HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania Department of General Services and Agile Network Builders announced a partnership to rent excess and underutilized wireless capacity on towers, land and assets owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The newly established Office of Enterprise Wireless Management and Agile will enhance telecommunications systems, consolidate the management of wireless assets, and generate revenue for the State.
Agile is an operating entity owned by InSite Wireless Group, an owner, developer, operator, and manager of telecommunication towers and in-building distributed antenna systems (DAS) throughout the United States. Agile is experienced in utilizing municipal and state-owned vertical infrastructure and leveraging the latest in wireless fiber and wireless technologies to provide creative connectivity solutions to residential, business, and governmental entities.
“We realize the revenue-generating opportunity the Commonwealth has in renting excess space on communications towers and assets to third-party wireless providers,” Pennsylvania Department of General Services Secretary Curt Topper said. “In addition to creating a revenue stream, we have the opportunity to contribute to more accessible and reliable wireless coverage across the Commonwealth.”
Office of Enterprise Wireless Management
The new Office of Enterprise Wireless Management will ensure Pennsylvania is maximizing critical infrastructure assets and is well positioned for new technologies such as Fifth Generation, or 5G, cellular network technology. Based on studies, the adoption of 5G will likely prompt the installation of over 25,000 small cell devices across the State. This new market segment has a robust projected total value and Commonwealth-owned assets will have the opportunity to attract a sizable portion of this investment based on the strategic partnership with Agile Network Builders.
The process of marketing preexisting space on State-owned towers and telecommunications assets also will streamline the process of locating broadband equipment on assets across Pennsylvania. This market-based initiative will lower barriers to entry for all market participants and may further promote broadband expansion using those towers and telecommunication assets located in remote and rural areas.
The creation of the Office of Enterprise Wireless Management is the result of a 2016 study by the Wolf Administration and a Pennsylvania research-university that reviewed the State’s wireless communications infrastructure and benchmarked the value of excess and underutilized wireless capacity on those assets to serve as a viable new revenue stream for Pennsylvania.
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