FAQs

1. How do I get a cell tower on my land?

The short and simple answer is that it is relatively difficult to do. You can either market your location to the wireless companies after finding out who has a license in the area where you are, or you can use a third party service to do so. There are pros and cons to each method. Try to market yourself and you will find that just locating the right person to talk to is difficult. On the other hand, using a third party service requires that you pay out a percentage of the income to that service. And to be quite honest, both methods are longshots. But, the rewards of getting a cell tower company to lease your property can be well worth it. Please click on Site on Your Land for more information.

Why do I have poor coverage in my area?

We constantly receive inquiries from people that state that there is no coverage at their location. For some people this is true, but for the vast majority of the population of the United States the answer is not that there is no coverage, just that your wireless carrier does not have coverage or has poor coverage. In any given area, there are 8 licenses for cellular and PCS service. Because some carriers own more than one license in some areas, this means that there are between 4 and 8 wireless providers. Check with the other carriers to see if they have service in your area. A good source to check this out on is www.wirelessadvisor.com. Just insert your zip code and a list of carriers for your area will pop up. If this check shows that there is no coverage in your area, please see our page on How to Get Service in Your Area. 

Where can I get help with negotiating a cell tower lease?

While there are a number of free resources available online, none of these resources have local lease data. Nor do they answer the majority of questions that landowners have regarding cell towers and cell tower leases. You may contact a local attorney, but it is strongly suggested that you make sure they have a working knowledge of cell tower leases. For the best results, please contact www.steelintheair.com, industry experts who provide cell tower lease negotiation assistance. Their link is found on our Tower Resources page which you can access by clicking on the menu item named the same on the left. 

How much does it cost to build a tower?

It depends upon the height and type of the tower as well as the location. On flat ground with regular soil, wind, and ice conditions, a 150' monopole type tower can be built for around $100,000. Irregular soil, heavier winds or ice conditions will increase that amount. A lattice tower is slightly more expensive to build. Monopoles typically are only built to 200', above that a guyed tower or a lattice (also known as a self supporter) will be needed. 

Stealth type structures like artificial trees and church steeples cost significantly more. It is not uncommon for a stealth installation to run $300,000 total. This is one of the reasons why carriers choose to not build stealth towers everywhere.