The 13th Annual South Wireless Summit set the stage for a variety of opinions covering the wireless infrastructure market yesterday in Nashville. The three-day event, which closes today with a clay shoot competition, hit many targets as far as topics affecting the industry.
Todd Schlekeway, President & CEO, NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association said the Summit provided a great forum for him to present a “State of NATE” update through the lens of contractor companies and tower technicians. He focused a large portion of his remarks on the Big Three wireless carrier-induced marketplace issues plaguing the contractor companies and broader industry ecosystem.
“Specifically, the big wireless carrier customers have implemented “take it or leave it” Master Service Agreements,” Schlekeway told the audience assembled in the Loews Hotel Symphony Ballroom. “With matrix/unit pricing that in most cases does not come close to covering the cost of deployment services, delayed and longer payment terms that strain small business cashflow, mandating the use of pay to play third party vendor onboarding platforms, and knowingly or unknowingly allowing a 1099 worker model to permeate through the industry that has served to suppress pricing and compromise worker safety and network security.”
Schlekeway said in order for the industry ecosystem to emerge healthier and create a more sustainable environment up and down the chain, it simply can’t let the Big 3 wireless carriers “run roughshod” any longer over the companies and workers they depend on to build and maintain their network.
“With several of the major carriers having pending company acquisitions in front of them in 2025,” Schlekeway said, “it is time to engage our friends at the FCC and DOJ to make sure contractor-friendly provisions and systemic improvements from the carriers are included as stipulations as part of the approval and regulatory process these agencies have over these pending carrier acquisitions.”
The Tower Panel consisted of Clayton Funk, Managing Director, Houlihan Lokey; Daniel Agresta, President and CEO, APC Towers; Erin Horvath, President, Horvath Communications; Johnny Crawford, Executive Vice President of Development, Vertical Bridge and Ed Farscht CEO, Diamond Communications.
The panelists discussed acquisitions, integrating new assets, and scaling their operations along with industry trends. Topics included insights on investments being made by the major carriers and a noticeable uptick in their site builds. Smaller carriers, tier two and three, are facing budget constraints, affecting their ability to expand, according to the panel, noting a shift in mindset where carriers now expect partners to contribute more financially to projects, especially in-building solutions.
Supply chain and partnerships were also discussed with an emphasis on the importance of relationships and transparency, treating contracts as guidelines rather than strict rules. The panel agreed that communication with stakeholders was vital in avoiding misunderstandings and in building trust.
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