MasTec Acquires WesTower MasTec, a leading

Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Volume 2 | Issue 204
MasTec Acquires WesTower
MasTec, a leading infrastructure construction company,
has acquired telecommunications services firm
WesTower for $199 million. WesTower's operations have
experienced significant revenue expansion, growing from
approximately $100 million in annual revenues in 2010, to
approximately $450 million in projected revenues in 2014.
In the transaction, MasTec acquired all of the issued and
outstanding equity interests of WesTower for a one-time
payment of approximately $199 million in cash, subject to
customary purchase price adjustments. At closing,
WesTower had approximately $159 million in tangible net
worth, comprised mostly of working capital of $151 million, including approximately $18 million in
cash. Jose Mas, MasTec's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are very excited about the geographic expansion, increased market penetration and skilled employee base that WesTower adds to
our existing wireless operations. WesTower's current operating margin and working capital levels
are indicative of industry-wide challenges managing the complexities of rapid growth in wireless construction services. These are challenges which MasTec faced and overcame in our existing wireless
operations through the development of our processes and systems, which we believe to be a competitive advantage. We are in a unique position to improve WesTower's post-acquisition operating
results and working capital efficiency, and expect to expand margins, reduce working capital requirements and grow the combined business with multiple customers."
T-Mo Stands Alone
Deutsche Telekom, the majority owner of T-Mobile, has lost two suitors this year but believes TMobile can sustain itself as a standalone business, according to Deutsche CEO Timotheus Höttges,
Bloomberg reported. “We are looking into the options, but nevertheless we have an independent,
self-funding future for our activities in the U.S.,” Hoettges said in an interview in Hamburg. “It is a
great business, it is a great perspective, and we could have a lot of potential to realize in the future.”
However, the wireless carrier will require billions of dollars in investments in network quality and customer acquisition in the coming years to keep pace with the three other major U.S. carriers. But selling T-Mobile would eliminate a third of Deutsche Telekom’s revenue and cut off its only growing unit.
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Standing Rock Telecom Selects NewCore Wireless for Network Expansion
NewCore Wireless is the leading full-service hosted wireless switching provider in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and has recently been selected by Standing Rock Telecom to provide turnkey services for their
3G and 4G/LTE network expansion, which will serve the tribal area. Standing Rock Telecom, a division of Rock Wireless, is the first tribally-owned telecommunications company in the nation. Before
Rock Wireless began offering service in April 2010, wireless coverage across the reservation was
very poor, leaving more than half of the residents without access to wireless service. Rock Wireless’
successful build-out of numerous cell towers with these new wireless networks will blanket the area
with new and improved coverage. An FCC Mobility Fund Auction 901 award winner, Rock Wireless
worked with NewCore Wireless to design and deploy an LTE network that is currently serving over
75% of the previously unserved roads within this area. In addition to the LTE network, a new 3G network is being deployed, serving most of the remaining road miles in their service area, enhancing
the customer experience in these rural areas.
Kalamazoo Cell Tower Leases Possibly for Sale
The Kalamazoo City Commission in Michigan is
considering selling the revenue from several cell
tower lease contracts for $4.65 million. The city has
received two proposals: one from Crown Castle who
would allow the city to city to sell the revenue from
14 cell tower lease contracts for 50 years, ending
after 2064, in exchange for a lump-sum payment of
$3.9 million. A separate proposal from SBA Assets
would allow the city to sell the revenue from two
other cell tower lease contracts for a period ending
after 2028 for a lump-sum payment of $720,000.
The proposals mean the city is trading 50 years of
potential future cell tower lease revenue on 14 sites
in exchange for a lump sum equivalent to 13 to 15 years of projected lease payments. According to
MLive.com, “If approved, the proceeds would allow the city to pay back the $2.35 million balance of
Early Retirement Initiative paybacks to the city's Pension Fund and to contribute $900,000 to the
city's Other Post-Employment Benefits Trust Fund from the General Fund. It would hold the General
Fund harmless for two years of anticipated cell tower revenue totaling $634,000 and would offset
more than $700,000 of the projected structural imbalance for the General Fund in 2015.”
Second Person Jumps from WWZY Tower
Stories like this bring awareness to security measures around communications towers, as they
shouldn’t be accessible to just anyone. In Long Branch, New Jersey, a man jumped from the 400foot WWZY radio tower, marking the second person to leap from the structure this year, according to
police. Media Confidential reported, “An eyewitness said he saw a man climb midway up the red and
white radio tower without a harness and jump off. Another witness said the man jumped at around 3
p.m. and was not on the tower for very long.” In April of this year, a 60-year-old Elizabeth resident
jumped to his death from the top of the tower.
Iowa County Supervisors Abate Radio Tower Taxes
The Emmet County Board of Supervisors in Iowa abated $822 in taxes on a radio tower on county
land and found themselves the owners of a radio tower and building. Two years ago, Alpha Wireless
wanted the county to take over the site as long as the company could use the site in the future if
they needed to. However, County Attorney Doug Hansen said the company walked away from the
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tower. Supervisor Bev Juhl moved that the board abate the taxes and take possession of the property, and the board agreed.
Sprint’s New Network Strategy
Jonathan Chaplin of New Street Research and his team met with the new CEO of Sprint, Marcelo
Claure, and discussed the company’s network strategy. Chaplin explained, “It seems he (Claure) intends to create two Sprints: a superior network experience, priced at a premium, in a handful of
dense markets, and; the lowest cost offering, we assume priced at a discount, in the rest of the
country. In this first cut of the analysis, we assumed: Sprint invests in a ‘Tokyo-like’ network in 5
markets covering 50MM POPs, which they price at a premium, with ARPU of $70. Sprint halts investment and aggressively cuts costs in the rest of the country, pricing at a discount, with ARPU of
$45. We built a simple cost model for each ‘state’ with costs driven by the cell-site density that we
believe Sprint will target. We then looked at margins for each ‘state’ at various penetration levels.
This is a preliminary, high level view. Claure’s strategy is likely still evolving, and some elements of
the approach may change.
Idaho Elementary School Puts Cell Tower on Hold
The construction of a cell tower at an elementary school in Chubbuck, Idaho, has once again been
put on hold. Parents of Chubbuck students were well represented last month to oppose a proposal
by T-Mobile to build an 80-foot-tall tower on school grounds. City Planner Paul Andrus said all
neighbors within 300-feet of the school were notified of a public hearing about the company’s reInside Towers
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quest for a special-use permit, and most of those who attended the meeting last month were opposed the project. Andrus said the 80-foot high tower would be 20-feet in the ground and there is no
scientific evidence that cell phone towers pose any risk to human health. The Chubbuck Land Use
Commission vote regarding the tower resulted in a 3-3 tie last month and the issue was discussed
again during a recent public meeting. Andrus said that meeting resulted in the public comment period being extended. The matter will be back in front of the Land Use Commission on November 12
at 7 p.m. in Chubbuck City Hall.
New Jersey ZBA Denies Water Tower Cell Antennas
After a year’s worth of hearings, the Zoning Board of Adjustment
in Chatham, New Jersey, has rejected AT&T’s proposal to install
12 antennas on a local water tower. "I don't think putting something like that in one of the premier neighborhoods in Chatham is
the right thing to do," Board Chairman Tony Vivona said. The
board discussed the pros and cons of the application on Thursday night before a motion was made to reject the application for
variances by AT&T to install the antennas in the residential
neighborhood. The vote to reject the bid was 6 - 1. The board
mostly agreed that under the FCC interpretation of the federal
law on wireless communication, that AT&T's proposal represented a "significant change" to the existing water tower. Board members also voiced their concern
over the loss of property value, the noise that would be generated by the cooling equipment and the
fact that AT&T advertised on its website that the cell reception in the area was excellent. Vivona admitted he had a shift in his thinking as the hearings progressed. "At first, it all sounded lovely," Vivona said. "The issue for me is this gigantic enclosure for the equipment. The sound enclosure,
though it may help with the noise, is hideous." Because water towers are naturally beautiful.
Nebraska Commissioners Approve Tower
The Commissioners of Lexington, Nebraska, have approved the construction of a 195-foot communications tower west of Johnson Lake. The issue of allowing local law enforcement to put monitoring
equipment on the tower for no cost or a minimal cost was an issue with some Commissioners. Attorney Kevin Tracy with Fraser Stryker in Omaha, represented the constructor of the communications
tower, and said the company is always willing to allow local law enforcement and city or county officials to co-locate equipment up to a certain height. A motion allowing construction of the tower requiring free co-location of local law enforcement equipment was scrapped in favor of a motion allowing the tower construction that required negotiations with Horvath on co-location issues. Kate Gatewood of the Dawson County Attorney’s Office will handle the negotiations.
The Cell Phones in our Pockets Shouldn’t Come at the Expense of Workers’ Lives
By Sandy Smith, published in EHS Today
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Kathy Pierce expected her son, Chad Weller, to come home on March 19 at the end of his shift as a
cell tower climber. But Weller, always ready with a smile for his mom, never came back. He was sent
up alone to fix a communication signal on top of a water tower in the rain while wearing a harness
two sizes too big. Weller lost his life in a fatal fall and is one of 11 workers who lost their lives in
2014 while constructing or repairing cell towers. Thirteen died in the previous year, including
Bridgette Hester's husband, who was killed as he worked on a tower that was struck by a vehicle
and collapsed.
Kathy Pierce and Bridgette Hester joined the Department of Labor, the Federal Communications
Commission and leaders in the telecommunications industry, including major carrier AT&T, at a joint
event focused on new and continuing efforts to prevent worker fatalities on cell towers. U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez and FCC Chairman Thomas E. Wheeler spoke at the event to announce a new working group that will collaborate in the development and implementation of recommended safety practices for the growing telecommunications industry. “The cell phones in our pockets can’t come at the cost of a worker’s life,” said Perez. “The cell tower industry might be small, with
10,000 to 15,000 workers, but it’s quickly proving to be one of the most dangerous. If we don’t do
something now, the number of fatalities is going to grow as fast as the industry does.” Continue
reading here.
Located in Montclair, New Jersey. The base of it is located inside a warehouse building!
Overall height is 126'. Submitted by STEALTH.
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