Our clients have forwarded us letters they have received from T-Mobile and MD7. It looks like MD7 has mailed out letters to landlords in an effort to secure more favorable business terms for their client T-Mobile. Below is an example of one of the letters our clients have received.
Should You Be Worried About T-Mobile Sprint Merger?
The answer is typically no you should not be worried. According to T-Mobile the merger was completed as of April 1, 2020, however, as history has taught us in previous telecom mergers (Sprint/Nextel, AT&T/Cricket, etc.) it typically takes years to sort out which cell sites to keep and which cell sites to shut down.
If you have a T-Mobile cell tower, or cell site lease it is likely your tenant is not going anywhere. T-Mobile’s contractors may argue otherwise, but you must remember that they are trying to achieve a pay day. If you don’t take any action with them, they don’t make any money.
If you have a Sprint cell tower, or cell site lease, you still may be fine, but the future of your lease is a bit more uncertain. Currently the way Sprint cell sites are being reviewed is first T-Mobile reviews the site to see if they want to keep it. If they do not want to keep the Sprint site they then forward the opportunity over to DISH for review. If DISH want’s to keep the site, the site will stay on-air and they will continue to pay you rent. In the event DISH also does not want to keep the site, it will likely be shut down.
In regards to when the site will be shut down, as mentioned above it could take a few years for T-Mobile to get everything organized enough to execute a decommission.
As of October 21, 2020, six months after the announcement of the closure of the merger, Airwave Advisors is not aware of one site being decommissioned as a result of the merger.
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About Nick G. Foster
Since founding Airwave Advisors® in 2014, Mr. Foster has added value to over 400 clients ranging from the State of Nevada, City of Beverly Hills, to Habitat For Humanity. Mr. Foster focuses on cell tower lease renewals, buyouts, new lease negotiation, and cell site lease management. Prior to starting Airwave Advisors® Mr. Foster founded and led the Cell Site Services Group within nationwide commercial real estate services leader Cassidy Turley (now known as Cushman & Wakefield).
Just like Black cap or Blue dot…..or whoever they hire to renegotiate their lease for ” Landlords ” benefit… why waste time …play hardball …you are just negotiating against yourself. ….When was the last time you would lease your property ( actually tie it up ) for less money and a longer period.. They are in essence an owner who calls the shots ??? Really ? .. Of course they are just slightly better than dealing with Crown Castle..
Hi Nick,
I am sure MANY property owners can agree with you here. It is crazy when a contractor for a tenant acts like they own the property. I guess occasionally it may work for the contractor but anyone who sees what is going on will quickly understand they, the property owner, are in charge. Not a tenant’s contractor.
All the best,
Nick G. Foster
Thank you- We have both T-Mobile and Sprint on our tower, with leases expiring in the near future, are we likely to lose at least one of them at re-newal?
Jean Weisman
Hi Jean,
As I mention in the post above, it is possible they may both renew if the Sprint lease is transferred over to DISH. There is no crystal ball to forecast exactly what will happen at this time. I would just recommend you wait and see.
All the best,
Nick G. Foster
This is a good brief for us. I’m Rich G. here in Northern Nevada. I own Lahontan Peak Tower, LLC. and have an upgraded T-Mobile 5G radio and a brand spanking new Sprint 5G radio that construction was completed in 2020. The main power on the Sprint cell has not even been turned on. As a dual landlord I kept asking T and Sprint, why are you building a new 5G site in my tower when you are merging ? Could never get an answer from Landlord Solutions. Nobody knows anything. Additionally running in consort with the merger I have MD7 calling and writing me to buy out my leases. I’m not selling, signing or doing anything till I’m notified of what they plan to do in the future. They just put hundreds of thousands of dollars into my tower site, which my contract reads they have to remove within 60 days of notification of termination. What a waste of time and money. Anyway I’m just sitting it out to see what happens. Thank you for keeping us abreast of what is going on.
Rich Giebitz
Hi Rich,
Thank you for sharing your experience with the community. I believe your wait and see approach is the best approach at this time.
All the best,
Nick G. Foster
Nick,
Well written, and yes I have been called by MD7. My response was the lease was renegotiated and extended less than two years ago. They currently have Verizon as a sub tenant and Tucson has become a bit difficult on permitting new sites that are already served.
Thanks,
Fred Oliver
Hi Fred,
Always good to hear from and you and thank you for the positive feedback. I have one client where MD7 has called us with two different representatives and we are wrapping up a renewal directly with the Verizon. It appears within Verizon the left hand is not talking with the right hand at all times.
All the best,
Nick G. Foster