CTI Towers, which is majority-owned by triple-pay giant Comcast, announced the purchase of 120 telecom towers from Vyve Broadband; the portfolio includes tenancy from Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile US and Sprint.
In April, InSite Wireless Group bought 294 communication tower sites from CTI Towers for an undisclosed price. The purchase included towers, related tower-site equipment, real estate property interests and attendant carrier usage agreements.
Managing Director David Zilberman, of CTI parent company Comcast Ventures, said the tower firm’s rapid growth “shows their knowledge of the U.S. tower market and unparalleled ability to execute quickly. We’re excited for the company’s strong and growing portfolio.”
CTI Towers CEO Tony Peduto said the transaction will not disrupt any of the operations that depend on the 120 towers.
“CTI understands the priorities of cable television companies so this agreement was structured to minimize any potential disruption to Vyve’s operations,” Peduto said. “We are excited to extend our national footprint and look forward to reaching out to all of the carriers and service providers in our new markets.”
Comcast hasn’t detailed its strategy around mobile, but this tower acquisition isn’t the first move in that space as of late for the Philadelphia-based pay-TV juggernaut.
Last month, a lot was made of Comcast notifying Verizon Wireless it plans to activate a years-old agreement to use the carrier’s spectrum. Verizon Wireless made a deal with several cable companies back in 2012 in which they agreed to a $3.6 billion deal to buy spectrum from Comcast, Time Warner and Bright House Networks. As part of the deal, each of the cable companies was provided “with the option, after approximately four years, to become resellers of Verizon Wireless’s services.” The deal also required Verizon Wireless to sell some spectrum to T-Mobile US to avoid anti-competition concerns.
