[TowerTalk] Fwd: hosting a commercial service on my tower

Wed Jan 22 12:03:35 EST 2014

Good for you, sounds like a good deal. A friend of mine is doing the same 
thing in rural north Texas. Just make sure EVERYTHING is spelled out 
completely in the contract and YOUR attorney has no issues with it.  My 
friend requested no monetary compensation, just communications connectivity 
similar to what you mentioned.

Hope it works out well for you.

73,

Patrick NJ5G

-----Original Message----- 
From: Hans Hammarquist
Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2014 11:20 PM
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Fwd: hosting a commercial service on my tower

There are attorneys specializing in this. They will be able to answer all 
you answers and also give you good advice what your contract should look 
like. There should, for example, be a paragraph of what would happen if the 
IP desert the site etc. I know that there are "standard" contract that can 
be used and maybe should be used for these things.

Good luck,

Hans - N2JFS

-----Original Message-----
From: Dick Green WC1M <wc1m73 at gmail.com>
To: towertalk <towertalk at contesting.com>
Sent: Tue, Jan 21, 2014 7:57 pm
Subject: [TowerTalk] hosting a commercial service on my tower

Today a commercial wireless ISP approached me about placing a group of
antennas on my tower and a "small" building at the base. In exchange, they
offered free installation of a fiber optic cable down my 1100-foot driveway
and free high-speed internet service (for comparison, Comcast quoted $3,500
for the cable run and $50-$70 per month for service.) Right now we have 3
mbps DSL and it's not adequate for our needs.

The height and location of my tower are ideal for expanding the ISP's
service into a new area. It's 115' of Rohn 55 with a small Force 12 6-el 10m
monobander at the top of a five-foot mast (about 4 sq ft windload), a Cal-Av
2D-40A 2-el 40m beam (16 sq ft) at the bottom of the mast and just above the
thrust bearing in the top plate, and  a 3-stack of 4-el SteppIRs on ring
rotors at 34'/64'/96'. The SteppIRs are 10 sq feet each. All cables to the
tower are direct-buried about 2-feet down and the run is about 225 feet with
a nearly 90-degree turn.

I have a bunch of questions about doing this, especially what terms I should
require in the contract if I decide to do this. Here's what I have so far:

1.       What speed internet service will they provide to us? Are there any
strings attached?

2.       Would a commercial use invalidate my tower permit?

3.       Would the added wind load be acceptable for my tower?

4.       Could there be RFI between our respective antennas?

5.       Will the ISP's antennas limit access to my antennas in any way?

6.       They have to install new conduit to the house and tower - What
should I require them to do during/after?

7.       What's the size of the utility "building" or enclosure and how will
it be constructed/installed?

8.       How much electricity will their equipment consume and who will pay
for it?

9.       Do I have any liability for tree branches along the driveway taking
out their fiber run?

10.   What happens if I want to sell the house? (i.e., Can the tower ever be
removed?)

11.   Will they indemnify me if their climber gets injured or killed on my
tower?

12.   Is free fiber installation and internet service fair compensation for
the value they're getting?

I realize most of these require a more research, and I'm not necessarily
expecting answers from this group. But I could use some feedback on whether
these are the right questions to ask and whether I've left out anything
important.

One thought I've had is whether this could be parlayed into a long-term
solution for dealing with my tower when I get too old to climb it or have to
move into the old-folks home (or worse..) I sometimes lay awake at night
wondering what I'd do in those cases, or what my wife would do about the
tower if something happened to me. I'm wondering if I could do a deal where
the ISP would take over ownership and maintenance of the tower, including
removing my antennas if and when I no longer need them. Of course, that
would put a permanent potential blot on the value of our property, but if
the ISP would require a perpetual agreement anyway, and I was willing to go
along with that, it would be a good rider to have.

I'd appreciate any comments, especially from anyone who has considered a
similar proposal.

73, Dick WC1M

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