9621 Agnes Crossing, Lake Suzanneview, New Mexico Island 84604-9295.
Cell phone towers are massively present in our landscape, providing us with fast 5G connections and other developments. Their future and that of the landowners looks bright. You
Cell phone towers are massively present in our landscape, providing us with fast 5G connections and other developments. Their future and that of the landowners looks bright.
You can see them towering high in many places: the transmission towers that enable our mobile connectivity. They have been anchored in our landscape for years and will continue to do so for a long time to come, because without cell towers we can forget about our fast 5G connection and further developments. This makes them indispensable in the future too. The BIPT’s map of transmission towers shows that there are already several transmission towers in Flanders.
Cell towers are not randomly placed on the map, and the land beneath them is therefore worth its weight in gold. These landowners are often large or small companies, but also farmers in rural areas. In this spider web of landowners and operators who erect their towers, it is not easy for providers to reach fair agreements. This requires mediation partners like APWireless, who bring order to the chaos and create a win-win situation for landowners, operators and providers.
There is a whole business model behind the spider web of cell towers that is spreading around the world. Most operators do not own cell tower land. “Usually, someone becomes the owner of such land by accident,” says Stijn Van Calster, Country Lead at APWireless. The operator contacts the landowner to install a cell tower on their property in return for a lease. “Many owners are not aware that the location of their cell tower is worth a lot of money, and that is sometimes a nice surprise for them,” continues Van Calster.
Once a lease is drawn up between the provider and the landowner, APWireless comes into play. Their business model is simple: they take over the lease between the provider and the landowner (who is often the operator) for a lump sum payment. Taking over this lease is usually done on the basis of a right of rem or by purchasing the property. “Typically, the land stays in the hands of the owner, it is not our goal to become the owner of the land,” says Van Calster.
The property owners of a transmission tower site are usually medium-sized or large companies that own several sites, but the farmer and his field or smaller companies can also be the owner of such a site.
Stijn Van Calster, country manager at APWireless
On the contrary, the location of transmission towers is not simply chosen at random. In theory, it would be possible to place your transmission tower a hundred meters further outside a certain area, for example because that party does not agree with the conditions. “Unfortunately, in practice it is not so easy,” says Van Calster. “On the one hand, it is not so easy to get permission from the relevant municipality, and on the other hand, the construction of a transmission tower involves large investments.”
Operators are also becoming more creative in the use of these spaces. “We are increasingly seeing that one operator shares locations with another operator, which of course has an impact on the size of the portfolio for us,” says Van Calster.
Why is it interesting for operators that companies like APWireless control the rental contracts? “We work with the operators on a long-term basis so that they can take over the technical side in a practical way and have a constant cash flow,” says Van Calster.
Therefore, it is beneficial for companies to hand over the lease in exchange for a lump sum payment. “Borrowing money suddenly became very expensive, so companies often couldn’t realize their plans. At APWireless, we offer companies that advantage,” says Van Calster. As the icing on the cake, these agreements also save providers a lot of work, as they can now work with a single party like APWireless for different operators without having to sit at the table with each individual property owner.
There are no losers in this story. This approach to cell tower rental is a win-win situation for everyone involved and will therefore continue to evolve in the future.
Source: IT Daily
As an experienced journalist and author, Mary has been reporting on the latest news and trends for over 5 years. With a passion for uncovering the stories behind the headlines, Mary has earned a reputation as a trusted voice in the world of journalism. Her writing style is insightful, engaging and thought-provoking, as she takes a deep dive into the most pressing issues of our time.
