Next-generation 5G will likely have significant impacts on the real estate industry, according to Milestone Communications President Len Forkas. With the tech evolution, real estate owners could see new opportunities to generate revenue from telecom companies seeking to rent space on rooftops and inside buildings to add infrastructure, Urban Land reported.
He also noted that building owners may benefit from a greater number of micro-centers that need to be placed closer to consumers in order to reduce latency. “Latency trumps speed,” Forkas explained. “The longer the distance, the slower the latency. I think we’re going to see more data housed closer to where people are using it.”
Telecom companies are also increasingly looking for locations for small cells that can be attached to the exterior of buildings or concealed in streetlights, reported Urban Land.
As building owners begin to lease space to telecoms for micro-centers, Forkas discussed ensuring lease agreements with telecoms spell out in precise detail, the amount and type of equipment that is to be installed. Because of the rapid rate of technological change, companies may need to upgrade or increase the amount of equipment every few years, he said.
“If you have a fixed amount [of equipment] in the lease agreement, you have the opportunity to ask for more rent,” Forkas said. He’s already seeing this trend play out with his companies’ cell towers, where telecoms are adding as much as 4,000 pounds of equipment.
May 10, 2018
Reader Interactions