When MCI Communications Corp. asked him to build a radio tower on top of a mountain using a helicopter, 21-year-old wireless newcomer Michael Budagher said yes. Fifteen years later, his company is one of the industry’s leading infrastructure builders.
Budagher quit his job as a foreman at a commercial steel constructor and founded Specialty Teleconstructors Inc. in 1980. MCI was Budagher’s entrance into wireless and exit from the steel business, where profit margins were slim. Once cellular came on the scene in the mid-1980s, Specialty took on projects with Motorola Inc., Cellular One and others.
About four years ago, Specialty of Cedar Crest, N.M., recognized big industry changes, with enhanced specialized mobile radio and personal communications services looming.
“There’s a significant shortage of qualified personnel to do hands-on infrastructure building and management,” said Budagher. “It’s a problem in the industry right now. All the companies we do business with are experiencing the same kind of attrition.”
Building wireless network facilities may require expertise in site acquisition, architectural engineering, project management, tower installation, foundation and building construction, fencing, installation of radios and electronic equipment and maintenance and repair for the facility.
Budagher said the National Association of Tower Erectors has identified between 300 and 400 qualified infrastructure builders for wireless systems with an average of 12 to 15 people per firm-a small score to complete the task at hand. PCS must build in the next two years what cellular operators took 10 years to build, 11,500 facilities, Budagher said. And training new people takes two years alone.
Budagher first approached the shortage problem-or blessing depending on how you look at it-by taking the company public in fall of 1994. To match and surpass the pace of industry buildout, Budagher sought to consolidate a significant amount of the infrastructure builders. Specialty’s public offering afforded the company this choice.
“We believe our strategy was correct.” In the past few years Specialty acquired Combined Resources, an Irvine, Calif., engineering firm; Vidano of Chicago, which installs antennas and transmission lines; and the assets of Orlando Tower, of Orlando, Fla. In eight offices across the nation, Specialty employs more than 140 people, a number which could double upon completion of a few pending acquisitions, said Budahger.
But the scarcity of good people remains a dilemma for Specialty. As demand exceeds supply, wages have increased and workers are hard to keep. “Every company that I’m aware of is having problems maintaining personnel,” said Budagher. Specialty offers opportunity as a publicly traded company as well as competitive wages, said Budagher, but he conceded, “Some of our competitors make some pretty good offers.”
Specialty recruits skilled workers in parallel fields, such as construction or electronics, and college graduates. The company hires from within the industry, but won’t prospect employees from competitors.
The blessing lies in the amount of business awaiting Specialty and other infrastructure builders. “We don’t look at anyone as competitors just because there is so much work out there.”
What sets Specialty apart in the eyes of clients, said Budagher, is its ability to provide end-to-end service. One company means no duplicated efforts and no finger pointing when repair work may be needed. Budagher said only a handful of other infrastructure builders offer all-in-one service.
Looking ahead, Budagher said Specialty’s keys to success will be in offering “complete network design, operational network support and maintenance over the long term,” and building systems with longevity so its clients can keep their competitive edge.
Specialty works for operators and equipment suppliers, including AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Bell Atlantic Nynex Mobile, BellSouth Mobility Inc., Cellular One, Motorola, Nextel Communications Inc., Northern Telecom Inc., PrimeCo Communications L.P. and Three-sixty Communications Corp. In some instances facility construction contracts are for all of a company’s facilities. Other deals are negotiated market by market.
