Drafting and Negotiating “Non-Tower” Telecom Agreements: Equipment Concerns, Operating Licenses, Termination Provisions

This CLE course will prepare real estate counsel to negotiate and draft telecom "non-tower" leases and licenses that help minimize the likelihood of future legal disputes. The panel will examine common agreement provisions landlords and tenants frequently negotiate regarding this increasingly routine use of space and will analyze practical considerations associated with a non-tower telecom lease.

The explosive growth of the telecommunications marketplace and the need for high speed communications has created a demand for leasing space on existing tall structures such as building rooftops, water towers, parking garages, and stadium light stanchions. Telecom agreements are typically longer in duration, so landlords must understand and consider the impact they will have on their long range plans for the property.

Landlord concerns typically relate to the equipment—its description by the lessee, its location atop the building, its installation and removal, and the risk that the tenant will seek early termination of the lease. Telecom tenants are most concerned about their rights to terminate the lease if technological developments negatively impact the equipment's usefulness, authority to make equipment upgrades and modifications, and their right to remain in the designated location as long as it is profitable for them.

Most agreements are drafted by the telecom provider and hence are most advantageous to the tenant. While rooftop telecom agreements can be very profitable to the property owner, there are pitfalls inherent in these leases that counsel for landlords and tenants must consider in the negotiating process.

Listen as our authoritative panel discusses marketplace trends for non-tower telecom leasing. The panel will impart knowledge on negotiating and drafting telecom rooftop agreements that help minimize the likelihood of future legal disputes. The panel will examine lease provisions counsel to landlords and tenants should carefully negotiate during this rapidly expanding use of non-tower space.