Vertical Bridge was founded in 2014 by industry leaders with a combined 100 years of experience in telecommunications. It’s the largest private owner and manager of communication infrastructure in the U.S. The company owns towers, rooftops, billboards, utility attachments and other site location assets, leasing them to telecom carriers nationwide.
Vertical Bridge has set out to work with carriers to make meaningful connections and advance new opportunities. According to Alex Gellman, CEO, and Co-Founder, “Relationships between the carriers and the tower companies seems to be contentious, so we seek to partner with tenants to form a strategic and positive relationship. At Vertical Bridge, we’re able to be nimble and accommodate daily requests from our carrier partners. Our motto is fast, friendly, and flexible.”
Vertical Bridge owns 4,000 towers, and manages 5,000 rooftops, and 45,000 billboards plus master leases 2,000 towers. One major differentiator for Vertical Bridge is their broadcast tower portfolio – the largest in the nation – including IHeartMedia, Inc. radio towers. The company has many towers in key locations and can lease them for radio, repack, and wireless purposes, including suitable locations for deploying edge data centers to enable edge computing.
With these assets, Vertical Bridge can form seamless partnerships with all the major wireless carriers and offer unparalleled service. According to Gellman, the company brings a unique solution to the telecom industry. “One of the most difficult parts of the business is matching up the interests of carriers with a private landlord. It’s a challenge, but collectively, we’ve been at it a long time and have developed a process that’s proven effective to meet the needs of the carriers and bring communication to new heights.”
So what type of infrastructure does Vertical Bridge utilize? Rooftops are typically outfitted with macros and the company has added antennas to entire buildings – both inside and out – when needed. Billboards are more suitable for small cells but with some projects, macros are appropriate as well. According to Gellman, it truly depends on the structure and where telecommunications equipment will fit.
What does the future hold for Vertical Bridge? “The outlook is really good for the next five years when it comes to telecom infrastructure; there’s going to be a lot of growth,” said Gellman. “In our niche, there are a few things to consider, a lot more visibility regarding expansion for current consumer needs -unlimited plans and the growth of video over wireless – that have maxed out carrier networks.”
“Also, there will be significant investments by carriers to keep up with pre-5G, including the build out of a 5G network in rural America. Then there’s AT&T and FirstNet. Not only will AT&T invest in overlaying spectrum on existing networks, but new coverage will be necessary, as well as expanding coverage in existing and new areas. And let’s not forget that with 5G, you’ll be able to take your TV anywhere with cable and on-demand services available via existing wireless networks. We predict significant investment over the next three years for this purpose, which creates a whole new revenue stream for the carriers. We’re excited about the growth potential and look forward to being part of it,” added Gellman.
For more information about Vertical Bridge or to contact a representative, visit http://www.verticalbridge.com.
By Keara M. Piekanski, Inside Towers
December 5, 2017
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