AT&T today announced that it has agreed to lease 9,100 of its cell towers to Crown Castle for $4.85 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, AT&T will also sell 600 cell towers to Crown Castle outright.
Crown Castle will have exclusive rights to operate and maintain the cell towers, with most towers leased for a period of 28 years. After the leases expire, Crown Castle will have the option to purchase them for an additional $4.2 billion. AT&T will sublease the towers for at least 10 years beginning at $1,900 per month. Rent increases will be capped at 2% per year. AT&T may also reserve additional capacity on the towers for potential future use.
AT&T called the deal a good move for the company, as it brings in a significant chunk of cash while leaving room for AT&T to add capacity to its network over time.
