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View the entire newsletter for more articles: 2026 – NJAC County Biz – January

by Matt Watkins, VP Development & Operations, ACE Telecom Consulting

Many NJ municipalities and counties have wireless tenants – whether on a water tank, a pole owned by the town, a municipal rooftop, or ground space for someone else’s pole(s).  As previously discussed, these can all translate to great passive revenue with little effort.  The flip side of the high rents many public entities receive is that they are driven by a hyper-competitive state of a very small number of operators.  Dish’s exit from the wireless industry created a hole in the revenue streams of anyone who had them as a tenant or subtenant.

While there are and will continue to be smaller, often regional, wireless carriers, the industry has been dominated by the big 3 (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile) with Dish chasing after them to become the big 4^th for the last 5 years.  This means rent from 25% of the pool of somewhat predictable large wireless carriers just vanished.

 Sure, the big carriers are that way because of years of aggressively acquiring smaller carriers, consolidating, and repeating.  And while Dish disappeared, their customers did not, but they’ll soon have to find a new wireless provider.  So, if the customers are still there, and they are still spending money on wireless service, why can’t their new providers just increase their rent to offset the loss of Dish revenue?

First, existing leases – wireless leases are for long terms.  Carriers spend a fortune on due diligence, equipment, and construction, and it is difficult and time-consuming to find new, usable real estate.  For this reason, a carrier may be 10 years into a 25-year lease when they acquire someone else’s customers.  It would be extremely rare (if one exists) to see a lease with a rent change based on customer count.  It would be difficult to demonstrate and enforce due to the transient nature of cell phone usage.

Second, the companies that acquired Dish’s spectrum just did so at a massive capital cost.  This means they won’t have the budget to offer voluntary rent increases outside of what’s contracted.  Dish states their customers will continue to be served on AT&T infrastructure.  How long that will hold up remains to be seen, but what is known is Dish has already been sending out blanket termination notices, often not even referencing a specific site.  They do not plan to pay rent any longer.

What does this mean for your revenue streams and how can we stop the bleeding?

First, the obvious choice is something every town and county should already be doing anyway – explore opportunities for new leases.  Sometimes these are obvious locations, like the examples listed above.  A Telecom Consultant can help you become informed on the specifics – ideal locations, existing structures that may work, carrier budgets, bid writing, etc. (word on the street is ACE Telecom Consulting excels at all of these.)  Many public entities delay these decisions as their priorities are the business of running the town.  Passive revenue should be an important part of that.  In some cases, your neighboring towns are taking action which, depending on proximity, may obviate the need for a site on one of your properties.  So, time is of the essence in seeking out new locations for wireless infrastructure and for adding tenants to existing sites.

Next, amendments.  These aren’t always possible as we can’t just make new demands in the middle of the term of a signed agreement.  Also, there is risk in opening a new negotiation as the other party will have the ability to make requests as well.  However, site modifications happen all the time.  In many cases, carriers want to expand their footprint beyond their original leased premises, or they want to add a generator (not considered wireless operating equipment by the FCC) that wasn’t considered in the original lease.  A skilled Wireless Consultant can help identify these opportunities and help you monetize where they exist.

Then, consider site audits.  While the revenue is passive, attention to your assets should not be.  You can be largely hands off but tenants need to be aware there will be compliance checks.  ACE Telecom performs lease compliance and site audits regularly.  We know how to spot installations that have grown beyond their leased premises, or unauthorized equipment.  This can result in back rent being due as well as demand for increased rent.

Last, as discussed in our last edition in the NJAC County Biz September publication (2025-NJAC-County-Biz-September.pdf), there may be reasons to consider a sale of assets, lease rights, or easements.  Whether or not it’s right for your town or county depends on knowledge of the pros and cons, so read that last article (or call us) to decide how best to replace some of that lost Dish revenue!

ACE Telecom Consulting welcomes your inquiries about this and all telecom infrastructure matters.  Feel free to contact us at www.acetelecomconsulting.com,  info@acetelecomconsulting.com or 201.927.7660.