What Is Tower Lighting as a Service (TLaaS®)?

September 2, 2026

Short answer: Tower Lighting as a Service (TLaaS®) is how we deliver a fully FAA-compliant lit tower without you buying any equipment. We install a new LED obstruction-lighting system at our own cost, then run all of the FAA and FCC compliance work for you, including monitoring, outage reporting, inspections, repairs, and recordkeeping, for one flat monthly fee. You get a compliant tower and a predictable bill, with none of the capital cost and none of the day-to-day compliance tasks. Below is exactly what TLaaS® is, how it works, and how it compares to owning your lighting outright.

TL;DR

  • What it is: our service that bundles the LED system and its lifetime FAA/FCC compliance into one monthly fee.
  • No upfront cost: we buy and install the system, so you never purchase hardware.
  • Compliance is handled: we provide 24/7 monitoring, NOTAM filing and cancellation, inspections, repairs, and audit-ready records.
  • Predictable price: a flat monthly fee replaces a large capital outlay plus unpredictable repair bills, and the LumenServe℠ Price Guarantee locks it in writing.
  • Who it is for: owners of FAA-lit structures, roughly 200 feet and up, who want compliance off their plate.

What is Tower Lighting as a Service?

Tower Lighting as a Service (TLaaS®) is our outsourced model for tower obstruction lighting, in which we carry the hardware and the compliance burden and you pay a flat service fee. Instead of treating tower lighting as a capital project you buy and then maintain forever, you subscribe to the outcome you actually want: a working, FAA-compliant lit tower. We purchase and install a new LED system at our own cost, maintain it, and perform every required compliance and monitoring task for the life of the agreement. LumenServe pioneered TLaaS®, and it remains the core of how we keep towers compliant nationwide.

How does TLaaS® work?

TLaaS® replaces a one-time purchase with an ongoing service relationship that we run end to end. The typical lifecycle looks like this:

  1. Assessment. We evaluate your tower’s height, existing lighting, and the FAA-assigned lighting specification.
  2. Install at our cost. We purchase and install a new LED obstruction-lighting system, so there is no capital request on your side.
  3. Monitoring goes live. We watch the system 24/7/365 so outages are caught the moment they happen.
  4. Compliance is run for you. We file and cancel NOTAMs, perform the inspections, make the repairs, and keep the records.
  5. You pay one flat fee. A predictable monthly charge covers the system and all of the above for the term.

What is included in TLaaS®?

A LumenServe TLaaS® agreement bundles the equipment and the entire compliance workload into one line item. Here is what we cover:

What does TLaaS® cost?

There is no single published price for TLaaS®, because no two towers carry the same compliance load. Your monthly fee depends on how many towers you enroll, each structure’s height, its lighting classification (medium-intensity or high-intensity), the FAA lighting style assigned under Advisory Circular 70/7460-1, and site conditions such as access and existing wiring. A single medium-intensity tower and a fleet of tall high-intensity structures are very different jobs, so we scope and price each situation on its own.

That is why the honest next step is a short conversation about your specific towers. Tell us the count, the heights, and the classifications, and we will scope a TLaaS® plan that fits. Talk to us about your towers →

Once we scope your plan, the price does not drift. The LumenServe℠ Price Guarantee locks your rate in writing, with up to five years of flat-rate pricing and no annual increases, and any renewal rate is set and disclosed in advance, so there are no budget surprises down the road. Your rate is locked, in writing.

TLaaS® vs. owning your tower lighting

The real decision is not which LED to buy. It is whether to own the system and everything that comes with it, or subscribe to the outcome. If you would rather own your lighting outright, we can do that too: our Tower Lighting Systems option covers the purchase and installation of a new system that you own. TLaaS® does not apply to a system you buy, but the comparison below shows what that ownership route leaves on your plate, and what TLaaS® takes off it. For the full breakdown of what buying a system costs, see what LED tower lighting costs.

Who is TLaaS® for?

TLaaS® fits any owner of an FAA-lit structure who would rather not run a lighting-compliance operation in-house. We support the full range of lit structures, from roughly 200 feet up to 2,200 feet, in both medium-intensity and high-intensity classes. That covers broadcast towers, wireless and cellular towers, electric-transmission structures, and other tall structures whose owners are legally responsible for FAA/FCC compliance but do not want to staff, monitor, and document it themselves.

How TLaaS® keeps you FAA-compliant

TLaaS® is built directly around the obligations the FCC places on tower owners. Each requirement in the federal rules maps to a piece of our service:

  • Our 24/7 monitoring satisfies the requirement to observe the lights every 24 hours or maintain an automatic alarm (47 CFR 17.47).
  • Our NOTAM filing covers the duty to report a top or flashing light out more than 30 minutes and to cancel the notice on repair (47 CFR 17.48). See what to do when a tower light goes out.
  • Our scheduled inspections meet the quarterly control-device inspection rule (47 CFR 17.47).
  • Our compliance records satisfy the two-year recordkeeping requirement (47 CFR 17.49).

For the complete owner’s rulebook these map to, see our guide to FAA tower lighting requirements, and our compliance and monitoring service.

Why owners switch to TLaaS®

Owners move to TLaaS® for three reasons that all trace back to one problem: lighting compliance is a forever job. TLaaS® removes the upfront capital cost, it replaces unpredictable repair and monitoring bills with a flat fee that our LumenServe℠ Price Guarantee locks in writing, and it takes the 2 a.m. NOTAM scramble and the FCC violation risk off your plate entirely. As a bonus, the LED systems we install draw far less power than the incandescent lighting they replace, so the switch is an energy upgrade too.

See if TLaaS® fits your towers →

For what non-compliance can actually cost a tower owner, see our breakdown of FCC tower lighting fines.

Frequently Asked Questions About Tower Lighting as a Service

Quick answers to the questions owners ask us most.

What is Tower Lighting as a Service (TLaaS®)?

TLaaS® is a subscription model in which we install an LED obstruction-lighting system at our own cost and handle all FAA and FCC compliance for you, including monitoring, NOTAM filing, inspections, repairs, and recordkeeping, for a flat monthly fee. You have no upfront hardware cost and no compliance tasks to manage.

How is TLaaS® different from buying a tower lighting system?

Buying means a large upfront cost plus years of variable repair, climb, and monitoring bills, with all compliance risk on you. TLaaS® replaces that with a flat monthly fee and shifts the monitoring, NOTAM, inspection, recordkeeping, and violation risk to us. If you prefer to own, our Tower Lighting Systems option covers purchase and installation instead.

Does TLaaS® really have no upfront cost?

Yes. Under our TLaaS®, we purchase and install the LED system at our own cost, so you never buy the hardware, now or in the future, and you pay only the monthly service fee, locked by the LumenServe℠ Price Guarantee.

Does TLaaS® handle NOTAMs and FAA compliance?

Yes. TLaaS® includes 24/7 monitoring, filing and cancelling NOTAMs for outages, scheduled inspections, and audit-ready records, which are the full set of owner obligations under 47 CFR Part 17.

What kinds of towers can use TLaaS®?

Any FAA-lit structure. We support towers from roughly 200 feet to 2,200 feet in medium-intensity and high-intensity classes, including broadcast, wireless, and electric-transmission structures.

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