It’s a Party in the U.S.A!

Maybe Miley Cyrus was talking about the state of the wireless tower industry when she sang, “it’s a party in the U.S.A” because that’s how it feels walking around the PCIA’s 2014 Wireless Infrastructure Show this week. Everyone is excited, business is booming, and we’re all having a good time. Benjamin Moreland, President and CEO of Crown Castle International, said, “I’ve never seen it [the industry] as busy as it is now.” American Tower Senior Vice President and CFO, Rodney Smith, agreed, “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen all four carriers as active as they are right now. It’s a great time in the wireless industry.” That it is! While some thought the process might slow down with Verizon and AT&T finishing up their 4G deployments, the momentum stayed steady in order to fill in gaps where capacity is an issue. When the carriers first deployed the 4G LTE equipment, they didn’t realize how much capacity their customers would end up demanding. The tower industry is busy, busy, busy with companies consolidating and mergers and acquisitions abounding. The prediction is that there won’t be any slowing down. While there was a pause between the 3G and 4G deployments, it’s likely we won’t see a time lapse like that in the future. The reason behind the gap was that the handheld devices weren’t equipped to work on a 3G network, let alone a 4G network. Now the devices are changing faster than ever and they will be able to keep up with the new networks that may be deployed. Even though the major tower companies are dipping their toes into international markets, the United States is the main focus. Moreland said, “We continue to see the U.S. market be number one for growth.” Brendan Cavanagh, EVP and CFO of SBA Communications, agree, “I agree the U.S. is the best tower market. All three companies represented here have gotten a lot bigger. We believe it’s the best business in the world—the tower business.”