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EXHIBIT 99.1
Friday, October 20, 2000 04:42 PM
TRANSACTION PROVIDES SPECTRASITE WITH MORE THAN 8,000 STRATEGIC SITE LOCATIONS
CARY, N.C., OCT. 20 /PRNEWSWIRE/ --
SpectraSite Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SITE) today announced the
signing of a definitive agreement to acquire the North American assets and
operations of U.S. RealTel, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: USRT), a leading
international landlord of pre-leased telecommunication access sites.
"U.S. RealTel's North American portfolio is an excellent complement
to our existing site portfolio in the top metropolitan markets," said Dale
Carey, President of SpectraSite Building Division. "We anticipate that demand
for rooftop and riser space, particularly in these locations, will continue
to increase as carriers add capacity to their networks and introduce new
applications. This transaction provides us with more than 8,000 strategically
located sites, bringing our total building portfolio to more than 20,000
sites."
U.S. RealTel markets 8,870 properties in the United States
concentrated in the top 50 metropolitan markets, including 460 million square
feet of commercial space and more than more than 68 million square feet of
commercial office riser space. In North America, U.S. RealTel has signed
master lease agreements with leading real estate owners such as Principal
Life Insurance Company, The Rouse Companies, Brandywine Realty Trust,
Colonnade Properties, Forest City Commercial Group and Simon Property Group.
"This sale will enable U.S. RealTel to concentrate its resources on
expanding its presence in selected global markets where it can achieve a
first mover dominant position," said CEO and Chairman of the Board Perry
Ruda. "In the wake of deregulation, U.S. RealTel believes South America and
countries in other parts of the globe are experiencing explosive telecom
growth. Our Brazilian and Argentinean subsidiaries are rapidly building
inventories of properties and are already working with major international
telecommunication companies who are selecting properties from our
international portfolios."
A majority of the stockholders of U.S. RealTel and the board of
directors have agreed to approve the transaction. The transaction is expected
to close within the next 60 days. Lehman Brothers acted as financial advisor
to U.S. RealTel in the transaction.
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ABOUT U.S. REALTEL
U.S. RealTel obtains the rights to install communications
infrastructure in properties and/or to provide communications services to
building tenants. U.S. RealTel works with property owners to prepare their
buildings for the growing telecom demands of tenants while allowing owners to
generate ancillary income from providers of these services. By marketing
properties to a host of telecom providers, USRT positions buildings as
state-of-the-art telecom-ready environments with broad bandwidth, high
connectivity, scalability, redundancy and security available to the tenant
base.
Founded in 1997, U.S. RealTel has established an international
network of pre-leased telecom placement and access rights through its USRT
Telecom Grid(TM). Under the company's unique methodology, U.S. RealTel
eliminates significant obstacles for owners by managing the telecom
infrastructure of their property and all steps of the installation process.
In addition to its U.S. operations, U.S. RealTel serves the South American
market through its subsidiaries, RealTel de Argentina and RealTel do Brasil.
For more information, visit U.S. RealTel's website at www.usrealtel.com .
ABOUT SPECTRASITE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
SpectraSite Communications, Inc. (http://www.spectrasite.com ),
based in Cary, North Carolina, is one of the leading providers of shared
antennae sites and outsourced network services to the wireless communications
and broadcast industries in the United States and Canada. SpectraSite's
business includes owning and leasing antennae sites on towers, owning and
leasing in-building wireless distribution systems, owning and managing
rooftops, network planning and deployment, and construction of towers and
related wireless facilities. SpectraSite owns or manages more than 15,000
sites, including 3,909 owned towers, in 98 of the top 100 markets in the
United States. Pro forma for all pending transactions SpectraSite will own or
manage more than 20,000 sites, including nearly 9,000 towers. SpectraSite's
customers are leading wireless communications providers and broadcasters,
including Nextel, SBC, Sprint PCS, AT&T Wireless, Verizon, BellSouth,
Telecorp, Teligent, Winstar, Metricom, Cox Broadcasting, Clear Channel
Communications and Paxson Communications.
The statements contained in this news release that are forward
looking are based on current expectations that are subject to a number of
uncertainties and risks, and actual results may differ materially. The
uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, competitive and
market factors, customer purchasing behavior, general economic conditions,
technological advances, real estate trends, and other facets of the U.S.
RealTel's business operations which are detailed from time to time by U.S.
RealTel with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Forms 8-K,
10-QSB, 10-KSB and 10-SB.
SOURCE SpectraSite Holdings, Inc.
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CONTACT: Perry H. Ruda, Chairman of the Board of U.S. RealTel, Inc.,
312-775-8900, or Tom Osran of Citigate, 312-372-6143, for U.S. RealTel,
Inc., or Noreen Allen, Director of Marketing of SpectraSite Holdings, Inc.,
919-465-6678
