UPDATE BAI Communications, headquartered in Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia, has taken a big step into the U.S. wireless infrastructure market by buying Newport Beach, CA-based Mobilitie, as Inside Towers reported yesterday. (See, BAI Communications Acquires Mobilitie).
Though the terms of the deal were not disclosed, privately held Mobilitie brings to BAI a formidable array of infrastructure assets that include towers, small cells, fiber, outdoor and indoor distributed antenna systems (DAS), and WiFi systems.
BAI’s presence in the U.S. is limited but significant. Through its Transit Wireless subsidiary, BAI provides neutral host wireless infrastructure for riders and commuters on the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority subway system.
BAI’s subsidiaries in Canada and Hong Kong offer similar infrastructure services to subway systems for the Toronto Transit Commission and the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway, respectively. BAI recently was awarded a 20-year concession by Transport for London in the U.K. to deliver high-speed mobile connectivity across London.
Complementing BAI’s existing major subway deals, Mobilitie brings similar agreements with San Francisco, CA’s Bay Area Rapid Transit system and Seattle, WA’s Sound Transit system.
Of note, Mobilitie holds utility and telecom status across all 50 states, giving it access to rights-of-way necessary for network installations and expansions. The company says that it is “actively engaged with more than 4,000 jurisdictions nationwide and has more than 500 franchise agreements with various municipalities, counties, utilities, and State Departments of Transportation.”
Mobilitie supports the notion that “connectivity is a vital component of daily life” and works with municipalities, commercial venues, wireless carriers, and other operators to ensure connectivity for their constituents and customers. Its full-service wireless infrastructure solutions include funding, designing, building, and maintaining neutral host outdoor and indoor DAS, small cells, WiFi, and towers.
The company claims to have over 100,000 sites under development nationally along with a total of 70,000 fiber route-miles already deployed and over 3,500 new towers built and available for lease.
Mobilitie is among the leading neutral host operators of indoor DAS with 220 systems (and counting) operational nationwide. The company has installed indoor DAS in dozens of high-rise residential, healthcare, hospitality, educational, business and government complexes such as the Chicago Daley Center, the city’s premier civic center.
Furthermore, Mobilitie has high-profile indoor DAS installations in stadiums and arenas such as Tropicana Field, in Tampa, FL, T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV, and Target Center in Minneapolis, MN. Major shopping malls include Bal Harbor in South Florida and Atlantic Terminal Mall in Brooklyn, NY.
The company has deployed city-wide outdoor DAS in Chicago and New York City. It is working with municipalities around the country to implement a “connected cities” model using a combination of small cells, fiber, and DAS.
Such deployments have earned many municipalities Mobilities’ “Connected City Award” in recognition of those cities’ commitment to connectivity and wireless infrastructure investment. Award recipients include Phoenix, AZ, Cleveland, OH, Los Angeles, CA and Honolulu, HI.
In February, the company announced an agreement with DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) to support DISH’s 5G rollout. Mobilitie’s portfolio of available towers and other sites including in-building DAS solutions and small cells will help DISH achieve its 5G coverage objectives.
Overall, Mobilitie supports wireless carriers by funding the tower development costs through various development options ranging from turnkey to fully carrier managed.
Its Lease-to-Suit® model is designed to reduce carrier leasing costs over time with a low-cost occupancy rate while giving carriers the flexibility to modify and upgrade their sites, as needed.
By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor
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