The recent collaboration between AT&T, Verizon and Tillman Infrastructure will result in the construction of multiple cell towers across the United States, strengthening the country’s communications infrastructure.
Under the joint agreement, Tillman Infrastructure will build custom, to‑suit towers that AT&T and Verizon will lease and co‑anchor. Both carriers will colocate equipment on these shared sites, improving coverage while reducing the need for duplicate towers. Construction of the initial sites was planned to begin in Q1 2018.
Nicola Palmer, chief network officer for Verizon Wireless, said: “We continue to focus on technology innovation and investing in the latest software platforms to provide the best possible customer experience on our network. At the same time, it is imperative to reduce operating costs. We are reviewing all of our long‑term contracts as they come up for renewal and we are excited to develop new vendor partners to diversify our infrastructure providers.”
Both operators have been active in other areas of network development and product announcements. AT&T introduced a mobile hotspot router marketed under the “5G Evolution” banner during a period of intense consumer interest in 5G. However, the device is not a true 5G product: it is based on enhanced LTE technology (often described as 4.75G), while 4.5G typically refers to LTE‑Advanced. The Netgear‑made mobile hotspot includes a 5,040 mAh battery and supports connections for many Wi‑Fi devices simultaneously.
On the technology performance front, Verizon, Ericsson and Qualcomm recorded a new lab milestone for Gigabit LTE speeds, demonstrating peak rates of 1.07 Gbps. That achievement relied on 12 simultaneous LTE streams, which can yield up to a 20% increase in peak data capacity. The result combined Ericsson’s radio systems and TLE software with a mobile test device using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X20 LTE modem, showcasing how advanced carrier aggregation and multiple‑input multiple‑output (MIMO) techniques can push LTE performance closer to gigabit levels.
By partnering on shared tower builds and continuing to advance radio and device technologies, AT&T and Verizon aim to expand network capacity and coverage more efficiently. Co‑located towers help reduce the environmental and visual impact of multiple antennas while accelerating deployment timelines, since a single build can serve multiple operators. At the same time, progress in LTE enhancements and lab demonstrations of gigabit speeds highlight the ongoing evolution of cellular technology ahead of widespread commercial 5G rollouts.
Overall, the collaboration between major carriers and infrastructure providers, paired with continued innovation from equipment vendors and chipset makers, reflects the industry’s dual focus: broaden physical network reach through smarter site sharing and push technical boundaries to deliver faster, more reliable mobile broadband to consumers and enterprises.