to carry heavier satellites into space. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk describes the heavier and more powerful antennas needed as “the most advanced in the world, we think.” Cell phones operating on T-Mobile will be able to access SpaceX’s next-generation Starlink V2 satellites, set to launch next year. The massive antennas will be able to emulate a cell tower, reports The Washington Post. If there is no local coverage available, phones will automatically connect to the satellites traveling overhead at 17,000 miles per hour. Musk says the antennas will also need to compensate for that satellite speed. Continue Reading

Best Laid (Fiber) Plans Fall Apart In Vermont

Two communication districts in Vermont planned to jointly build and operate an open access fiber network to serve communities with unreliable access to high-speed broadband. However, plans fell apart last week. VTDigger reported that Lamoille FiberNet and Northwest Fiberworx nearly inked a deal with Google Fiber, but the ISP walked away. Google Fiber said it lacked confidence in Lamoille FiberNet and the project, so it declined to become the first ISP on the network. 

According to Sean Kio, executive director of Northwest Fiberworx, the company still wants to build, own and maintain an open access network in the three counties it serves. However, he added that without the addition of Lamoille FiberNet's customers (14,000 addresses), it couldn't meet Google Fiber's 42,000 minimum addresses requirement. Continue Reading

Brookfield to Invest up to $30B in Intel U.S. Chip Factories

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC) and Canada's Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) on Tuesday agreed to jointly fund up to $30 billion for the U.S. company's chip factories in Arizona. The move fuels Intel's ambition to bring more chip production onshore without weighing on its balance sheet, reports Reuters. Brookfield's infrastructure affiliate will invest up to $15 billion for a 49 percent stake in the expansion project. Intel will retain majority ownership and operating control of the two chip factories meant to make advanced chips in Chandler, AZ.   The investment is an expansion of an agreement signed by Intel and Brookfield in February to explore finance options to help fund new Intel manufacturing sites. The two companies didn't disclose specific terms, though parties expect the deal to close by the end of this year. David Zinsner, Intel's finance chief, told analysts the interest rate was between 4.4 percent and 8.5 percent, which is more expensive than debt financing but cheaper than equity financing, according to Reuters. Continue Reading

Report: Wireless Faces Stiff Competition to Deliver Internet Speeds

By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor

For all the talk about people “cutting the cord,” cable maintains a lock on almost half of households’ access to the internet. Mobile wireless came in fourth at 11.7 percent behind fiber to the home (FTTH), 21.3 percent, and digital subscriber lines, 13.1 percent of the market. Fixed wireless came in fifth with 3.1 percent of the market, according to a report funded by the Fiber Broadband Association.  But fiber is nipping at cable’s heels with 45 percent faster download and 4.7 times faster upload speeds. Known as the high-cost alternative, fiber has also reduced its cost-per-bit by 90 percent over the past decade, according to “A Detailed Review: The Status of U.S. Broadband and The Impact of Fiber Broadband,” which was authored by RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting. Continue Reading

Senators Press FCC to Reverse Ligado Decision

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

A bipartisan group of senators, including the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, are again trying to persuade the FCC to reverse a 2020 decision to allow Ligado Networks to build out a broadband network in the L-band for mobile 5G transmissions. Senators Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Jack Reed (D-RI), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, urged the Commission to reconsider granting the license modification request of Ligado Networks.   The lawmakers say Ligado’s plans risk interference with GPS reception and Satellite Communications operations. Joining Inhofe and Reed were Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK). Continue Reading

Edge Data Center Market Projected to Soar

By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor

A key component of 5G, the Edge Data Center market is expected to grow from $7.2 billion in 2021 to $19.1 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 21.4 percent, according to a report by MarketsandMarkets. Edge Data Center solutions and services are being driven globally by large enterprises as well as by small and mid-sized enterprises, because of the adoption of automation and digitalization, the increase in adoption of BYOD (“Bring Your Own Device”) and advent of low-latency 5G capabilities, according to the report. “As the demand for data and accessible information continues to become more critical to businesses, information technology professionals are facing challenges in terms of technology solutions,” the report reads. “IT and Telecom account for the largest share of the edge data center market during the forecast period, with social media users posting real-time events further fueling the growth in data center traffic.” Continue Reading

DISH Seeks FCC OK for High-Power CBRS Trials

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

DISH Wireless wants to conduct Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) field tests to evaluate the effects of high-power operations in the band. It asked the FCC for a waiver to conduct the 3.5 GHz trials starting November 1 and ending February 28 of next year, in Boulder, CO. If approved, DISH proposes to evaluate “coverage, throughput and spectral efficiency improvement” with high-power CBRS operations. It’s also curious to see the impact on current General Authorized Access and Priority Access License operations “if the in-band emission requirement of -25 dBm/MHz is waived to align with adjacent C-band,” or 3.7 GHz, the company says in its application.

Why 5G Hasn’t Impacted Tower Lease Rents or Sales

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

5G cell service has been heavily marketed. But despite sales pitches to property owners, 5G is not affecting conventional cell lease rents, sales or renewals, according to Varnum law firm attorneys Peter Schmidt and John Pestle.   Recent cell phone publicity has been about high-speed 5G, such as for autonomous vehicles or downloading movies in seconds. Here’s why it doesn’t affect cell leases, explain the attorneys.     True high-speed 5G requires thousands of new, short-range antennas every 400 feet apart. To achieve such speeds, high-speed 5G must use very high radio frequencies. “These frequencies, however, don’t go through walls. Conventional cell towers, on the other hand, use lower frequencies that do penetrate walls, so they and current cell leases will continue to provide cell service indoors (and outdoors to fill in gaps created by the use of short-range antennas).” Continue Reading

FCC Tosses USF Revamp Back to Congress

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

The FCC is relying on Congress for legislative reforms that allow the Commission to make changes to the contribution base of a fund that supports basic telecommunications services. That’s according to its report to Congress. While some have recommended scrapping the Universal Service Fund (USF), the agency tells lawmakers it’s committed to making the USF sustainable into the future. The Commission has been reviewing public comments about what it should do about the nearly $10 billion USF which goes to support broadband expansion in low-income and rural areas. The fund has been under scrutiny because it relies largely on declining voice service revenues – often passed down to customers – which has called into question its sustainability. Some have called on the FCC to expand the base to include broadband internet revenues, according to Broadband Breakfast. Continue Reading

Shaw Sells Freedom Mobile to Videotron

By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor

UPDATE Videotron, a subsidiary of Quebecor, has purchased Freedom Mobile from Shaw Communications to create Canada’s fourth national wireless provider. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to facilitate the regulatory approval of the merger of Shaw and Rogers. The combined business of Videotron and Freedom will be well-positioned to launch a strong, competitive national 5G offering, using Videotron’s 3500 MHz holdings, according to Pierre Karl Péladeau, President and CEO, Quebecor. “Quebecor has shown that it is the best player to create real competition and disrupt the market. Our strong track record combined with Freedom’s solid Canadian footprint will allow us to offer consumers in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario more choice, value, and affordability through discounted multiservice bundles and innovative products,” Péladeau said. Continue Reading

U.S. Appeals Court Upholds FCC’s 5.9 GHz Changes

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a legal challenge to the FCC’s 2020 decision to reallocate much of the 5.9 GHz band spectrum set aside for auto safety to accommodate wireless devices. The auto safety industry fought the change to reallocate 60 percent of the band. The spectrum was reserved in 1999, for automakers to develop technology to allow vehicles to communicate with each other to avoid crashes. But when it made the change, the FCC said the band was under-used, Inside Towers reported. Continue Reading

Why the FCC Rejected Starlink, LTD Requests for RDOF Subsidies

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

Since Jessica Rosenworcel became FCC Chairwoman in January, the agency has been working to root out applicants provisionally awarded financial support through its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program that allegedly can’t prove they can deliver the broadband services they claimed. The agency rejected two big initial winners on Wednesday — Starlink and LTD Broadband. Doubters had long questioned whether the two companies could actually deploy what they promised in RDOF applications, Inside Towers reported.    The initial auction results were announced December 7, 2020. LTD Broadband, the largest awardee, provisionally won more than $1.3 billion. Starlink, the orbital satellite division of SpaceX, took second place with an initial award of more than $885 million.  RDOF provides $9.23 billion in subsidies to be distributed over a decade to support broadband deployment. Initial awards were made as a result of a “reverse” auction in which service providers bid for projects using the least amount of federal dollars. Continue Reading

NewStreet Research Lowers 2.5 GHz Auction Expectations by 80 Percent

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

NewStreet Research (NSR) analysts say their initial thoughts on how much money Auction 108 would make were too high. They’ve since cut their estimate by some 80 percent to a maximum of $750 million. Calling demand for the 2.5 GHz licenses “abysmal,” Philip Burnett, part of NSR’s U.S. Telecoms Team, said in a client note that, as of round 13, only 24 percent of the more than 8,000 licenses being auctioned were seeing competition. “Excess demand has fallen to a level not seen until after round 40 in both of the last two mid-band auctions,” he wrote. Continue Reading

América Móvil Says ‘Adios’ to Its Tower Inventory

América Móvil (NYSE: AMX), headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico, has completed the spin-off of its telecommunications towers and other associated infrastructure in certain Latin America countries. AMX announced in late 2021 its intentions to separate its passive infrastructure assets from its telecom operations. Having received shareholder approval for the transaction, certain assets, liabilities, and capital have been transferred to a new company named Sitios Latinoamérica, S.A.B. de C.V. (Sitios Latam), a Mexican company, that is independent from AMX’s management and capital structure.

Sitios Latam’s business focuses on the construction, operation and marketing of towers and other structures for cell site and base station equipment deployments. Its towers will be available for access and use by all mobile network operators in Latin American countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay. In addition, Sitios Latam has started constructing towers in Peru. Continue Reading

Telcos and Cablecos Battle for Customers

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

Some very interesting stats are coming out of the recent cycle of 2Q22 earnings calls. It may be too early to call it a trend, but there is a bit of a shift going on as to which carriers will provide broadband services to whom. Take the big cable companies. Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) dominate the cable business. Comcast reported 32.2 million broadband residential and small business connections at the end of the quarter while Charter came in with 30.3 million. But for the first time in many quarters, both companies reported losses in 2Q22 broadband net additions. Continue Reading

FCC Establishes Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

The FCC on Friday established the Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program. It’s meant to raise awareness about the nation’s largest ever broadband affordability effort, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The Second Report and Order approved by the Commissioners directs the agency’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau to develop, administer, and manage the program. The ACP is already helping 13 million low-income American households bridge the connectivity divide by providing the affordable broadband services they need for work, school, and healthcare. Yet millions of eligible households either don’t think they qualify or don’t know how to register. Continue Reading

DigitalBridge Grows with Diversified Digital Infrastructure Portfolio

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

DigitalBridge Group (NYSE: DBRG) has come a long way in a few years from a legacy real estate investment trust (REIT) to a proactive investor, owner, and manager of high growth digital infrastructure around the world. At the end of 2Q22, the company had successfully “rotated” out of traditional real estate investments like hospitality, healthcare, and industrial real estate along with other managed investments to 100 percent digital infrastructure. Digital assets under management (AUM) totaling nearly $48 billion were up 37 percent on a year-over-year basis from $35 billion at the end of 2Q21. That AUM tally increases to around $55 billion when adding recently-announced transactions with AMP Capital, Switch, Inc., and Deutsche Telekom’s GD Towers, as Inside Towers reported. By transitioning from a REIT to C-Corp and repurchasing a minority stake in its investment management (IM) platform, the company gained the flexibility to continue rapid IM growth in response to strong secular trends in mobile data and cloud computing. Continue Reading

DISH 5G Build Progressing, Customers to Follow

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

On paper, you might think that DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) was underperforming and is in dire straits. In its 2Q22 earnings report, the company showed declines in both its established Pay-TV services and in its fledgling wireless business. Its Wireless Segment consists of two parts - the Retail Wireless business unit that handles its prepaid phone business that is a combination of acquired Boost Mobile, Ting, and Republic Wireless brands; and, the 5G Network Deployment business unit that is handling the company’s new 5G network construction activity. Pay-TV service revenues dropped 1 percent to $3.1 billion from $3.2 billion on a year-over-year basis. Pay-TV subscribers, including both DISH TV and Sling TV, declined 7 percent YoY to 10.2 million. Retail Wireless 2Q22 service revenues of $916 million were down 13 percent from $1.05 billion in 2Q21. Retail Wireless subscribers dropped 12 percent year-over-year from 8.9 million at the end of 1Q21 to 7.9 million, in part related to the T-Mobile 3G CDMA network shutdown, as Inside Towers reported. Continue Reading

Coordinating the Spectrum

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

The FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration signed an updated spectrum coordination agreement. It’s the first time the “Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU) has been updated in 20 years. The action is key as the federal government prepares to distribute billions of dollars in broadband infrastructure grants and loans. The agencies say the revised MOU, signed by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, will strengthen cooperation and collaboration between the government bodies and help advance a whole-of-government approach to how they use and manage one of the nation’s most important resources. The update comes at a critical time in the government’s efforts to expand access to high-speed internet, protect national security, promote economic growth, and advance the progress of science and technology. Continue Reading

SBA Announces Second Quarter Earnings, Beats Revenue By $25.7M

SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: SBAC) yesterday reported results for the quarter ended June 30, 2022. Total revenues in the second quarter of 2022 were $652.0 million compared to $575.5 million in the prior year period, an increase of 13.3 percent. Site leasing revenue in the second quarter of 2022 of $580.2 million consisted of domestic site leasing revenue of $442.1 million and international site leasing revenue of $138.1 million. 

“Our second-quarter performance was very strong,” stated Jeffrey Stoops, President and CEO. “Wireless carrier activity was, and remains, robust across most of our markets. In both leasing and services, we are extremely busy fulfilling the needs and requests of our customers as they continue to pursue a high level of network investment. Against this demand, we continue to execute very well. We achieved another record for U.S. services revenue in the quarter.” Continue Reading 

USDA Heralds $400M in Rural Broadband Awards

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing just over $400 million to provide broadband access in rural areas. The new grants will impact 31,000 rural residents and businesses in 11 states.

The news includes a group of investments from the ReConnect Program, and an award funded through USDA’s Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan and Loan Guarantee program. The Department will make additional investments for rural high-speed internet later this summer, including ReConnect Program funding from the Infrastructure Law, which provides a $65 billion investment to expand affordable, high-speed internet to all communities across the U.S.  Continue Reading