American Tower Files Lawsuit Against University of Iowa Over Planned DAS System

By Benjamin Horvath

A project to expand cell coverage in Kinnick Stadium and Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the homes of the University of Iowa football and basketball teams, suffered a significant setback earlier this month, when a subsidiary of American Tower filed a lawsuit against the university, reports the Des Moines Register.

In response to complaints over the years from Iowa Hawkeye fans over poor cell reception in these two venues, in December, 2013, the university signed a contract with ATC to build improved DAS systems in these two venues. Once completed, ATC would have exclusive rights over the wireless networks’ operation, including the usage fees paid by carriers providing services through the system. Under the agreement, ATC would pay the university a portion of fees it collected from carriers.  

Claiming ATC had not made enough progress installing the system, the university terminated its contract with ATC in August, 2015, and began working with another wireless company, Connectivity Wireless Solutions, to install the network. The university claims it signed a contract with ATC under the impression that the networks would complete before the 2014 football season.

ATC’s lawsuit claims the university violated the contract’s exclusivity clause by working with another company, thereby depriving ATC of “lucrative license fees,” and did not provide adequate notice of defaulting on the contract. It also claims the contract merely required the company’s “best efforts” to complete the network at Kinnick Stadium by July, 2014, and that the university did not provide enough cooperation or support during the construction of the networks.

As reported by the Des Moines Register, the university claims it did, in fact, inform ATC of its plan to terminate the contract “on numerous occasions.” The newspaper, “Another university employee had warned ATC in June that ‘there needs to be signed contracts and positive movement or the projects would be canceled.’”

A hearing is scheduled for April 8, in Polk County, Iowa, before a district judge. ATC hopes for a temporary injunction against the University of Iowa as a result of the hearing.