American Tower Corp. (ATC) today announced changes to its U.S. Tower senior management team. The company said in a press release that Steven Marshall intends to step down from his position as Executive Vice President and President, U.S. Tower Division, effective August 1, 2018. Steve Vondran, who has been with ATC for approximately 18 years, will succeed Marshall in this …
Crown’s Q2 is all good news; ATC and SBA show some weaknesses
The nation’s big three publicly traded tower companies have released second quarter earnings this month and spent time with analysts on their calls, highlighting marked improvement in some areas and offering encouragement of what they believe will be increased revenues as 5G is rolled out. There were also some less than encouraging summaries within their reports, but the Street shrugged them …
AT&T and Verizon believe wireless is competitive, others strongly disagree
AT&T, in replying to the FCC’s request for comments as to the state of mobile wireless competition, informed the FCC in a filing that the answer is a slam dunk for the agency since the Commission “has the easiest call it has ever had to make…the wireless marketplace is, quite obviously, ‘effectively competitive’.” The carrier also said, “Competition has never …
‘Tower Woman’s’ standoff pales compared to ‘Tower Guy’s’ six-day televised rescue
A 29-year-old woman was arrested Thursday night after she climbed to the top of a 300-foot SBA Communications self-supporting tower in Wooster, Ohio, and refused to come down, taunting police and emergency personnel as she traversed diagonals in flip-flops. After a three-hour standoff that drew dozens of rescue workers and hundreds of spectators, Jessica Lee McCarty descended the tower on …
Terrible contractor payment terms is first in dozens of Fast-Forward Friday articles
Fast-Forward Friday is Wireless Estimator’s latest news offering that provides an overview of relevant industry news stories presented during the week by other media that were not covered by our staff, along with a link to the article to go upstream and read it in its entirety. After all, the articles’ authors did all the heavy lifting, and capsuling their content and …
Pai promises to put his boots on and get on the steel after hearing ribbing
At an FCC House oversight hearing yesterday, tower climbers took center stage when Congressman Pete Olson threw a ‘curveball’ at FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, when he jokingly suggested that Pai should climb a tower as Commissioner Brendan Carr had done recently in South Dakota, as can be viewed in the above video. That forced Pai to take advantage of Olson’s levity …
Tower workers and families are major benefactors of T-Mobile’s 5th golf tournament
The ‘uncarrier’ yesterday clearly showed that it is the caring carrier when T-Mobile donated $360,000 to two non-profit industry organizations that assist tower workers and their families. At T-Mobile’s 5th Annual National Development Golf Tournament held Wednesday in Newcastle, Wash., the carrier continued their generous track record of philanthropy by donating $180,000 to the Tower Family Foundation which provides financial assistance and scholarships to family …
T-Mobile’s A-Team seeking assurances Sprint deal won’t block spectrum bidding
T-Mobile is petitioning the FCC for confirmation that its proposed merger with Sprint won’t prevent the carrier from bidding in wireless spectrum auctions under FCC rules prohibiting joint-bidding arrangements between companies, according to an ex parte filing this week. Kathleen Ham, Senior VP, Government Affairs for T-Mobile and Steve Sharkey, the carrier’s Government Affairs, Technology and Engineering Policy chief, and …
Sinclair/Tribune deal given life support after court nixes ownership rule petition
In a two-page decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has refused to overturn the FCC’s restoration of the UHF discount on the grounds that the parties challenging it did not have standing to bring the petition. However, its impact may not be beneficial to the Sinclair/Tribune acquisition which might already be doomed. The UHF discount means …
Anritsu’s BTS Master software will keep PIM-testing tower climbers safely on the ground
Anritsu Company introduced its PIM over CPRI software today for its BTS Master™ MT8220T and MT822xB handheld base station analyzers that allow passive intermodulation (PIM) measurements to be made from the ground for the first time. By eliminating the need for network operator installation and maintenance crews and contractors to climb the tower to test for PIM, the new BTS Master-based solution …
Monopole paint job gets too up close and personal with 132 cars
Some contractors that have been painting towers for years might have painted something other than the intended structure due to an unexpected gust of wind or a wand or other spray rig malfunction, but an Iowa contractor last month tallied 132 reasons why you shouldn’t trust Mother Nature. A crew from TeleWinCom Inc. painted an SBA Communications monopole off of …
Coalition calls out Sprint’s conflicting claims about munis threatening 5G
The Smart Communities and Special Districts Coalition, originally formed to participate in the FCC’s Mobilitie Petition, is taking Sprint to task for making conflicting claims about communities impeding the rollout of broadband throughout the nation. In a filing to the FCC, the coalition, comprised of individual localities, special districsts and local government associations that collectively represent over 31 million residents …
‘Disruptive’ tower builder Tillman gets bankrolled with a billion dollars
Build-to-suit developer Tillman Infrastructure, currently building sites in over 36 states across the U.S., will receive up to $1 billion in additional funding from La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and global investment manager AMP Capital, with an initial investment of $500 million. Tillman’s biggest clients are AT&T and Verizon. Both carriers last year announced a joint …
Telamon announces acquisition of Oklahoma turnkey firm CLS Group
Telamon Corporation has increased its national presence with the acquisition of CLS Group, a leading provider of site acquisition, design, engineering, and construction services in the telecom industry and land services to the Oil & Gas industry. Headquartered in Edmond, Oklahoma, CLS Group holds licensure in 48 states across the country. The integration of CLS’s services into Telamon’s Deployment Ready …
Future telecom profitability is not seen as especially robust: BDO Global Survey
Telecommunications companies surveyed for the 2018 BDO Telecom Risk Factor Survey are feeling a little more assured that there will be a successful future as compared to previous surveys, but BDO Global’s findings indicate that “dramatic changes in the political, business and economic environment means new risks are appearing the horizon,” and the industry must adapt to rapidly changing market …
AT&T and T-Mobile rumble in the 5G buildout PR jungle over city choices
AT&T said Friday that it plans to begin introducing mobile 5G to customers in a dozen cities this year, and they’re adding Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C. and Oklahoma City as the next three identified cities for their buildout, the carrier said in a press statement. These cities will join their previously announced cities of Dallas, Atlanta, and Waco Earlier this year, T-Mobile said it plans to …
Transparency bill ushered in to order early release of FCC’s draft documents
Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger has introduced H.R. 6422, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Transparency Act, which would require the FCC to publish on their website the documents to be considered by the Commission at least 21 days ahead of a vote, a pilot plan introduced by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai last year. Upon introduction of H.R. 6422, Kinzinger released this statement: “As a member of the …
Fast-Forward Friday is Wireless Estimator’s newest news offering
Fast-Forward Friday, a new weekly feature, is Wireless Estimator’s latest news offering that provides an overview of industry news articles presented during the week by other media that were not covered by our staff, along with a link to the article to go upstream and read it in its entirety. After all, the articles’ authors did all the heavy lifting, and …
Indian Tribes team up to halt 5G ‘desecration’ expected from FCC’s exemptions
American Indian tribes are pressing the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to halt a March 22, 2018 order from the FCC exempting small-cell 5G network structures from certain regulatory reviews, arguing that the order would allow for the “desecration of historic sites just because it cannot supervise effectively.” In consolidated complaints, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, …
NATE partners with Teltronic Towers to host U.S. SBA and OSHA tower-site visit
Last Thursday, NATE partnered with founding member company Teltronic Towers, Inc. to host officials from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and OSHA at a communications tower site in Frederick, Md. During the visit, officials from U.S. SBA and OSHA witnessed in real-time a Teltronic Towers crew replacing cellular antennas with upgraded antennas and equipment at a monopole site. The U.S. …
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