Top Financial Analysts to Discuss Forecasts for Communications Tower Industry at 2001 Tower Summit and Tradeshow.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 9, 2001

The communications tower industry has successfully made it through the first two quarters of an economic year wrought with turmoil for the telecommunications industry.

Panelists and moderators at the upcoming Tower Summit and Tradeshow in Las Vegas recently gave indications on what to expect from the tower companies for the near future and what attendees will learn at the upcoming show.

Kip A. Rupp, CFA, senior vice president for Wachovia Securities and speaker at the show, said the tower industry has been meeting and/or beating Wall Street estimates for the first two quarters of 2001.

"The tower sector is somewhat of an island, holding up in the midst of the telecommunications turmoil," Rupp said.

"We're not out of the woods yet, but typically the first six months of the year is the slowest for carrier activity. We have made it through that, and I expect the carriers will be catching up on spending and deployment for the next six months of this year."

John M. Bensche, CFA, managing director for Lehman Brothers and speaker at the show, said there is no slowdown in carrier spending, despite how the stocks have performed. "The money is still being spent to grow the networks," Bensche said.

"Attendees at the show will learn that there is a big misperception of a slowdown in wireless spending. The industry has gone from acquisition mode to execution mode."

Ian Zaffino, Equity Research/Wireless Infrastructure for Credit Suisse First Boston and speaker at the show, said the overall business outlook for the tower industry is getting better. "Net adds for the wireless carriers are still strong and that bodes well for the tower space," Zaffino said.

"Because of a tougher zoning environment, the cost to build towers is going up, while the cost to acquire towers is going down. This could cause the tower companies to shift their focus toward acquisitions," Zaffino said.

A recent study released from Kit Spring, Equity Research analyst for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and speaker at the Tower Summit in October, predicts that the tower companies can more than double (from 1.9 to 3.8) tenants per tower over the next five years. The Morgan Stanley Telecom Team also forecasts voice wireless mobile phone penetration in the United States will increase from about 39% in 2000 to 72% by 2005.

Ric Prentiss, managing director for Raymond James & Associates and speaker at the show, said he believes U.S. wireless business is the bright spot on the telecom/technology landscape.

"The wireless industry has experienced continued growth," Prentiss said. "There is significant growth in the minutes of use and the carriers are starting to get ready for the migration to 2.5G. The wireless operators haven't trimmed back their capital budgets, as some worried they would."

Rupp said he will discuss a recent study by Wachovia at the summit in October. "We have looked out for the next five years into the tower industry and explored the demand side of the equation -- what the tenant demand looks like in a pure voice environment," Rupp said. "We expect demand for over 200,000 tenants over the next five years."

Rupp said the Tower Summit is the best way to hear and see what the public and private companies' strategies are for the next year. "The analysts, like myself, will also show the flip side of what Wall Street is looking for," Rupp said. "Private companies that aspire to be public or raise capital should attend this show to find out how to approach these opportunities."

Other featured financial analysts and speakers at the show include James S. Ballan, associate director for Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.; JJ Berney, securities analyst for Goldman Sachs & Co.; Kevin Brynestad, senior vice president for Daniels and Associates; Sean P. Butson, vice president, Wireless Services and Towers for Legg Mason; Nicole Cawley, managing director, Telecom Finance for GE Capital; Matt Crakes, vice president/CFA for Merrill Lynch & Co.; William W. Pitkin Jr., director for Merrill Lynch & Co.; R. Clayton Funk, managing director, Tower Division, Nations Media Partners Inc.; Stephen G. Kale, director, telecommunications for Credit Suisse First Boston; Doug Mitchelson, director, Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown; and Dave Westburg, co-founder and president for Westburg Media Capital.

The Fourth Annual Tower Summit and Tradeshow returns to Las Vegas Oct. 29-30, at the Paris and Bally's hotels. Platinum sponsors include American Tower, Crown Castle International and Pinnacle Towers Inc. Media sponsor is RCR Wireless News. For further information on the 2001 Tower Summit and Tradeshow visit www.towersummit.com or call Shorecliff Communications at 800/608-9641.

Shorecliff Communications is the leading media company serving the broadband wireless and independent tower/owner management industries, providing tradeshows, executive conferences and publications.