[Same American Tower agreement announced on 1/31/00.]
Tuesday February 1, 8:46 pm Eastern Time
American Tower to build towers for Iusacell
MEXICO CITY, Feb. 1 (Reuters) - American Tower Corp (NYSE:AMT
- news) said on Tuesday it signed an agreement with Nuevo
Grupo Iusacell (NYSE:CEL - news) to build and market
communications towers, adding Mexico's No. 2 cellular company
to its list of partners.
``It's another deal and it's once again in support of our
interests in Mexico,' American Tower Executive Vice
President Michael Gearon Jr. told Reuters.
Under the terms of the agreement, Boston-based American Tower
can construct 200 towers built to Iusacell specifications,
and sell space on up to 400 existing Iusacell towers, to
other wireless customers, American Tower said in a statement.
Iusacell is managed and operated by subsidiaries of Bell
Atlantic Corp (NYSE:BEL - news). American Tower did not
disclose the financial terms of the accord.
The agreement with Iusacell is in line with American Tower's
strategy to convert Mexican communications firms to the idea
of sharing tower space. Through its unit ATC Mexico, the
company is hoping to become the nation's leading tower provider.
``We see ourselves in the next several years with new
developments in acquisitions, investing $200 to $300
million,' Gearon said. In the shorter term, ``we'd like to
be able to announce something else this year.'
Surging use of cellular phones in Mexico has forced the need
for a string of new communications towers. Wireless clients
have tripled since 1997 to 6.9 million, a figure that is
expected to grow four-fold over the next five years, American
Tower said.
The U.S. company said it will build the towers in major
metropolitan areas, over the next two years. It has the
exclusive rights to acquire Iusacell's 400 existing towers
through 2005, the company said.
American Tower has already signed up a key Mexican company to
its plan to ``co-locate' antennas. In September, the U.S.
company agreed to lend $120 million to TV Azteca Mexico's
second-largest broadcaster, in exchange for the right to make
money from putting other antennas on 200 Azteca towers.
Gearon told Reuters in late 1999 that the company was in
talks with many wireless, paging and broadcasting firms in
Mexico, its first international venture. |
