American Tower announced that it will increase its core business reinvestment in 2010, during the fourth quarter and full-year 2009 earnings conference call. With access to $1 billion in internally generated funds, AMT expects to construct from 1,200 to 1,600 new sites during 2010, in addition to acquiring tower portfolios.

"Our first priority is to invest this cash back into our business. We will seek to invest in our infrastructure in 2010 to ensure that we can scale to support our growth," said Tom Bartlett, executive vice president and chief financial officer for American Tower. "We are focused on driving growth in our core business by investing in our existing sites as well as new tower assets."

AMT will use $300 million to $350 million on capital projects, $50 million on land purchases and $165 million to $205 million on other discretionary projects, including building sites, Bartlett said.