Steel In The Air, Inc

06/02/2026

The May Newsletter is now live - here are the LinkedIn highlights from the previous month 👉

Welcome to our LinkedIn breakdown for May. Here's what we talked about in the past month.

06/01/2026

How many cell towers are there in the US? If this question causes you to lose sleep at night... We have the answer: https://bit.ly/4lMKzK8. 💡

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Join our newsletter to get exclusive access to in-depth wireless analysis, breaking industry news, trends, and reports 👉 https://bit.ly/3LP5w9i

05/28/2026

How does AT&T lease sites?

🗼First, the radio frequency department and marketing department determine locations where a new tower is needed.
🗼 AT&T will issue a search ring- a specific location with a distance attached.
🗼 Next, the agent will identify those properties in the search ring that meet local zoning regulations and where the landowner may be willing to enter into a lease.
🗼 Then they contact the landowners of the best properties and make inquiries.
🗼 If the landowner is interested, AT&T will submit a proposal to lease the property. The lease rate is based upon several factors...

Find them here:

Discover the latest AT&T cell tower lease rates and construction plans. Learn about the network expansion and leasing opportunities with AT&T and its partners.

05/26/2026

Area residents are upset that there are anti-bird devices at the top of the tower, disrupting osprey nesting, but it's perfectly legal to install them when the osprey isn’t nesting. Of course, if they were added during an active nesting season, that would be illegal.

We dealt with ospreys and towers frequently in Florida. There was one less-than-reputable tower developer in Florida who would send a crew out to climb the tower in the middle of the night to remove the nest rather than waiting until the end of nesting season. No bird was going to stop him, protected or not. ☹

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Neighbors say devices blocked an active osprey nest on NE 122nd Ave.

05/25/2026

See how a federal case ruling Verizon's lease illusory impacts how tower owners should be treating options and option payments: https://bit.ly/3OBnoGv 💡

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Join our newsletter to get exclusive access to in-depth wireless analysis, breaking industry news, trends, and reports 👉 https://bit.ly/3LP5w9i

05/21/2026

How much is a cell tower lease worth in 2026? 🤔
The latest edition of Steel In The Air's 'New Cell Tower Lease Rates & Negotiation Guide' is live 👉 https://bit.ly/4qO5iyz.

05/20/2026

I agree. The public market's inherent cynicism and cyclical nature are leading to inefficiencies in tower valuation relative to the private market. At today's market caps, public tower valuations are clearly below their fair value. However, private market valuations may also be too high, driven by infrastructure funds seeking to rebalance digital investments that are overexposed to data centers and investors willing to forecast unachievable lease-up to make their models work.

The result could be a perfect storm for SBA. (and for other sellers who are in the market currently or plan to be) We have had more inbound requests/calls/discussions about infrastructure funds seeking large tower platforms to acquire. The issue is that most are either locked up with Peppertree or another investor, or too small to make a dent in rebalancing.

If you are wondering about the value of your tower portfolio in today's frothy market - please DM me, and we can have a confidential discussion. ✉️

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𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘂𝗺𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀. Bloomberg reports SBA Communications is weighing a sale after preliminary int...

05/18/2026

If you are an executor, trustee, advisor, or heir dealing with an inherited cell tower lease, understanding how the agreements transfer — and how they should be valued — is critical:

🗼 Cell Tower Leases Run With the Land
🗼 Transferring Lease Payments to the Estate or Heirs
🗼 Ongoing Income Tax Consequences
🗼 Estate, Inheritance, and Capital Gain Considerations
🗼 Multiple Heirs, One Lease
🗼 Selling the Lease and Distributing Proceeds

Learn more on our blog: https://bit.ly/4qO5iyz

05/14/2026

❓ Should You Do a Lease Buyout for a Collocation Lease on your Tower?
Lease aggregators and investors are increasingly approaching tower owners with offers to purchase the rights to collocation lease income — leaving the tower owner with the tower but without the rent. It sounds like easy liquidity. It rarely is 👉 https://bit.ly/3NvQxlW

05/13/2026

Will just have to agree to disagree. 🤔 There are new build macro sites that are built primarily for FWA.

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The US home Internet competitive landscape is fragmenting into four distinct territorial formations, and these formations are reshaping wireless competition through convergence. Via Recon Analytics' Roger Entner & Jake Hawkridge...