Verizon locks in tower deal with SBA for 5G expansion

According to DCD, Verizon and SBA Communications have signed a long-term tower agreement to support the carrier’s 4G and 5G network expansion across the United States. The deal provides Verizon with significant cost certainty while enabling flexibility in managing its current infrastructure and deploying new technologies. Phillip French, Verizon’s vice president of engineering, stated the agreement creates a framework for more efficient network portfolio management and future advancements. SBA Communications operates over 17,400 telecom towers in the US and 44,000 globally, which Verizon will leverage to expand coverage to more parts of the country. This announcement comes just months after SBA sold its Canadian tower business to investment firm CVC DIF for CA$446 million ($316 million) in August.

<h2 id="tower-deal“>The real story behind tower deals

Here’s the thing about these tower agreements – they’re basically the telecom equivalent of a long-term lease. Verizon gets predictable costs and SBA gets guaranteed revenue. But what’s really interesting is the timing. SBA just cashed out of Canada for $316 million, and now they’re locking in one of the biggest US carriers. That’s not a coincidence.

These deals always sound great in press releases, but the devil’s in the details. Verizon talks about “cost certainty,” which is corporate speak for “we’re tired of unpredictable tower costs eating into our margins.” And SBA gets to tell investors they’ve secured another long-term tenant. But what happens when 6G comes along? These multi-year agreements can sometimes handcuff carriers when technology shifts faster than expected.

How flexible is “flexible” really?

Verizon keeps emphasizing flexibility, but I’ve got to wonder. Tower companies like SBA have their own infrastructure upgrade schedules and limitations. When Verizon says they’ll “stay nimble with future advancements,” does that mean SBA has committed to specific upgrade timelines? Or is this just vague corporate optimism?

Look, the tower business is essentially a real estate play with antennas. SBA owns the valuable vertical real estate, and carriers like Verizon need access to it. These long-term deals make sense for both sides financially, but they also create dependencies. Verizon’s entire network expansion strategy now relies heavily on SBA’s ability to deliver towers where and when they’re needed.

What this means for the 5G race

This is clearly Verizon playing catch-up in the 5G deployment game. T-Mobile has been aggressive with their mid-band rollout, and AT&T hasn’t been sitting still either. By locking in tower access long-term, Verizon is trying to remove one of the biggest variables in network expansion.

But here’s my question: does outsourcing tower management to a third party actually make Verizon more agile? Or does it just add another layer of bureaucracy between the carrier and their network deployment? The proof will be in whether Verizon can actually accelerate their 5G buildout compared to competitors who manage more of their own infrastructure.

Basically, this deal looks smart on paper – predictable costs, access to thousands of towers, and supposedly more flexibility. But the real test will be whether Verizon can actually deploy faster and cheaper than if they’d gone another route. We’ll be watching those quarterly network expansion numbers closely.