Nextel, Clear Channel to Collocate on Wireless Sites

Nextel Communications and Clear Channel have reached a lease agreement that lets each other collocate on their towers.
Under the five-year agreement, Nextel may collocate on Clear Channel’s more than 1,300 wireless towers. Nextel want to use Clear Channel’s infrastructure to enhance its national digital voice and data network.
The deal also allows Clear Channel to locate on Nextel’s 1,200 wireless sites in the United States.
In 2002, Clear Channel ventured into the vertical real estate market, making thousands of towers, billboards, buildings, and entertainment venues, available for collocation of wireless antennas and equipment.
Clear Channel’s Director of Vertical Real Estate Scott Quitadamo states, “We have a significant number of viable towers, billboards and buildings that are suitable for Nextel’s infrastructure deployment. This includes some fairly nontraditional build-outs, for example a short monopole on the fringe of an AM radio property and hiding antenna panels behind the face of a billboard.”
Unlike traditional tower companies, Clear Channel said it offers its existing infrastructure without needing to rely on leasing revenue to cover the cost of site acquisition and development.