The Perfect Location: What a Cell Site Should Be

Leasing your land or property to be used as a cell site by a telecommunications company is one of the best ways you can earn money without having to work much. The appeal is quite obvious: as more and more people use cell phones nowadays, additional cellular towers need to be constructed to accommodate them. Of course, this is not as easy as it sounds because cell phone companies can be quite picky when it comes to finding the perfect location for their sites.

For one thing, cell towers should be far from residential properties due to health and safety concerns. Local ordinances specifically require that the distance from the base of a tower to the residential zone must be equivalent to two feet per one foot of the tower height. This means that you are generally out of luck if you wish to lease your own backyard as a cell site (unless the yard encompasses the entire 3-5 blocks of your street).

Obstructions like trees and power lines can also have a negative impact on signal transmission, which means that cluttered or forested properties are usually glossed over by cell companies.

Even if you meet the requirements, your neighborhood may not even allow the construction of a cell tower purely due to aesthetic reasons. Consult with the relevant authorities if that’s the case because cell companies don’t want to spend much in making their cell towers “beautiful”, even if the site is a perfect location for them.