Testimonials
Thank you for all of your help. I feel that you have served us very well and I am grateful for the benefit of your knowledge. I think that we are close to a deal with Sprint/Nextel or at least close to a conclusion of the negotiations, and that so far, these negotiations have gone much better than would have been the case without your intervention.
Peter from Michigan- Sprint Nextel Renegotiation
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T-Mobile Cell Tower Lease Renegotiations
If you have come across this webpage while trying to find T-Mobile's website or MD7's website, please be advised that Steel in the Air is not related to T-Mobile or MD7 in any way. We are an independent consulting firm that assists leaseholders who have been contacted by T-Mobile or MD7 with evaluating their offers.
In recent months, T-Mobile landowners have been inundated with letters from a company called MD7. These letters state that T-Mobile is in the process of reassessing the T-Mobile cell site portfolio "in order to stay in line with the current environment and aligned with the best practices in the wireless industry." The letter asks the landowner to contact MD7 to discuss changes to the T-Mobile Cell Site Lease. Once the landowner contacts MD7, they are given a pitch about why they should renegotiate their lease.
The agent typically argues that T-Mobile has the right to terminate the cell site lease and that if the landowner wants to "ensure" his/her lease's place in the T-Mobile network that they should agree to concessions. These concessions take the form of three specific offers.
- An offer that keeps the rent the same but reduces the escalation going forward and eliminates one or more escalations. The offer includes a rent holiday- basically a polite way of saying they won't pay you for 6-7 years. The offer will include a specific guaranteed term where T-Mobile gives up their right to terminate the lease, typically 10 years.
- An offer that reduces the lease rate, and reduces the escalation going forward but a lesser amount than the first offer. This offer also includes a rent holiday. The offer also includes a rent guarantee period.
- An offer to buy out the lease at a discounted value.
Once MD7 agents get your phone number, they will contact you repetitively. Some of our clients have received phone calls every other day for an extended period. These calls typically include some type of allegation that T-Mobile can easily move to another location and that if the landowner doesn't accept one of their offers, that the T-Mobile tower lease could be terminated. Md7 likes to suggest that they have a certain number of alternative properties or towers in the area that they could relocate to. They also suggest that changing technology and a possible but unconfirmed merger by T-Mobile could make the lease obsolete. MD7 likes to set deadlines- deadlines which we rarely find to be real. They like to use high pressure sales techniques.
In many cases, the landowner has absolutely nothing to worry about. The T-Mobile cell site lease is secure for many years and there is no reason to consider any concessions. In other cases, especially those where the lease rate is higher than average, there are situations where it might make sense for T-Mobile to relocate their site, perhaps not now but in the future. There are other cases where we have found Md7 attempting to use the renegotiation as a smokescreen for other more important changes that T-Mobile wants to make. These might include adding antennas or equipment or extending a lease that has a short term remaining.
If you have a low-rent lease, there isn't much reason to consider negotiating with Md7. If you have a high-rent lease or a lease that is set to expire in the next 5 years, then it might make sense to retain our services to assess the situation. We can evaluate how your site fits into the T-Mobile network. We can tell you whether your current rent is high as compared to other leases in your area based upon our cell site lease rate database. We can evaluate whether there are other suitable alternatives for T-Mobile in the area. We can provide estimates of the expected construction and demolition costs if T-Mobile was to relocate their cell tower or cell site lease. Lastly, if we find risk that your site could be terminated in the future, we can evaluate whether any of the options presented to you make sense. We can provide comparable data of what other landowners have negotiated in similar situations. Please note that it has been our experience that Md7 and T-Mobile do not negotiate increases in the lease rate as a result of these negotiations.
If you are considering the third option of selling the lease, please note that as part of the consultation, we can review the lease buyout proposal and suggest other options including lease buyouts and lease assignments that would be more attractive than those offers proposed by Md7.
Our services typically take between one and two hours at our typical rate of $500/hour. If you are concerned about losing the revenue altogether and want to make an informed decision, we can help. Chances are that your lease is safe- but if you want the peace of mind that comes from having an expert review the situation, we are happy to help. Please do not feel pressured by Md7 to make a decision. Take your time and if you feel you need outside help, please contact us.