I started off something is changing or about to and then you answered that question later in your post -- the providers are outsourcing the towers. It is a cost saving measure -- not only do they put maintenance in the hands of specialists who can work on any provider's towers, they are moving to combining towers so the hardware cost, the land rents, the need for number of people and locations are all reduced as well.

Why can you not do the deals directly? Economics. You have one tower. You are inexperienced and are going to be in over your head. They won't want to deal with you on solo terms, They either have to stop and explain everything or you will be run over. It will take them far more time to deal with you than it is worth to them. It is also likely to cost you more time than it is worth to you. A good attorney in a specialized area would be cheap at $500-600/hr and could be $1000/hr or more (top guy -- who probably has associates and paralegals at a lesser rate doing some of the work and also billing). Every time you talk to them, they talk to the tower lawyer, read documents or do any work, you get billed. You would likely burn up years of the rent you are currently getting and it may outweigh the increases they would be offering for years to come. And that's not only the original deal, but wth any questions or problems down the road. My DH was involved in some licensing deals 7 or 8 years ago and they are still dealing with disputes on those. Not using experienced, specialized lawyers who know what issues to spot and forsee would be against your interests. Stupid in laymans terms.

But again, it would cost them more money to deal with you as someone outside the game and they might not even talk to you. They have likely set up a system to have all their contracts the same and want to keep it that way for simplicity and efficiency. My guess is that you would get nowhere. They will wait for you to give up and come to them or find another spot and leave you out of the deal.

What I would look at is whether you are willing to have the tower on your property for as many years as they need it? Does it limit your use, interfere with anything? Would it prevent you from leasing or selling the property down the road (a buyer might like the income, but depending on their purpose, the tower could get in the way and nix the deal -- but the income might also lessen the interest you have in selling the property).

I get the frustration -- you don't seem to know enough to understand what is happening and what it should be worth to you. You want to make sure you get a fair deal. Your negotiation position is limited.

I just entered cell tower lease in google and the first hit is for a group that says it works with property owners, government agencies, etc in negotiating leases (steelintheair - I know nothing about them, so proceed with some caution). I'm sure the will want to sign you up and claim a fee or possibly a percentage of the rents you would recieve. You could start with talking to someone there or a similar group. I would expect a strong sell and some pressure to sign up -- not unlike the personal injury lawyers on TV. But stand your ground and get questions answered first and make sure you understand what the will and won't do for you. Read carefully any contract they offer and consider having another attorney look it over to make sure you don't sign away something without realizing it. Know exactly what it is going to cost you to have them represent you and why it would be a benefit over not using them. Perhaps this group or another had contacted you or your neighbor. Compare notes. Your taller tower is likely worth more, so don't focus on dollars so much as concepts and rights in the deal (how add-ons are treated, whether rents increase over the years or with inflation, etc.).

Don't be rushed into signing anything. Make sure you understand everything before you sign. Sleep on it, get away from it and make sure you don't have any forgotten or unrealized questions (you probably will at some point -- the pros get into years of disputes because what they thought was clear isn't so clear years later, but you want to minimize those issues). The values aren't likely to decrease in the short term. There is sometimes a premium for the last folks who sign -- but you risk them finding a way to go around you and having nothing at the end of your current term (maybe sooner if there is an out under the current lease).

I've just scratched the surface and this is long. Haven't seen or read anything -- can you see why it could cost a small fortune to try to go it alone? On the other hand, for no real time or effort on your part, you could wind up with a nice stream of income -- but it isn't likely to replace your day job. Enjoy it, don't be run over, but don't get thinking greedy if you want to stay in the game.

And that's about all I can tell you -- keep in mind I know nothing about any particulars and my answers are intended to be common sense replies to general questions, not particular legal advise. As my mom always said, it may be worth exactly what you paid for it. But I hope it helps at least a bit.

So I have worked with one of the cell phone tower subcontractors for about 5 minutes. We declined to lease them land and sold it to them, which they, of course, sold to someone else immediately in a sale leaseback deal. I can give you a few insights if you can give me a bit more information.

Your post first makes it sound like they are leasing space from you, then you ask questions about allowing other companies to piggyback on the tower. If you are leasing them property then you don't own the tower, you are simply charging them rent, as if they were any other tenant leasing space on your property, and you have no right to their tower. On the other hand if they arranged it as a sale and leaseback with you then it might be a bit different. I don't think, in your case, you need a telecommunications lawyer yet. You essentially have either a commercial lease or a sale and leaseback type lease, both of which are incredibly common real estate transactions and any commercial real estate lawyer should be able to give you an idea of the things you can and can't do.

The companies that often buy cell tower leases are usually not the same companies who contract with cell phone companies to build and service towers. Typically the companies that buy leases are the same type of companies that buy any other guaranteed annuities. The idea is that you, being an unsophisticated investor, will "need cash now," while investors are interested in making incredibly stable returns. Essentially, these are just J.G. Wentworth type companies. Buying the lease usually only gives them the right to collect the payments not to add more things to the tower.

Now as to the present value of the lease - that is easy to figure out. You can go to any Net Present Value calculator on the net, I like the one at calculatorsoup - Just (1) enter an interest rate that you require (3.2% is the 30 year risk free rate -- 8-9% is average stock market -- grab something in between those). (2) leave compounding at 1 and cash flows in arrears (3) enter the annual cash flows and the time you will get that cash flow. I did a new 30 year 600 per month - growing 5% every 5 years and used 8% interest - I came out with $87,314.