Case study: APC Towers

Based in Raleigh, NC, APC Towers is led by over 50 years of executive experience and is a “build to suit” carrier-centric organization focused on developing BTS sites. While its core business is building and acquiring tower sites, APC Towers also focuses on procuring revenue-generating towers and managing existing towers, rooftops and real estate portfolios for commercial property owners.

With PARLAY 2.0’s seamless integration into our process, we’re redefining the standard for site selection. It enables the APC project management team to access critical data instantly, ensuring each decision aligns with regulatory requirements and market needs, enhancing both speed and precision in our deployments.

The following case study is derived with permission from an APC Towers white paper titled "GIS Based Analytics: A Combined Approach to Competitive Tower Analysis." 

ReportAll’s PARLAY 2.0 parcel layer has proven itself an essential tool for the APC team to improve site selection and property analysis via Google Earth. Before PARLAY 2.0, site selection involved manually gathering data from multiple sources, such as county records and online property databases. The integration of PARLAY 2.0 into our site selection process has allowed managers to make quicker, more informed decisions regarding potential site locations. 

Key features like parcel ownership, size, and zoning restrictions are immediately accessible, saving hours—if not days—of manual research. This means that when evaluating potential tower sites, we can quickly assess whether a property meets the necessary regulatory, environmental, and legal criteria for development, all without having to sift through various data sources. 

Another key benefit is that visualizing data within Google Earth Pro provides a clear geographic and environmental context that traditional flat maps cannot offer. By overlaying parcel data with satellite imagery, we can see terrain features, nearby developments and other physical constraints that might affect tower installation. This holistic view enables us to evaluate the practicality of potential sites much more effectively than before. 

With PARLAY 2.0, users can quickly identify suitable parcels based on ownership records. This comprehensive approach reduces the time and effort involved in identifying viable tower locations, improving project timelines and outcomes.

This workflow has enabled us to:

1. Identify suitable parcels faster: By seeing property lines in Google Earth alongside existing infrastructure, we can immediately assess proximity to roads, utilities, and other critical features that impact tower construction.
2. Make more informed decisions: The comprehensive parcel data, including zoning and land-use restrictions, helps ensure we are selecting sites that are legally viable and aligned with local regulations.
3. Collaborate efficiently: Project managers, analysts, and field teams can easily share findings within the Google Earth environment, ensuring everyone has access to the same up-to-date information.

In short, PARLAY 2.0 has become another valuable tool in the site development toolbox for APC Towers. It has enabled us to make faster, more data-driven decisions, significantly reducing the labor associated with tower site selection and allowing us to stay nimble and efficient in a rapidly evolving industry. The ability to access detailed, reliable property information in real-time, along with the other tools referenced in this paper, has reshaped the way we approach tower site evaluations, ensuring that we make the best possible decisions for each project.