Benchmark Company Bullish On American Tower

Last week, Benchmark met with American Tower's AMT management and remains bullish on the stock. American Tower seeks to further expand its tower portfolio from 34,000 towers to 50,000. Benchmark believes the most likely sizeable acquisition would be a carrier portfolio located in the US or Brazil. Benchmark believes it is unlikely that AMT would buy Reliance Towers in India or SBA Communications in the US, in the near-term. AMT is optimistic about the potential LightSquared network build and impressed with the telecom and engineering talent. Despite recent chatter suggesting amendment pricing for 4G overlays is lower than 3G, we do not see a change in the pricing environment. Total contract values for 4G overlays are currently lower than 3G because initial network density is less and 4G is requiring less equipment to start. As 4G handsets become more prevalent and 4G adoption accelerates, site revenue rising is anticipated. American Tower Shares are flat at $51.72