Autobahn’s Laura Halpenny: Building Faster Towers, Learning to Slow Down

Laura Halpenny has spent much of her career helping keep the world connected. As founder of Autobahn Towers, she develops the physical backbone of the wireless industry, building sites that expand coverage and capacity as demand continues to surge. But on her nearly four-acre “mini farm” outside Chicago, Halpenny has discovered something just as valuable – the ability to occasionally disconnect.

“It’s so peaceful,” she said. “It really lowers your blood pressure, especially in our career in telecom. We never sleep.”

The property is home to ducks, chickens, two Friesian horses named Athena and Apollo, and a rotating cast of dogs, cats and even reptiles. There are gardens to tend and renovation projects underway and plans to add miniature Highland cattle and sheep in the future.

Farm life forces her to unplug.

“You actually put down your phone because if you don’t, you could get trampled,” she said with a laugh.

The farm is more than a personal retreat. Halpenny and her husband hope to eventually open the property on weekends to children with autism or other special needs, creating a space where they can interact with animals and experience the calming benefits of sensory-based activities.

The irony of spending a career building connections while finding peace in unplugged moments is not lost on Halpenny.

From Courtrooms to Construction

Halpenny grew up in Wheaton, Illinois, and initially envisioned a career in the legal field. She studied court reporting and worked as a paralegal before realizing that a career path that involved silence and paperwork was not well suited to her outgoing personality.

“Court reporting would have had me not talking, and that wasn’t a field I was going to settle into,” she said.

Looking for something different, Halpenny joined an elevator company as a project coordinator, where she was introduced to construction management. The work quickly captured her interest, partly because of her family roots in the trades. Her father and relatives have a long history of working in Local 63 as architectural ornamental ironworkers.

“I’ve always liked construction,” she said. “My dad had me playing with tools at a young age. By the time I got to the elevator company, those early experiences gave me confidence on site that many of my peers didn’t have.”

It was the first — but not last — time Halpenny found herself working in male-dominated environments, which she said required developing thick skin and proving her capabilities on the job.

“You learn quickly that you have to show up confident, be prepared, and earn respect through your work,” she said.

A Chance Entry into Telecom

Her introduction to telecom came unexpectedly. While playing volleyball with friends at Oak Street Beach in Chicago, Halpenny received a call from a recruiter at Nextel Engineering who found her resume online.

“I thought he was going to ask me about my cell phone,” she recalled. “Instead, he walked me through what a project engineer did.”

The role dropped her into one of the busiest periods in wireless network expansion, managing a portfolio of roughly 140 projects across Illinois and Northwest Indiana, some of which were unique.

“We were doing things like cutting the top off a silo and installing a STEALTH concealed dome with the antenna platform inside,” she said. “It wasn’t just the typical monopole or raw land site.”

Her career path next took her to VoiceStream (now T-Mobile), where she managed upgrades and raw land builds. She worked on church steeples, water tanks, ComEd power mounts, and rooftops. Then she transitioned into the infrastructure side of telecom in a role as an Account Executive for the Midwest Area at Crown Castle supporting major carriers on their colocations/upgrades, including Verizon. She eventually spent nearly a decade at SBA Communications. She helped increase their organic portfolio growth managing new build tower projects in the Midwest and expanding into the West. She also created a customized Verizon services program to help manage their installations for colocation projects. During her almost 9-year tenure she was promoted to a Senior Project Director and received recognition as SBA Operations Employee of the Year.

Along the way, Halpenny built a reputation for tackling complex and unconventional builds — from stealth municipal projects to creative structural modifications — drawing on her early career construction foundation that included high-profile projects like 520 North Michigan and the Shedd Aquarium addition in Chicago.

She credits much of her growth to mentorship and collaboration across the industry.

“I wouldn’t be where I am without learning from all these people,” she said. “We’re all cut from the same cloth. They have integrity. They work hard. They roll up their sleeves. They don’t say, ‘That’s not my job.’”

Building Autobahn: Speed as Strategy

Several years ago, Halpenny was ready for a change and found herself missing construction and tower builds.

“I missed the thrill of getting projects done quickly and facing challenges,” she said.

That drive led her to launch her own ventures. She first formed JLS Millennium Towers then entered a joint venture with STC Towers, where she directs project development and manages client relationships. The partnership flourished, and she soon had the opportunity to build something new on her own.

“The management team at one of the companies I have done business with for many years, SSC, offered to support me in starting another company,” she said. “They wanted me to have a woman-owned, designated business. I decided to take them up on their offer and started Autobahn Towers.”

The name reflects her focus on speed and efficiency in an industry where timelines can stretch for years. A 15-month build timeline has become standard. Halpenny has reduced that to about a year — and is pushing toward 10 months from ring-to-tenant-ready builds.

“I’m always trying to find faster, more efficient ways, without losing quality,” she said.

Autobahn operates as a boutique tower company, allowing for faster decision-making and more flexible deal structures.

“You don’t need red tape on both sides. We make decisions immediately,” she said. “If we need an attorney consult, we get it right away. We don’t have to wait like you would in a big corporation with other priorities.”

Much of her success stems from long-standing relationships with carrier teams and vendor partners and her philosophy that a team includes everyone from real estate, construction, RF engineers to receptionists, attorneys to subcontractors.

“A team doesn’t just mean the employees who work for you,” she said. “Everyone brings value. You never make anyone feel less important.”

Today, Autobahn continues to grow while maintaining a tight, efficient development cycle and a focus on quality execution.

Where the Industry Is Headed

Even as she manages day-to-day tower development, Halpenny keeps a close eye on emerging trends. Small cell deployments, municipal collaboration, and zoning challenges remain central to the work, but she’s particularly interested in how AI is shaping the future of network planning and operations.

“AI is taking the lead in how people are approaching things, whether in data centers or fiber,” she said. “Everyone’s moving beyond just raw land development and asking, ‘How can I be a one-stop shop?’”

While new technologies — from satellite networks to autonomous systems — continue to evolve, Halpenny sees a hybrid future.

“Carriers still need to focus on speed to market, provide coverage or capacity, and maintain competitive pricing,” she said. “The industry won’t change overnight, but it’s evolving quickly.”

Mentorship and the Next Generation

Beyond building towers, Halpenny has made mentorship and industry advocacy a priority. She was actively involved in earlier years with the formation of SWAPs and rebranding of the Women’s Wireless Leadership Forum. She would like to start supporting Telecom Trailblazers in the Midwest, which introduces younger people to careers in the industry.

She sees mentorship today as more collaborative, with professionals sharing insights across roles and experience levels. But she believes more can be done to reach students earlier — especially in high school — through co-ops, hands-on exposure and greater awareness of trade and technical career paths. Halpenny also emphasizes that success in telecom doesn’t always require a traditional college path.

“Although I believe in education and college to build a strong foundation, you can succeed in telecom without college,” she said. “If you get in, work hard, and learn on the job, there’s plenty of opportunity. We need to show younger people there’s more than just a desk or phone job — they can build, create and thrive.”

Learning to Be Present

Outside of work, Halpenny remains as hands-on as ever — whether tending to her farm, supporting her children, or spending time with her grandchildren. Learning to step away from work, she admits, didn’t come easily.

“I thought about writing a book called Am I Really Present? because I was glued to my phone all the time,” she said.

Now, she makes a conscious effort to disconnect during meals, vacations and family time.

“Nothing, unless it’s an emergency, will be missed by stepping away,” she said. “Emails and calls don’t need instant responses. You can step back and reset — it’s essential.”

Back on her farm, where the pace is set by animals instead of inboxes, Halpenny has found a different kind of balance. For someone who has spent decades building the infrastructure that keeps millions connected, learning to disconnect has become not just a habit — but a necessity.