As wireless carriers focus more and more of their resources on reducing churn, signing up new subscribers and acquiring spectrum for third-generation services, tower siting and construction is continually falling into the hands of companies like Mericom Corp., which has the ability to design, build, manage and maintain a carriers’ entire network for them.
Bill D’Agostino, a well-known leader in the wireless industry for more than 20 years, recently jumped from his position as vice president of SprintSites USA to become the president and chief operating officer at Mericom, where he is now in charge of managing the company’s worldwide operations.
D’Agostino said Mericom and companies like it are poised to take advantage of the growing trend among carriers to outsource their network buildout responsibilities.
“Carriers had a mindset to try and control almost everything … they wanted to control the construction, the design, the operations and maintenance,” said D’Agostino.
But this approach has proven cost ineffective, and outsourcing is helping carriers to keep costs down, which also is becoming a key method for carriers to differentiate themselves, he said.
Mericom is organized into three divisions. The program management and site development services division works with customers to create a network development plan: the engineering and technical services division includes the radio-frequency design and optimization, base station installation, outside plant services, switch, interconnection and long-term operations and maintenance; and the tower development unit meets the tower and infrastructure needs for carriers.
Mericom works closely with equipment manufacturers and tower/owner companies as well. The company counts AirTouch Communications Inc., Nextel Communications Inc., Verizon Wireless, American Tower Corp. and Motorola Inc. among its customers, in addition to many others.
D’Agostino said carriers look to Mericom to acquire sites, construct towers and install base stations. Tower/owner companies engage Mericom to hang lines and antennas and install microwave dishes, and equipment manufacturers primarily require the technical resources of Mericom to test, integrate and install radio equipment at the cell site.
For D’Agostino, working for Mericom gives him a chance to dip his toes into every aspect of the wireless network construction industry, an opportunity he did not have with SprintSites.
“SprintSites is more of a marketing and collocation company,” he said.
D’Agostino believes Mericom is well-positioned to continue its success in the months and years to come.
“The biggest opportunity moving forward will be in continuing the trend toward outsourcing from a carrier’s perspective,” D’Agostino said.
He said in the next 18 to 24 months especially, the industry will see substantial movement in that direction.
Based in Lake Forest, Calif., Mericom employs approximately 320 people.
