[VHFcontesting] Cell Sites

[john ainsworth]

Hello Roger,

Maybe I can offer a bit of help in this area as we have had many sites go up 
in the last 6 months.
I know it is very tempting to go in with the attitude of " how much I will 
ask for , what other benefits I may derive from this rental, or what I may 
demand from them down the line."
In many areas there are up to 4 or more service providers, some with shared 
access, "Colocation" and some with discrete access to wireless service 
facilities.  The rental agreements will differ as the company has a range of 
what they will pay per month, usually for a 30 year term and what colocation 
fees they will pay, if any.  The tower site will be under their control 
only, access only to their people or their contractors and of course they 
will have 24/7 access.   I understand your RFI concerns and you can bet that 
the potential for their sites interference to you is a great concern to them 
and that alone could definitely be a "deal-breaker" for them.  RFI concerns 
not-withstanding, I believe I could choose another band if I was getting +/- 
$1,200.00 a month for 30 years.  In other words, there probably won't be any 
RFI but you will have to decide how much to press them because remember, "if 
you don't like this deal, your neighbor might!"
This is all too true in this business as I've seen it happen twice in this 
limited market where I live.  In both instances, the landowner demanded too 
much in return and the provider went to the next person on the list.  Don't 
think you are the only person contacted by the rep. (They will tell you that 
you are the first owner they've contacted though.)  They are searching for 
the best deal for their people too.  Now if you own the "whole hill", you 
will be in a much better position to bargain.
One last example, a very good friend was approached by a site rep and she 
didn't want that "hideous thing " in her back pasture.  Well you can imagine 
what happened, the rep made a deal with her neighbor and he had them to 
agree to put the tower on the back of his property....you guessed it, 12 
feet from HER fence!  Now she has the eyesore and NO money. She won't go 
into the backyard because she gets sick seeing that "thing" staring down at 
her.
So my point is first decide if you want it for rent offered, work with the 
rep and enjoy the dividend.
The best tip I can give you is spend the day looking at other sites, contact 
the landowner and pick their brain for tips on what you can and can't get in 
the contract.
I hope this helps.
73,
John N5XYO

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