EX-10.1


 Exhibit 10.1 

2016 Executive Management Team Annual Incentive Plan 

Plan Document 

(Effective January 1, 2016) 






 Crown Castle International Corp. 

2016 EMT Annual Incentive Plan 

Overview 
 This Plan Document is designed to outline the
provisions of the Crown Castle International Corp. (“CCIC” or “Company”) 2016 Executive Management Team (EMT) Annual Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) effective as of the
1st day of January 2016, in accordance with the terms provided herein. 
 The Company hereby adopts the
terms of the Plan as follows: 
 Section 1. Objectives 

The Company’s main objectives for the Plan are: 
  

	 	•	 	To provide a compensation package that is competitive with the market. 

  

	 	•	 	To motivate executives by providing an appropriate reward (“Incentive Award”) for individual and corporate performance based on Company goals and objectives. 


 

	 	•	 	To focus business unit executives on maximizing results of their business units, while also reinforcing the importance of teamwork at the corporate level. 


 

	 	•	 	To link the Plan’s financial measures with investor expectations. 

  

	 	•	 	To link the Plan’s financial and nonfinancial measures with the individual performance of the executives. 


Section 2. Plan Year 
 The effective date of this Plan is
January 1, 2016. The Plan will remain in effect from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016 (the “Plan Year”). 
 Section 3. Administration

 The Plan shall be administered by the Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) of the Board of Directors (the “Board”) with
oversight by the Board. The Committee shall have the authority to review and approve: (a) the Participants as defined in Section 4, (b) the incentive opportunities for each Participant as defined in Section 6, (c) the methodology for determining the
Performance Goals as defined in Section 7, (d) the minimum performance requirements as described in Section 8, and (e) the final calculation of Incentive Awards for the Participants as described in Section 9. The Committee shall also have the
authority to review and approve any proposed amendments to the Plan throughout the Plan Year. The Committee retains the right to discontinue or amend this Plan at any time. The Committee may use discretion to adjust the Incentive Award levels to
account for events that impact the ability to meet the Performance Goals described in Section 7. 
 The President & Chief Executive Officer of the
Company (the “CEO”) will be responsible for the interpretation and the day-to-day management of the Plan. The CEO shall also make recommendations to the Committee for review and approval. 

Nothing in this Plan is to be construed as a guarantee of an Incentive Award. 

  
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 Crown Castle International Corp. 

2016 EMT Annual Incentive Plan 
  

 Section 4. Eligibility 

Executive employees who are selected by the CEO and approved by the Committee will be eligible to participate in the Plan (the “Participants”). 

Section 5. Change in Eligibility Status 
 In making
decisions regarding employees’ participation in the Plan, the CEO may consider any factors that he or she may consider relevant. The following guidelines are provided as general information regarding employee status changes upon the occurrence
of the events described below, provided that recommendation to include an employee in the Plan originates from the CEO, and the Committee may, in its sole discretion, exercise its authority to apply alternate treatment to any Participant
experiencing a change in eligibility status during the Plan Year: 
  

	(a)	New Hires. A newly hired employee selected and approved as a Participant in the Plan prior to March 1 of the Plan Year may participate in the Plan based on a full Plan Year. A newly hired employee
selected and approved as a Participant in the Plan on or after March 1 and before November 1 of the Plan Year may participate in the Plan on a pro rata basis as of the date the Participant was first approved as a Participant in the Plan with respect
to the Plan Year. A newly hired employee selected and approved as a Participant in the Plan on or after November 1 of the Plan Year will not be eligible to participate in the Plan until a new Plan Year begins the following January 1.


  

	(b)	Transfer, Promotion. A Participant that experiences a transfer or promotion during the Plan Year may participate in the Plan on a pro rata basis, with a portion of the Incentive Award tied to time
spent in the former position and the balance of the Incentive Award tied to time spent in the latter position. 

  

	(c)	Demotion. An Incentive Award will generally not be made to an employee who has been demoted during the Plan Year due to performance. 


 

	(d)	Termination. An Incentive Award will generally not be made to any Participant whose services are terminated prior to the payment of the Incentive Award for reasons of misconduct, failure to perform or other
cause. 

  

	(e)	Resignation. An Incentive Award will generally not be made to any Participant who resigns for any reason, including retirement, before the Incentive Award is paid. However, if the Participant has voluntarily
terminated his or her employment with the Company’s consent, the Participant may be considered for a pro rata Incentive Award, provided the Participant otherwise qualifies for the Incentive Award. 


 

	(f)	Death and Disability. A Participant whose status as an active employee is changed prior to the payment of the Incentive Award for any reason other than the reasons cited above may be considered for a pro rata
Incentive Award, provided the Participant otherwise qualifies for the Incentive Award. In the event that an Incentive Award is made on behalf of an employee who has terminated employment by reason of death, any such payments or other amounts due
will generally be paid to the Participant’s estate. 

 The above guidelines are subject to the terms of any applicable severance or
similar agreements. Nothing in the Plan shall confer any right to any employee to continue in the employ of the Company. 

  
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 Crown Castle International Corp. 

2016 EMT Annual Incentive Plan 
  

 Section 6. Incentive Opportunity 

The CEO will determine, and recommend for approval by the Committee, incentive opportunities for each Participant. The incentive opportunities will be
defined as Incentive Opportunity Zones that represent a range of threshold, target and maximum performance outcomes for which incremental increases in performance will result in incremental increases in the Incentive Award. 

Each Incentive Opportunity Zone will include threshold, target and maximum incentive opportunities. The Participant’s target incentive opportunity will
be based on the Participant’s role and responsibilities, and will be expressed as a percentage of the Participant’s base salary. The Participant’s threshold and maximum incentive opportunities will be expressed as a Payout Multiple of
the target incentive opportunity and will also be based on the Participant’s role and responsibilities. The tables set forth on Exhibit A outline the target Payout Multiples for certain Participant categories. 

The target incentive opportunity as a multiple of base salary, and the resulting threshold and maximum opportunities will be determined and approved in
writing and kept on file for each Participant in the Business Support department. 
 Section 7. Performance Goals 

Each Participant shall have specific performance goals (the “Performance Goals”) determined for his or her position for the Plan Year. These
Performance Goals will be based on certain financial and nonfinancial performance measures that support the approved business plan of the Company and/or business unit, and should identify how the Participant will support the achievement of such
goals. 
 Two performance categories will generally be used for each Participant: 
  

	1.	Corporate/Business Unit Performance — One or more performance measures with equal or different weighting may be used within this category, including without limitation any one or more of the
performance criteria described below: 

  

	 	•	 	Corporate Adjusted EBITDA – calculated as CCIC EBITDA adjusted for non-cash compensation and amortization of prepaid lease purchase price adjustments. 


 

	 	•	 	Corporate Adjusted Funds From Operations per Share – calculated as CCIC Adjusted Funds From Operations divided by weighted average CCIC common shares outstanding with respect to the Plan Year.


  

	 	•	 	Business Unit Net New Sales – calculated as Gross New Tenant GAAP Revenue adjusted for Churn. 


The Performance Goals for these financial measures will generally be based on the Company’s 2016 financial budget/forecasts as approved by
the Board. 
  

	2.	Individual Performance — The Individual Performance Goals will generally be based on those established using the Company’s annual performance management system. 


The target mix and weighting of the Performance Goals for each Participant will vary depending on the Participant’s role and responsibilities, as set
forth on Exhibit B. 

  
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 Crown Castle International Corp. 

2016 EMT Annual Incentive Plan 
  

 For the financial performance measures, threshold, target, and maximum Performance Goals will be established
and aligned within the Participant’s applicable Incentive Opportunity Zone as defined above in Section 6. The threshold, target, and maximum Performance Goals for these financial measures, based on the Company’s budget/forecast for 2016
are set forth on Exhibit C. 
 The threshold, target and maximum individual Performance Goals will be based on how well the Participant met the goals
established using the Company’s annual performance management system. The Individual Performance Goals will be aligned within the Participant’s applicable Incentive Opportunity Zone. While the interpretation of how well the Individual
Performance Goals are met will be more subjective than for financial measures, the following descriptions will be used to interpret individual performance: 
  

	 	1.	Exceeds Expectations – Defined as performance that consistently exceeds established expectations regarding the Participant’s key individual goals. Performance at this level creates new standards
of performance. Individual performance near or at the maximum will be achieved if the participant has exhibited “Exceeds Expectations” performance. 

  

	 	2.	Meets Plus Expectations - Defined as performance that consistently meets and often exceeds established expectations regarding the Participant’s key individual goals. Individual performance above
target will be achieved if the Participant has exhibited “Meets Plus Expectations” performance. 

  

	 	3.	Meets Expectations - Defined as performance that consistently meets and sometimes exceeds established expectations regarding the Participant’s key individual goals. Individual performance at target
will be achieved if the Participant has exhibited “Meets Expectations” performance. 

  

	 	4.	Meets Most Expectations - Defined as performance that often meets established expectations regarding the Participant’s key individual goals, but also requires some development. Individual performance
near or at the minimum will be achieved if the Participant has exhibited “Meets Most Expectations” performance. 

  

	 	5.	Does Not Meet Expectations - Defined as performance that does not consistently meet established expectations regarding the Participant’s key individual goals and requires significant development.
Individual performance at this level will result in no individual annual incentive payment for the Participant. 


  
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 Crown Castle International Corp. 

2016 EMT Annual Incentive Plan 
  

 Section 8. Minimum Performance Requirements 

There are three minimum performance requirements in order to receive a full Annual Incentive in accordance with the Plan: 

 

	1.	The Minimum Financial Performance Target level set forth on Exhibit C must be achieved for Participants to be eligible for the Annual Incentive. 


 

	2.	The business units or departments for which the Participants are responsible must receive an acceptable 404 assessment of applicable internal controls. The receipt of a 404 assessment with a material weakness may
result in a reduction or elimination of the potential 2016 Annual Incentive for the responsible Participants and potentially all Participants. 

  

	3.	The Participant must receive an Individual Performance Rating of Meets Expectations, Meets Plus Expectations or Exceeds Expectations. If a Participant receives an Individual Performance Rating of Meets Most
Expectations, the Participant’s Payout Multiple for the Corporate/Business Unit Performance Goals will be reduced to the lower of the Individual Payout Multiple received for the Meets Most Expectations Rating or the Payout Multiple received for
the Corporate/Business Unit Performance Goals. If a Participant receives an Individual Performance Rating of Does Not Meet Expectations, the Participant will not receive an Annual Incentive Award. 


Section 9. Incentive Award Calculation 
 The Incentive
Awards will be calculated based on the Incentive Opportunity Zones established for each Participant at the beginning of the Plan Year. The Incentive Opportunity Zones can be depicted as target Incentive Opportunity Curves that correlate the
incentive Payout Multiples with each of the Performance Goals. 
 The target Incentive Opportunity Curve for each of the Performance Goals are set forth on
Exhibit D. 
 At Plan Year-end, the following steps will occur to calculate each Participant’s final Incentive Award: 

 

	 	•	 	The actual performance results will be plotted on each applicable Incentive Opportunity Curve for the Participant. 

  

	 	—	If actual performance results fall between the threshold and target, or the target and maximum Performance Goals, the Payout Multiples will be calculated by interpolating the actual performance results with the
threshold, target, and maximum Payout Multiples. However, no incentive will be paid if actual results fall below the threshold Performance Goal. 

  

	 	•	 	Each of the resulting Payout Multiples will then be multiplied by the weighted percentage for the applicable Performance Goal. 

  

	 	•	 	The products of each will then be added together to determine the total Payout Multiple for the Participant. 

  

	 	•	 	The total Payout Multiple will then be applied to the Participant’s target Incentive Award as a percentage of base salary to determine the total Incentive Award. 


  
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 Crown Castle International Corp. 

2016 EMT Annual Incentive Plan 
  

 An illustration of how this calculation is performed is set forth on Exhibit E. 

Section 10. Incentive Award Payments 
 Incentive Award
payments in accordance with this Plan will be processed by March 15, 2017 following the Board of Directors approval of the Plan Year’s financial statements. 

  
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