In just a few short years since the company’s founding in 2014, the Vertical Bridge business model has yielded tremendous results, propelling them to status as the largest private owner and operator of communications infrastructure with operations in all 50 states. Today, they have a portfolio of more than 269,000 owned, master-leased and right-to-master sites.
According to Vertical Bridge’s Executive Vice President of Operations and Co-Founder Bernard Borghei, three simple qualities contribute to their success — “we’re friendly, fast and flexible to meet our clients’ ever-changing needs.” The company is also private and extremely well-capitalized. This winning combination of characteristics puts them at the top of the leaderboard for new-builds in the U.S.
In 2019, the company built more towers than it had in any other year of operations, and as of the end of 2018, Vertical Bridge had built more than 500 towers, with the majority having been constructed that same year. In 2020 and beyond, they are aiming for even more. “That is tremendous progress, for a privately-held company to establish that type of relationship with all of the carriers,” said Borghei. “That’s one of the things that we’ve done really well.”
Not only is Vertical Bridge the largest private owner and manager of broadband towers in the country, they also own the nation’s largest and tallest portfolio of broadcast towers. Their multi-tenant assets and long-term leasing structure give carriers a multitude of site options and an unmatched ability to connect with their customers.
At first, the Vertical Bridge name might seem synonymous with ‘towers,’ but don’t be fooled. Their suite of services and solutions goes above and beyond our favorite sky-high structures. Vertical Bridge was ahead of the curve, exploring alternative ways to boost network capacity and coverage where traditional macro towers may not fit the bill. Vertical Bridge offers a variety of structures for small cell co-location including billboards, street furniture, rooftops and more.
Vertical Bridge also works with multiple partners and clients to enable edge computing by deploying micro data centers in locations that it owns or manages. As data demand increases exponentially with no end in sight, edge computing infrastructure enables reduced latency and faster data and content delivery speeds.
A widely known stat – 80 percent of cellular traffic originates indoors. A lesser known stat — most commercial properties under 500,000 square feet still lack consistent and robust wireless connectivity. The more commonly practiced capital expenditure-based model for in-building networks costs a pretty penny for commercial property owners and often presents a management and maintenance challenge for carriers. Vertical Bridge focuses on providing in-building wireless solutions via a new and improved win-win model (even for tenants) based on operating expenses. Sound familiar, tower folks?
With a lot on their plates, the Vertical Bridge team still makes company culture a top priority and remains an enormously charitable organization. Since day one, they have given back. “Last year we contributed more than $1.5 million to charities throughout the country,” Borghei said. “It’s very important to continue growing that program, and we’re very proud of that.”
The program Borghei is referring to, is the Vertical Bridge Charitable Network, led by a dedicated group of employees who create opportunities for the firm to donate time and/or money to multiple causes ranging from Music Movement to Habitat for Humanity.
Based in Boca Raton, Florida, Vertical Bridge was founded by executives from Digital Bridge Holdings, LLC and Global Tower Partners. For more information, visit www.verticalbridge.com.
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