With the extremely competitive race to have “the nations largest 4G network” or the fastest 4G LTE being pretty tight, we found it surprising to learn the folks from AT&T are looking to sell roughly 10,000 cell towers to the tune of around $5 billion. At least according to some new details from Bloomberg.
It’s being reported that AT&T is getting ready for a massive network update and undertaking that will cost roughly $14 billion. And as a result they’re looking to balance out their sheets and cash blow by selling 10,000 towers for around $5 billion. But the sale won’t cause any network changes.
There’s multiple different parties interested, all which operate some of the nations biggest networks. According to the details here AT&T will sell off these towers, and then the company in charge will lease them back. Which will keep coverage and network speeds the same, balance their budget, and bring an estimated $326 million of annual revenue in for the companies on board.
It’s an interesting approach. Selling off towers after we’ve seen AT&T scramble to snatch up so much spectrum as of late. On the plus side, AT&T is preparing for some massive network upgrades and expansions that should really bolster their offerings. Hopefully LTE-A is part of that expansion, but we can’t be sure at the moment.
