On Monday, DISH Network Corp. announced that it has reached a long-term agreement with Vertical Bridge REIT, the largest private owner and operator of communications infrastructure in the United States, for infrastructure necessary to its 5G buildout. The lease agreement will give DISH immediate access to Vertical Bridge’s portfolio of towers, rooftops, utility transmission structures, billboards, convenience stores and other sites used for wireless infrastructure deployment.
Vertical Bridge’s portfolio, structured as a privately held real estate investment trust, spans over 300,000 sites across all U.S. 50 states and Puerto Rico.
“Building a national 5G network requires an extensive presence across urban, suburban and rural areas, and Vertical Bridge’s portfolio offers DISH the array of coverage that we need,” said Dave Mayo, DISH Executive Vice President of Network Development. “As we continue to deploy DISH’s 5G network, Vertical Bridge’s assets, experience and commitment make them an invaluable partner.”
“As the U.S.’s newest national wireless carrier, DISH is building a truly unique 5G network, and Vertical Bridge is committed to assisting DISH in deploying its network quickly and efficiently,” said Alex Gellman, CEO and Co-Founder of Vertical Bridge. “We are extremely proud to support DISH for its long-term infrastructure needs.”
Institutional owners
This is the first major deal of 2021 for Vertical Bridge, which last year welcomed Canadian institutional infrastructure investor Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) to its roster of owners. CDPQ now owns a 30 percent stake in the main operating subsidiary of Vertical Bridge Holdings.
Last May, when the CDPQ deal was announced, Vertical Bridge said it would use the Canadian firm’s investment to continue to expand its portfolio of broadband and broadcast towers, small cells, real estate and other wireless infrastructure assets for 5G deployment.
Since it was established in 2014, Vertical Bridge has completed more than 250 acquisitions. Today, its portfolio includes more than 16,000 owned and master-leased towers, as well as the largest and tallest private portfolio of broadcast towers in the U.S.
In addition to CDPQ, Vertical Bridge’s roster of major institutional investors includes the world’s largest digital infrastructure investor Digital Bridge, middle-market private equity investor The Jordan Company, Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners, Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, The Edgewater Funds, CalSTRS and Dock Square Capital LLC. Vertical Bridge’s own executive team–including senior managers with a combined 200 years in tower infrastructure management–also holds a significant stake in the business.
“With this acquisition, we expand our exposure to telecommunications infrastructure by partnering with a first‑class operator that is strategically positioned in the market and brings a wealth of knowledge of the industry,” CDPQ Executive Vice President of Infrastructure, Emmanuel Jaclot,said at the time. “We are delighted to work alongside the Vertical Bridge team, and support the company’s next stages of development and long-term growth in an attractive wireless infrastructure sector.”
And for those keeping score, in 2020 Vertical Bridge also became the first telecommunications tower company in the world to reach net zero emissions. The Company was officially certified as a CarbonNeutral® company in accordance with the Carbon Neutral Protocol, the leading global framework for assessing carbon neutrality.
