Cell Tower Potential


I own a number of properties in New York City. A friend suggested that I consider renting out space on the top of my buildings to Verizon to place cell phone towers. Could you point me in the direction of who I might contact at Verizon to follow up on this?
— J. Speed, New York City

Leasing your rooftop site to a wireless carrier makes sense only if the building is an acceptable cell tower location. Wireless carriers spend significant money and resources designing their systems around very specific radio frequency engineering standards. Not all property locations are eligible.

Many communities have ordinances that allow communication towers only in particular industrial or commercial zones and do not allow them in other zones, such as residential areas.

For example, local zoning jurisdictions do not permit new cell towers to be too close to existing towers. If there is an existing cellular tower within one mile of your location, chances are not good that another will be built. In some cases, buildings are required to be a minimum of three to four stories tall.

To find out if your property is eligible, submit an online application to Verizon at www.verizonwire less.com/b2c/realestate/index.jsp. For T-Mobile, visit www.t-mobile landlords.com/homeLandlords.aspx. Or you can submit a site to Sprint/Nextel via e-mail at wirelesssitesfsdb@sprint.com.

Mail your technology questions to Cyberwise, BLACK ENTERPRISE130 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10011or send an e-mail to johnsonj@blackenterprise.com.


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