Got the worst site in the city ?  Bell, Telus, Rogers, Globalive Dave and Shaw may want to know about it.  You may be surprised.   Cell antennas have changing needs especially as wireless is rapidly evolving.  Small building owners and municipalities have a new opportunity to lease cellular sites. Antenna Management has a free antenna listing service for all property owners.

If you are negotiating a renewal or new cell site with Bell, Telus, Rogers, Globalive Dave or Shaw, you may not have “the best site in town” to locate a cellular antenna. If it is not the only tower in the area, not the tallest building, or not the office building on  Bloor or Granville, or only a bare lot away from the city core – your site may be optimal to their needs.  Why?  Cellular networks are become more specialized with the move to data and video.  One iPad is equivalent to 1,300 cell phones in network demand – networks are getting clogged.

As wireless moves to 4G and beyond, so does the definition of “the best site in town.”   In the past site of 10 stories or more were preferred.  Now, a higher site can’t handle the millions of calls made each day in Toronto or Vancouver, nor does it have the bandwidth to run video, web and music, apps and more. In other words, taller is no longer necessary. Today’s network relies on a greater number of low elevation sites closer together to accommodate the growing number of users and the bigger bandwidth requirements necessary to meet video and data demands.  The new 700 MHz auction in the fall of 2012 will be critical to carry enough data to meet the growing video demands.  Video is expected to dominate cell traffic to the tune of 60% of all traffic by 2015 worldwide.  Current antennas will not work for the new 700 MHz traffic – all new antennas will need to be situated in addition to the existing ones.

Owners may assume that their site is less valuable because it is not the tallest, or in a high-traffic area, or central. Technology is redefining what makes a good cell site. Cell sites are getting lower to the ground and closer to each other, carriers are less particular about their location. This flexibility, combined with an increasing ability to use non-typical cell sites (such as light, hydro, and telephone poles) creates new opportunities for property owners and municipalities.  Vancouver City is exploring combining street light poles with cell antennas and electrical outlets for electric cars.  Property owners that never considered their small sites for cell revenue may now actively be sought out. The largest landowners – the cities and municipalities – have a stunning opportunity to organize their property and land inventory to compete with the private sector for cell sites.  AMC is active in the municipal sector to capitalize on these revenue generating opportunities.

Antenna Management now provides all property owners a free antenna listing service (like the MLS) that can maximize the exposure of both small and large sites to all the cell companies.  Our database makes available sites much easier to acquire for the cell providers.