Initial Space Rights for Wireless Sites
There are initial space rights for wireless that need to be secured from the property owner, to conduct physical due diligence on a selected property, such as a land survey, a right of entry (ROE) consent, or an entry and test agreement (E&T) as discussed in Module 16 Project Initiation. The results of the site survey, the phase 1 environmental report, and the title commitment review allow the site developer to make an informed decision about continuing a long-term commitment to the property.
Right-of-Entry (ROE) Consent
A right-of-entry consent is the first document property owners are asked to sign in the site acquisition process. The ROE consent allows the client project team (including its employees, agents, consultants, and contractors) to go onto the subject property to perform physical activities, including land surveys, environmental assessments, and soil tests. ROEs are drafted as consents so only the signature of the property owner is required. ROEs do not typically require negotiation between the property owner and facility developer.
The basic requirements of an ROE consent are read more…
Entry and Test (E&T) Agreement
Unlike ROEs, E&T agreements are signed by both parties: the property or structure owner and the facility developer or the wireless carrier, respectively. E&Ts are used for due diligence involving collocations under MLAs and for new structure builds on vacant land where an ROE requires written approval by the facility developer, or the phase 1 environment report results suggest a phase 2 analysis be performed. Phase 2 environmental analysis is considered invasive due diligence since it requires digging or another property sampling.
A phase 2 analysis may read more…
Collocation Due Diligence
In addition to environmental due diligence collected for collocations under an MLA, a list of due diligence items is secured from the structure owner. These include read more…
Letter of Intent (LOI)
Letters of intent are non-binding documents signed by the property owner expressing interest to enter a binding site agreement. LOIs may be appropriate when current conditions make it difficult to get a lease signed by one of the parties in the near term. Maybe the site developer has expressed interest in building a site for a search area but isn’t currently willing or able to continue with all site development activities and costs. The budget may be on hold.
LOIs can be drafted to include the terms of a lease and can be converted into a lease later if both parties still agree. LOIs don’t cost the site developer an option fee but read more…
Options
Property owners receive payment in exchange for granting an option for a specific time frame. Options are binding agreements to the extent they are written to be. Confusion may arise regarding issues that are not or cannot be finalized until the option is exercised.
Without a detailed agreement attached to an option, the option may be ineffective. In other words, if the option leaves agreement language or terms open-ended (such as rent), those items remain to be negotiated before an actual space rights agreement can take effect. It may not be possible to negotiate open-ended terms to everyone’s satisfaction when the option is exercised. For this reason, option language is commonly combined with a complete space rights agreement. Then when the option is exercised, read more…
Temporary Agreements
Temporary agreements were mentioned in Module 4 Wireless System Design and can be characterized similarly to a permanent site, as discussed in Module 7 Search Area Assignment. Temporary agreements may be used to place and operate a mobile facility (such as a COW) with short-term non-permanent space rights, while long-term space rights and permanent local permit rights are developed on the same or a nearby property for a permanent site to service the locale. Temporary agreements are shorter lease forms than regular space agreements, often only a few pages. For more about temporary use agreements understand Module 22 Leasing Concepts, and see Module 26 Miscellaneous Agreements; and Module 28 Local Permit Applications.