Clear Channel Outdoor Americas and Vertical Bridge Announce Landmark National Partnership for Wireless Deployment on Billboards
Under Agreement, Clear Channel’s Portfolio of Out-of-Home Assets in 45 DMAs Will Significantly Enhance Wireless Service for Mobile Customers
LAS VEGAS – September 10, 2015 – Vertical Bridge, the largest U.S. private owner and manager of wireless telecommunication infrastructure and Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc., (NYSE: CCO), a subsidiary of iHeartMedia Inc., today announced the signing of an exclusive multi-year agreement for the management and marketing of wireless deployment on Clear Channel Outdoor America’s (CCOA) billboards and other out-of-home assets in 45 of the top 50 U.S. markets. This agreement, covering more geography and out of home inventory than any similar agreement in the U.S., was announced at The Wireless Association’s CTIA Super Mobility 2015 conference in Las Vegas.
Under the terms of the agreement, Vertical Bridge will have exclusive rights to antenna and small cell site deployment across CCOA’s multi-platform footprint. These small cell base stations will significantly improve concentrated bandwidth and enable capacity increases for mobile services, while enhancing the user experience.
With the addition of CCOA’s assets, Vertical Bridge will own or manage a portfolio of over 40,000 attractive billboard, tower, rooftop, utility attachments and other site locations that are geographically dispersed across urban, suburban, traffic corridor and rural areas. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“We are very pleased to broaden our relationship with iHeartMedia through this partnership with Clear Channel Outdoor Americas,” said Alex Gellman, CEO, Vertical Bridge. “Growth in mobile data traffic is driving network demand, and the top U.S. carriers are in the midst of a significant investment cycle to maintain the reliability and performance of their networks. We believe billboards will play an increasingly important role in the deployment of all networks, and CCOA has the best locations for carriers who are looking to enhance services for mobile consumers.”
“Clear Channel Outdoor is consistently at the forefront of innovation leveraging our assets to help our partners reach today’s mobile, digital and social media consumers,” said Scott Wells, CEO, Clear Channel Outdoor Americas. “Today’s agreement enables wireless carriers to better serve millions of consumers across Clear Channel’s vast network around the country, and we are always pleased to find win-win opportunities to further monetize our valuable portfolio of assets.”
About Clear Channel Outdoor
Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCO) is one of the world’s largest outdoor advertising companies with more than 640,000 displays in over 40 countries across Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and North America. Reaching millions of people monthly, including consumers in 45 of the top 50 U.S. markets, Clear Channel Outdoor enables advertisers to engage with consumers through innovative advertising solutions. Clear Channel Outdoor is pioneering the integration of out-of-home with mobile and social platforms, and the company’s digital platform includes over 1,200 digital billboards across 38 markets in North America and over 5,000 digital displays in international markets. More information is available at www.clearchanneloutdoor.com and www.clearchannelinternational.com.
About Vertical Bridge
Vertical Bridge is the largest private owner and manager of wireless communication infrastructure in the United States. The company owns, operates and manages over 40,000 tower, rooftop, utility attachment and other site locations in support of all wireless network deployments. Based in Boca Raton, Florida, Vertical Bridge was founded in 2014 by key executives from Digital Bridge Holdings, LLC and former senior officers of Global Tower Partners. The senior management team at Vertical Bridge has over 150 years of collective experience in tower infrastructure and related sectors. For more information, please visit www.verticalbridge.com.
Media Contacts:
Jason D. King
212.812.0064
jasondking@clearchannel.com
David Press
917.721.7046
david@feverpress.com
Cindy Stoller
917.331.0418
cindy@feverpress.com
For Vertical Bridge:
Charlyn Lusk
Stanton PR & Marketing
646.502.3546
clusk@stantonprm.com