The tower company model
In the early days, each carrier built its own towers. From the late 1990s, carriers began selling or leasing their towers to independent companies whose whole business is owning towers and renting space on them. A tower company earns more when several carriers share one tower, and a carrier saves money by renting space instead of building.
Today the three largest US tower companies are American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA Communications. Vertical Bridge is the largest privately held one. Smaller regional companies, including many that build new towers for carriers under contract, own the rest along with carriers, utilities, broadcasters and local governments.
Names you will see in the FCC records
Tower companies register towers under many subsidiary names, often inherited from companies they bought. The owner field in our results shows the name exactly as filed.
| Name on the registration | Who it is |
|---|---|
| American Towers LLC, Global Tower, Pinnacle Towers, SpectraSite | American Tower and companies it acquired |
| Crown Castle (South, GT, Atlantic), CCATT LLC, Crown Communication | Crown Castle. CCATT is its AT&T-tower company from a 2013 deal |
| SBA Towers, SBA Properties, SBA 2012 TC Assets, SBA Monarch | SBA Communications |
| VB-S1 Assets, Vertical Bridge | Vertical Bridge |
| ARRAY Digital Infrastructure | The tower business of the former US Cellular |
| Cellco Partnership, Alltel | Verizon |
| T-Mobile West Tower, T-Mobile USA Tower | Towers carrying T-Mobile names, many run by Crown Castle since 2012 |
| New Cingular Wireless PCS, AT&T Mobility | AT&T |
How to find who owns a specific tower
Look the tower up here and read the owner line, or take the ASR number from the result and search it in the FCC's Antenna Structure Registration database, which lists the owner's contact details for the registration. Most towers also carry a sign at the gate or base with the owner's name, the site number and an emergency phone number, and the ASR number itself must be displayed on registered towers.
If the tower is not registered, the local zoning or planning office will have the permit, which names the applicant.
Who owns the land
Tower companies rarely own the ground. Most towers stand on land leased from farmers, churches, businesses, schools or towns, under long ground leases. That is why many property owners receive letters from tower companies or lease buyout firms. Our guides on cell tower lease rates and putting a tower on your property cover that side.
Why ownership matters to you
- A tower-company tower is usually shared, so several carriers may serve you from it even though none is named.
- A carrier-owned tower tells you exactly which network is there.
- A utility, railroad, county or broadcaster tower may carry no phone service at all.
- If you are contacting someone about a tower (a noise complaint, a light out, a lease), the owner is who you need.