I-44 Radio Tower ?

[GeoFenceFound]

Does anyone know how to look up who owns towers? There is a tower that appears unused right off I-44 at mile marker 96 on the west side in Grady county.
A couple of us are wanting to place an inquiry to the owner.

I tried to upload a screenshot from my phone of it but RR says it’s too big so I added it to a sharing site. https://ibb.co/gWjfLx9

Thanks for any help!

 

[nd5y]

That tower doesn't appear to be in the FCC ASR database. It probably isn't high enough. It looks like it has cellular type panel antennas. Market-based license like most cellular and wireless providers can put sites anywhere and there will be no record of site locations like with PLMR licenses.

For towers that require ASR registration you can search at
https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/AsrSearch/asrRegistrationSearch.jsp
If the tower is less than 200 feet AGL or not close enough to an airport to be an aviation obstruction or owned by the federal government then it doesn't require FCC registration.

Another easier way if you have Google Earth is

FCCInfo - Now on Google Earth!

FCC Info is a Radio and Television Station Search Engine provided by Cavell, Mertz & Associates, Inc.

fccinfo.com

It has the FCC ASR database among other things.

You can also search for FCC licenses by latitude, longitude, radius with the Geosearch button at
https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchAdvanced.jsp
or the Site / Market / Frequency Query at
https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/General_Menu_Reports
The licensee may not be the tower owner. If the tower requires registration there should be a ASR number on the license.

 

[GeoFenceFound]

Thanks! One of our guys said it looked to be about 150’ cuz we have our own at a different location that’s 200’ and it wasnt nearly that tall. He said it had nothing on it just a stand alone tower. Idk how old the sat images are. I’ll do some searching, thanks!

 

[nd5y]

Google street view was from 5/2023. It had some panel antennas and small microwave dish.

 

[sonm10]

AntennaSearch - Search for Cell Towers & Antennas

Search for the locations of cell towers and antennas to determine cell reception.

www.antennasearch.com

 

[nd5y]

https://www.antennasearch.com/

That web site (and MAPRAD.IO | Radiocomms Register Search Tool) is useless in this case because there is no FCC data for the OP's tower location.

 

[mwjones]

Might search the publicly available records from the County Tax appraiser's website. Most of the time you can at least get a name of the land holder, and if you can get contact information might reach out to see who holds the lease on that corner of the property (or if the tower site is available for lease if the previous tenant walked away).

If it had a microwave link active, that would show up in Cavell, Mertz & Associates FCC data, even if the tower is under the 200ft height (and there is none). My guess is the "microwave" antenna is an unlicensed Point-to-point 60GHz link (one of my suppliers make equipment for "wireless" internet providers and they sell them), the antennas are about that size and can go up to 7 miles line of sight. The other thing I notice in the Street view from May 2023 on I-44 is some of the coax appears to have been cut from the base of the tower,



which may indicate the tower is abandoned and no longer in use (the picture from the County Street in February 2008



only shows a small cabinet or two for equipment, and not a full shelter, so if the equipment cabinets are gone, the coax could have been left to hang from the tower).

 

[GeoFenceFound]

Might search the publicly available records from the County Tax appraiser's website. Most of the time you can at least get a name of the land holder, and if you can get contact information might reach out to see who holds the lease on that corner of the property (or if the tower site is available for lease if the previous tenant walked away).

If it had a microwave link active, that would show up in Cavell, Mertz & Associates FCC data, even if the tower is under the 200ft height (and there is none). My guess is the "microwave" antenna is an unlicensed Point-to-point 60GHz link (one of my suppliers make equipment for "wireless" internet providers and they sell them), the antennas are about that size and can go up to 7 miles line of sight. The other thing I notice in the Street view from May 2023 on I-44 is some of the coax appears to have been cut from the base of the tower,

View attachment 159065

which may indicate the tower is abandoned and no longer in use (the picture from the County Street in February 2008

View attachment 159063

only shows a small cabinet or two for equipment, and not a full shelter, so if the equipment cabinets are gone, the coax could have been left to hang from the tower).

Yeah we drove up to it the other day and cables are cut still hanging and an empty electronics box with just a few wires hanging out of it. Tower seems to be in good shape but definitely not used.
We are trying to contact the county for property files. There is cattle in this area and county usually keeps decent records of who owns what.

 

[ecps92]

Yeah we drove up to it the other day and cables are cut still hanging and an empty electronics box with just a few wires hanging out of it. Tower seems to be in good shape but definitely not used.
We are trying to contact the county for property files. There is cattle in this area and county usually keeps decent records of who owns what.

Power Utility might have prior owner info as well

 

[mwjones]

We are trying to contact the county for property files. There is cattle in this area and county usually keeps decent records of who owns what.

When I was researching my previous response, I was able to get a name of the property owner by searching the County Tax Appraiser's website (that's why I made that suggestion - they have an interactive map, so I just navigated to and clicked on the property in question, but can't recall the name I saw), what it didn't have was any contact information, but at least it's a start (the same can be said for most counties, but most of the ones I've seen in Texas actually show mailing address for the tax statements in that public record).

Also keep in mind, the property owner may be leasing it to another party for the agricultural uses, so you have the potential of still getting conflicting information from other sources, but at least either way you'll be closer to the answer you're looking for (that's why I search the tax records, the property owner will always be the name in their database, as they are the one paying the taxes).