July 17 (Reuters) - Wireless tower operator Crown Castle ( CCI )

beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter site

rental revenue on Wednesday, aided by steady demand for

communication infrastructure services.

The positive results indicate that demand for data continues

to grow and is pushing wireless carrier companies to lease

communication infrastructure from tower operators like Crown

Castle ( CCI ).

Companies such as Crown Castle ( CCI ) are also betting on the rise

of artificial intelligence applications that consume massive

amounts of data to generate text, photos and videos to boost

demand for their tower infrastructure.

The real estate investment trust posted second-quarter site

rental revenue of $1.58 billion, beating analysts' average

estimate of $1.56 billion.

Crown Castle ( CCI ), which owns about 40,000 towers, derives

majority of its revenue from leasing out tower infrastructure to

wireless carriers such as AT&T ( T ), T-Mobile US ( TMUS ) and

Verizon Communications ( VZ ) in the United States on a

long-term basis.

The telecommunication infrastructure company's quarterly net

income stood at $251 million at the end of June, compared with

analysts' estimates of $235.2 million.

Its adjusted funds from operations came in at $1.62 per

share, compared with $2.05 per share in the year-ago period.

In June, the company initiated a restructuring plan which

included reducing its workforce and field offices and also plans

to concentrate on existing fiber networks and limit new

projects.

The move is expected to result in approximately $100 million

of annualized run-rate operating cost savings.

"Moving forward, we are focused on continuing to progress

the Fiber segment strategic review, which remains active and

ongoing," the company said in an earnings statement.

The company, which competes with American Tower ( AMT ) and

SBA Communications ( SBAC ), maintained its outlook for

full-year 2024.