Webinar and Web-Conference Sessions
Our webinars offer moderated, educational dialogue among leading infrastructure asset owners, M&A specialists, investment professionals and policy experts. Each webinar is insightful and unscripted and offers a summary of current events in a 45-minute format.
2021 Webinar Schedule
Subject to Change
Infrastructure Investors: Making the Pivot from Core Infrastructure to Digital
January 21- The digital world does not exist outside the physical realm, but digital infrastructure assets require knowledge of a different class of operations, investment, management and competition.
- For investors turning away from traditional real estate (industrial, lodging, healthcare), what is the roadmap for a successful transformation into an investor focused on converged communications and digital infrastructure?
Spotlight on Fiber: Trends in Fiber Markets, Data Traffic, Network Builds and Consolidation
January 27- Deep deployment of fiber optics into our nation’s network infrastructure might not be as glamorous as the eagerly anticipated launch of fifth-generation mobile networks (5G); however, it is just as important—if not more so.
- In fact, 5G relies heavily on fiber and will likely fall far short of its potential unless the United States significantly increases its deep fiber investments. Fiber is increasingly seen as essential infrastructure, ranking near in importance along with water and electricity.
- This Webinar features a panel that discusses the market drivers of fiber network development: where the hot spots are; where the investors are headed; what the long-term market drivers look like; and who the current market leaders are.
The Post Covid-19 Flight to Quality: What are the Quality Investments in Digital Infrastructure?
February 18- For investment funds, the flight to quality is now digital infrastructure. LPs and GPs are flocking to this sector, which is much different than a core infrastructure investment.
- What do infrastructure funds need to know about digital – operationally, financially, and risk. Even more, what is the impact of Federal regulation on near-term development?
- This webinar outlines the current state of the digital infrastructure market from an investor perspective and examines the impacts of a rush of capital due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting remote work and education environment.
Spotlight on The Edge: Spotlight on The Edge: Where Real Estate and 5G Converge
February 25- Today the Infrastructure Edge is primarily deployed in the central offices and network aggregation sites of communication networks.
- There is broad industry consensus on the need and value of the edge, but it is still uncertain how the move to distributed networks will unfold, especially in the enterprise, alongside the rise of IoT and private networks. We cannot predict all the new services, business models, and industries that edge computing will create in the future. But we can be sure these will drive unprecedented demand for computing, storage, and networking capabilities, both at the edge and in the cloud. This webinar the Edge of the Network: where it is; what is driving its adoption; who pays for it; who are the leaders today.
Policy: Investor Implications for a Federal Digital Infrastructure Bill
March 18- With the incoming Administration, all indications point to the development of a new Infrastructure Bill from Congress.
- What are the expectations of a digital component to the Bill and the funding possibilities for upgrades and new builds for broadband connectivity, especially connectivity in rural and underserved areas hard hit by the Covid pandemic?
- What are the implications for investors in Federally funded new infrastructure builds?
Spotlight on Mid-Tier Private Tower Companies: Opportunities, Challenges and Exit Strategies
March 25- There are over 100 cell tower companies with headquarters in the United States. They range from the largest players publicly traded tower companies to small operators with under 10 assets.
- With rollout of 5G networks and promise of self-driving cars, the value of towers is expected to rise. But is that true with the low and mid-tier asset owners?
- This webinar focuses on evolving business of the private independent tower owner and their opportunities for maximizing lease revenues, merging and exit.
Deal Making & Asset Acquisition Strategies for Infrastructure Owners
April 22- The increasing demand for bandwidth opens up new investment, acquisition and merger opportunities for mid-tier tower owners seeking to expand their footprint into fiber networks, edge computing sites, in-building neutral hosts and small cells.
- This panel discusses the market opportunities, capital sources and investment scenarios at play in the wireless infrastructure community, and offers examples on how tower owners can finance, acquire or exit their existing asset business.
Spotlight on In-Building: A Financial View of DAS and Neutral Hosts
April 29- This session will discuss how the financial community views various neutral host business models and funding of new systems. What company and systems specific characteristics attract and deter investment and funding?
- What is the financial community willing to invest in and what market trends could affect valuations in the future?
Convergent Assets: Examining the Investment Synergies and Risks with Data Centers, Towers & Fiber
May 20- Not all infrastructure assets are the same. Towers, venues, DAS, small cells, optical fiber networks, data centers – each has its own risk and reward profile.
- This webinar looks at the current view of investors as they weigh each sub-sector, location, management team and specifically, pricing and multiples for each.
- There is a lot of activity in the market even through the first half of a difficult year; will the froth continue into 2021? How do you assess the risks of the different types of digital infrastructure? Where are the right opportunities?
Spotlight on Public Infrastructure: Business Models, Investment Frameworks and Market Size
May 27- Municipal infrastructure is a key component of digital infrastructure, especially for 5G but also for in-building coverage and edge computing. >p>Harnessing private capital by the public sector will help, especially in a post Covid environment of severe resource shortages in municipal and local government budgets.
- Despite the clear need, the reality is that cities’ ability to procure the volume and quality of infrastructure required remains limited by restrictions on borrowing, long-term contracting and poor municipal-level finances.
- This webinar examines the emerging models for public infrastructure investment that are coming into play.
Why Cell Tower REITs Stand Above the Rest
June 17- Communications tower companies began converting into real estate investment trusts (REITs) in 2011 when American Tower made the switch. Tower REITs have richly rewarded investors since then, many easily outpacing the S&P 500’s 155% total return during that time.
- Cell tower REITs offer something not found in most real estate investments: rapid growth potential. This webinar examines for the investor the trends going forward for large publicly held Tower REITs.
- What are the competitive dynamics today? Where are the opportunities in this mature market? What are the implications of 5G and small cells for the REIT business in North America?
Spotlight on Dark Fiber: What Is Extra Fiber Capacity and What is the Market?
May 27- Dark fiber, where extra fiber capacity is installed, is a growing business for both private and publicly owned networks. That fiber can then be used to encourage private entities to deliver retail services to a community by allowing the private entity to rent or lease excess capacity and cut down on some capital and operational expenses.
- Some of the most common users include, data transport, data centers, ILECs, and CLECs. And increasingly, wireless providers are turning to dark fiber for backhaul.