Pandemic-Related Rent Reductions?
By Christine Gillan
Fierce Wireless reported today that the wireless industry “might just be pandemic-proof”! “That doesn’t mean that some wireless companies aren’t suffering from layoffs and financial losses,” reports the author, “[b]ut it does mean that the fundamentals of the wireless carrier business remain strong." The author notes that, while some phone subscribers are unable to pay their bills, Verizon has seen an increase in the number of its postpaid subscribers/customers and AT&T has seen an increase in their number of prepaid customers. All US operators, she further states, seem to be on track with their 5G deployment even though other countries are seeing their 5G deployments delayed or scaled back. “And that, in turn, is making the US wireless industry more resilient.”
Even in the best of times, it is not uncommon for wireless carriers to hire third-parties, like BlackDot or Md7, to call the landlords under their leases to request rent reductions. The third-party will claim that the reduction is necessary due to a claimed loss in revenues at your telecom site. Do not be fooled into thinking that the pandemic adds weight to these claims! The carriers are doing fine and there may be no reason to agree to a rent reduction under any circumstance. On the contrary, telecom sites are seeing equipment swaps and additions to support 5G technology, which means that, if you have a strong lease, you should be receiving an increase in rent and not a decrease. Therefore, if you get a call requesting a rent reduction, contact us to help you distinguish between fact and fiction. There is no cost for an initial consultation.
The Sprint/T-Mobile, Tower Company Quandary
By: Brett Reall
I just received an all too familiar call from a tower company regarding one of our customer’s cell tower sites. This was a ‘friendly’ notification that Sprint and T-Mobile had merged, and that Sprint would likely be removing their equipment within the year; implying that our customer would be losing the rent on the site. More on this later.
Many property owners are receiving similar calls from a variety of entities, all with similar implications – act now or you will lose out on rent, buyouts, security, etc. What is difficult for property owners to ascertain is the likelihood of their cell site actually being decommissioned, due to both a lack of information available, the presenting entity, and general industry uncertainty.
We frequently see calls and letters sent out in merger situations from several different entities, including the following:
Thoughts on the T-Mobile Sprint Merger
Now that T-Mobile and Sprint have merged, there are many questions about the impact for cell site landlords. These questions are valid in light of the information presented by Sprint and T-Mobile throughout the merger process, speaking of decommissioning many sites, keeping some Sprint sites, and integrating two different technologies into one cellular network.
Given the confusion, we provide the following opinions on several items we foresee as ‘hot buttons’ in the upcoming year.
Operational Update for COVID-19-affected Cell Sites
The role of the wireless industry is one of critical importance in these times of global pandemic. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has deemed wireless infrastructure as one of the critical industries that is ‘imperative during the response to theCOVID-19 emergency for both public health and safety as well as community well-being’.
This directive also creates some conflict for many property owners, public and private, who, by governmental mandate or out of caution, have temporarily suspended operations during this time of crisis; however wireless infrastructure (i.e. cell sites) needs to be maintained. When local governments and businesses are closed, staffing may not be available to discuss access or approve work as needed or required by leases.
As Gunnerson Consulting is industry-specific, we are still operating and assisting our customers. Because we ‘speak the language’ of the wireless industry, we are able to quickly and efficiently determine what items are critical now, as well as what may be pushed out once the health crisis is resolved. We have been speaking with RF engineers, operations managers within the wireless carriers, as well as varying layers of contractors for each carrier to ensure that critical work is still able to be performed, while not requiring staff to be present unless absolutely necessary.
To those in the wireless infrastructure industry working to keep networks on-air, we wish you safety. To all our customers, we wish you peace and health, and we have your backs while you take care of truly important matters. To any who may need our assistance, our doors are [figuratively] open to assist in this time of trial.
AT&T/Black Dot Rent Reduction Letters
Several of our customers have received letters from AT&T that appear to be a new, aggressive campaign to reduce rents. While similar letters have been sent previously, the new letters are particularly aggressive.
The New Letter
The AT&T/Black Dot letter contains language that appears to indicate your site has been carefully reviewed and selected for relocation should you not comply with the demand to accept a rent reduction. An excerpt of this letter is below:
This language makes it sound like the site in question has been selected for relocation, without actually stating that has occurred.
The Twist
T-Mobile/Sprint Merger Jitters?
By Christine Sloan and Brett Reall
HAVE A CELL TOWER LEASE WITH T-MOBILE OR SPRINT OR BOTH?
WORRIED ABOUT WHAT THE MERGER BETWEEN THE TWO COMPANIES MEANS FOR YOU?
There is a lot of confusion surrounding the T-Mobile/Sprint merger. As an example, in an excerpt from: “Light Reading Weekly” reported on February 13, 2020:
“6. Actual changes for customers: Sprint and T-Mobile executives have said they expect the full merger process to take three years to finish. That in part would involve the companies shuttering 35,000 redundant cell towers around the country and building 10,000 new towers, resulting in the combined company commanding a total of 85,000 towers. Such a move would likely be designed to make optimal use of T-Mobile's 600MHz and Sprint's 2.5GHz spectrum, as well as the other spectrum bands the companies own.” (emphasis added)
Having been through this process with many other carriers over the last few decades, here's what we advise you to do:
What is a ‘Small Cell’, and why does it matter?
By Bryon Gunnerson and Brett Reall
*There is currently an abundance of information related to ‘small cell’ cellular installations circulating the internet, creating confusion with local governments, property owners, and consumers. This article is intended to be a high-level overview of the industry, and only provides general guidelines related to Small Cell wireless installations. Contact Gunnerson Consulting for information specific to your situation.*
What is a “Small Cell” and a Small Cell facility? 
- Each antenna (excluding associated antenna equipment) is no more than three cubic feet in volume;
- All other wireless equipment associated with the structure, including the wireless equipment associated with the antenna and any pre-existing associated equipment on the structure, is cumulatively no more than 28 cubic feet in volume;
- The structure on which antenna facilities are mounted:
- is 50 feet or less in height, or
- is no more than 10 percent taller than other adjacent structures, or
- do not extend existing structures on which they are located to a height of more than 50 feet or by more than 10 percent, whichever is greater;
This seems to be a pretty simple formula that is now embedded within the wireless code sections of most jurisdictions. In fact, the key words “small cell” litters the code sections and prescribes fast and streamlined administrative approvals. Alarmingly, GCCSS is discovering that many code sections describes the process but fails to describe what a small cell is or do not clearly define what separates a small cell from a macro-cell within the wireless code.
What does a “Small Cell” classification do?