A Second Carrier Wants on Your Tower — Here’s What You Should Know Before You Say Yes

The cell tower business is, at its core, a density game. Tower companies make money not just by placing equipment on your property — they make money by stacking as many wireless carriers on that same tower as the structure will support. It’s called colocation, and it’s happening across the country. What nobody is rushing to explain to property owners is what this process means for them.

What Colocation Actually Means

Colocation — sometimes written co-location — is the practice of mounting antennas and equipment from more than one wireless carrier on a single tower or rooftop site. For the tower company, it’s efficient and profitable. New tenants cost little to add, which means larger profits. The ground lease with you stays the same while revenue from additional tenants goes directly to them. For the property, it means more equipment, more activity, more vehicles on-site, and potentially more structural stress on the building or structure hosting everything.

What Your Lease Should Say — and Often Doesn’t

This is where many property owners find themselves in an uncomfortable spot. If the lease was written by the carrier or tower company — and it almost certainly was — colocation rights may be buried in the permitted use or subletting sections in a way that gives the tenant broad rights to add carriers without your knowledge or approval.

A well-negotiated lease should require the tenant to provide you with advance written notice before adding a subtenant, and should give you the right to review and approve the structural analysis, the equipment plans, and any modifications to the site. You should not be finding out about a second carrier’s antennas when their crew shows up at the gate.

Additional questions your lease should answer:

• Does the property owner have any say in who accesses your property?
• What notice must the tenant give you before construction begins?
• Does the addition of a co-tenant trigger any additional compensation to you?
• What happens if the co-tenant causes damage to the structure or surrounding property?
• If this is a rooftop cell site, a whole host of other questions need to be answered.

The Time to Ask These Questions Is Before It Happens

If you already have a tower on your property and have not reviewed your lease lately, now is a good time. Colocation activity is increasing, and the terms governing what happens next are already written — you just may not know what they say. If you’re in the process of negotiating a new lease, this is the moment to make sure the colocation process is clearly defined and that your approval rights are explicit.

Gunnerson Consulting works exclusively for property owners. Contact Gunnerson Consulting today for a complimentary lease review. Initial consultations are always free.