Tower company Crown Castle supports Microsoft's Airband Initiative

HOUSTON – Crown Castle announced an agreement with Microsoft Corp. to deliver broadband to unserved and underserved rural communities across the United States as part of the Microsoft Airband Initiative. The initiative works with internet service providers and hardware manufacturers on solutions to expand access to affordable broadband in underserved portions of rural America and supports access to resources like technology, digital skills and reseller programs in these communities.

As part of the agreement, CCIsites™, Crown Castle's patented, industry-leading analysis and site location tool that contains data on more than 235,000 Crown Castle and non-Crown Castle communications infrastructure assets, will help enable Airband Initiative partners to build out networks faster and increase connectivity for communities across the United States by streamlining the process of evaluating and selecting antenna sites.

"Now more than ever, high-performance networks capable of handling massive amounts of data are an absolute necessity," said Jessica Collins, Vertical Market Manager of Crown Castle. "People, cities, businesses, hospitals and schools all depend on resilient and reliable connectivity. We at Crown Castle are proud to do our part to close the broadband gap and ensure all Americans have access to affordable broadband."

"Closing the rural broadband gap once and for all requires swift action and informed decision making," said Shelley McKinley, Microsoft Vice President of Technology and Corporate Responsibility. "We're looking forward to working with Crown Castle to provide our partners valuable insights that will help in our goal in delivering broadband to rural communities."

Launched in 2017, the Microsoft Airband Initiative aims to expand broadband access to at least 3 million Americans living in underserved rural areas by 2022. Thus far, the initiative has successfully expanded broadband access to 1.2 million Americans through their partners.

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