BROWSING: Towers

Optasite adds $125 million to tower plans

WESTBOROUGH, Mass.—Eager to expand its portfolio, tower owner and operator Optasite Inc. completed a $125 million round of debt and equity financing. The company also closed on a slew of site acquisitions, bringing the company’s portfolio of towers to more than 200. The acquisitions...

Regional operators post mixed 4Q, year-end results

It was a week of mixed results for regional carriers, as numbers trickled in from a handful of operators-some of which had delayed their reporting or had to restate prior earnings. Leap Wireless International Inc. had a slightly weaker-than-expected fourth quarter, but the company...

SBA spends $1B to pick up AAT towers-some of which it previously owned

SBA Communications Corp., the nation's fifth-largest tower company, is offering $1 billion to acquire AAT Communications Corp., the nation's sixth-largest tower company.SBA said it will pick up AAT's 1,855 owned tower sites along with an additional 250 revenue-producing managed sites in 44 different states....

SBA to buy AAT for $1 billion

BOCA RATON, Fla.—SBA Communications Corp., the nation’s fifth-largest tower company, is offering $1 billion to acquire AAT Communications Corp., the nation’s sixth-largest tower company. SBA said it will pick up AAT’s 1,855 owned tower sites along with an additional 250 revenue-producing managed sites in...

Wireless bolsters Shentel’s results

EDINBUG, Va.—The fourth quarter of 2005 was kind to Shenandoah Telecommunications Co., which outpaced analysts’ expectations as it brought in total revenues of $39.2 million, a jump of more than 21 percent over the same quarter in 2004. Shentel, which provides service in the...

Integration headaches could give competitors short-term advantage

News that AT&T Inc. would acquire BellSouth Corp. quickly sent ripples of rampant speculation through the industry, as observers tried to calculate the implications of the deal. Immediate reactions focused on the response from Verizon Communications Inc. and whether it would seek to bolster...

Flipping back to AT&T brand

When Cingular Wireless L.L.C. closed on its purchase of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. in late 2004, the company poured out an estimated $300 million in marketing during the fourth quarter of that year, sending out everything from a "wedding" invitation touting the joining of...

WiMAX provider Televip signs streaming TV deal

COLUMBUS, Ohio.—An Ohio WiMAX start-up that says it plans to launch a wireless nationwide triple play of data, voice and video services this fall announced a partnership with MODF.tv, a Web site that streams television programming. Televip Networks officials could not immediately be reached...

Weekly wireless ratings wrap-up

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms. CarriersMorgan Stanley downgraded its opinion on Alltel Corp. to equal weight from overweight following a rally in the company’s share price this week on takeover...

Wall Street cool to American Tower’s 4Q losses

BOSTON-Citing accounting changes and an increase in outstanding shares, American Tower Corp. posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $87.3 million on revenues of $307.6 million. For the same period in 2004, the nation's largest tower owner and operator reported a loss of $74 million...

Site buys from Sprint hurt Global Signal’s 4Q

SARASOTA, Fla.-Global Signal Inc. blames its fourth-quarter net losses of $18.8 million on costs from integrating and financing the sites it acquired from Sprint Corp. in May 2005. In 2004, the company posted fourth-quarter net losses of $4.1 million. "2005 was a transformational year...

AAT sale could fetch $1 billion

Tower circles are buzzing with speculation as to who will walk off with AAT Communications Corp. and its 1,900 or so towers, in effect pushing aside fourth-quarter results from Crown Castle International Corp. and American Tower Corp. that provided few surprises in the tower...

Weekly wireless ratings wrap-up

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms. CarriersPrudential Equity Group lowered its subscriber net adds forecast for UbiquiTel Inc., and consequently its EPS forecast for the company’s fiscal 2006. Prudential’s new EPS...

Sites from Sprint hurt Global Signal 4Q

SARASOTA, Fla.—Global Signal Inc. blamed its fourth-quarter net loss of $18.8 million on costs it incurred while integrating and financing the tower sites it acquired from Sprint in May. In 2004, the company posted fourth-quarter net losses of $4.1 million. "2005 was a transformational...

Shentel to restate financials due to tower leases

EDINBURG, Va.—Shenandoah Telecommunications Co. announced that it plans to restate its financial results for the years 2003 and 2004, plus the first three quarters of 2005, with a cumulative net pretax impact of about $2.1 million. Shentel, which is a Sprint Nextel Corp. CDMA...

Microsoft joins DVB-H alliance as founding member

REDMOND, Wash—Microsoft Corp. announced that it’s backing Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld technology as a "founding member" of the Mobile DTV Alliance. Although the group formed in January, Microsoft only today announced its membership despite its ranking as a founding member. Microsoft joins Intel Corp., Modeo...

FCC tallies fewer wireless complaints

WASHINGTON-Complaints filed by mobile-phone subscribers at the Federal Communications Commission dropped in the fourth quarter of 2005 compared with the previous quarter. The FCC said wireless complaints decreased from 6,873 in the third quarter to 4,956 in the fourth quarter, with fewer complaints received...

Sprint Nextel updates integration progress

Integration is one of Sprint Nextel Corp.'s biggest challenges this year as the company continues to digest its multiple mergers-ranging from the former Nextel Communications Inc. to various PCS affiliates such as Nextel Partners and Alamosa Holdings Inc.-and gobbles its remaining affiliates, such as...

Wall Street cool to American Tower’s 4Q losses

BOSTON—Citing accounting changes and an increase in outstanding shares, American Tower Corp. posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $87.3 million on revenues of $307.6 million. For the same period in 2004, the nation’s largest tower owner and operator reported a loss of $74 million...

SBA losses increase

BOCA RATON, Fla.—SBA Communications Corp., the nation’s fifth-largest tower owner and operator, reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $32.2 million on revenue of $72.4 million. The results are a 10.5-percent increase compared to the year-ago loss of $41.8 million from revenue of $65.5 million.During...

FCC tallies fewer wireless complaints

WASHINGTON—Complaints filed by mobile-phone subscribers at the Federal Communications Commission dropped in the fourth quarter of 2005 compared with the previous quarter, the agency said.The FCC said wireless complaints decreased from 6,873 in the third quarter to 4,956 in the fourth quarter, with fewer...

N.C. state officials investigating deadly fall from cell tower

WASHINGTON-North Carolina officials are probing the death of a worker who fell from a cell phone tower on Feb. 9. "We have an investigator assigned and he is working on it," said Kevin Beauregard, assistant deputy commissioner for the North Carolina Department of Labor.North...

Weekly wireless ratings wrap-up

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.CarriersPrudential Equity Group lowered its price target and estimates on iPCS Inc. after the company reported first-quarter results, including revenue and ARPU results that fell...

Wireless could transform mining communications

It seems like hardly a week has gone by lately without a miner tragedy or a near-tragedy in the news. As the media shines its light on the mining industry, it's clear that mining communications is ripe for modernization. Today most mines have hard-wired...