Final arguments in the T-Mobile-Sprint merger lawsuit are slated for this Wednesday and it’s expected that U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero will issue a ruling in February. Last week, states suing to block the $26.5 billion mega merger said in a filing that the deal’s previous approval by the Justice Department and the FCC shouldn’t carry any weight in deliberations …
Tower Family Foundation, students and the Fallen Seven Harley rider fund benefit from NEWA tourney
The New England Wireless Association (NEWA) on Thursday presented the Tower Family Foundation with a generous donation to help fund their outreach programs. The foundation assists in providing financial assistance to family members of a severely injured, permanently disabled, or deceased tower worker injured or killed in an accident stemming from working at heights on communication structures or other on …
Two bills presented, one for California backup power, another for power to Florida for siting
Two bills are being introduced, one in California for a mandatory backup power requirement and another in Florida that would allow for the state to bypass local governments for siting if public safety is at risk. After reviewing data from the FCC that identified 874 cellphone towers were offline during an Oct. 27 power shutoff during wildfires that affected millions …
Puerto Rico’s out of service towers expected to be operational by Sunday
Power is expected to be slowly restored to all homes in Puerto Rico over the coming days in the aftermath of a 6.4 magnitude earthquake that left many cell sites down yesterday with 31.7% out of service. Today, according to the FCC, there has been a marked improvement with 19.5% down. Towers down because of lack of power totaled 478 …
3M issues advisory on its DBI-SALA EZ-Stop shock absorbing lanyard
3M is emphasizing that their EZ-Stop Lanyard portfolio remains safe to use as it meets all aspects of the relevant OSHA regulation (OSHA 29 CFR 1926.502), but they are issuing an advisory and not a recall. The company said that as part of 3M Fall Protection’s on-going commitment to delivering high quality safety equipment, they are notifying their customers of …
FCC data assails Chicago Tribune’s cell phone RF concerns, possibly collapsing lawsuits
In August, the Chicago Tribune published test results indicating that several popular cell phones can emit radiation-causing exposure up to five times higher than current limits allow. The smart phone models were tested by an independent testing laboratory, RF Exposure Lab in San Marco, Calif. Citing the newspaper’s article, a new class-action lawsuit against Apple and Samsung was filed two days later …
Pure Safety Group recalls SRLs with stainless steel or web lifelines
Pure Safety Group (PSG) has issued an immediate recall and stop-use alert for its Guardian Fall Protection Self-Retracting Lifelines that use a stainless steel or web lifeline. “A small number of SRLs were identified as noncompliant with ANSI Z359.14-14 and must immediately be removed from service,” PSG states in a press release. Under certain conditions, the stainless steel or web lifeline may …
T-Mobile axing its projects led a baker’s dozen top news stories during 2019
The top stories in 2019, according to Wireless Estimator readership analytics, followed previous years’ subject matter favorites based upon the site’s in depth and exclusive articles as well as its comprehensive coverage of industry fatalities. T-Mobile’s unexpected new build cancellations in August came in first with 41,362 views. However, a Crosby product recall in November for certain 7/8” shackles surprised …
Fatal falls from heights are at a five year low, but not for the nation’s tower techs
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) has released its Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Report for 2018, and OSHA and media have been heralding the marked 14% decrease from 2017 of fatal falls to a lower level totaling 615, a five-year low since 2014 when there were 674 deaths. The wireless construction industry also saw a marked improvement in 2018 …
Two tower workers on the mend after 30-foot fall from Pennsylvania tower
Two unnamed men were injured this afternoon when the tower they were working on in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania collapsed. According to multiple news reports the men were taken to a hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries after falling aproximately 30 feet. Firefighters and paramedics had to use all-terrain vehicles to rescue the pair off of a hilltop …
Tower Family Foundation awarded $295K to climbers in 2019 and needs your support
The Tower Family Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is encouraging all wireless industry companies and stakeholders to make an end of year tax-deductible donation to the organization prior to December 31, 2019. All contributions to the Tower Family Foundation are granted directly to eligible tower workers and/or their families to help assist them in paying for their immediate needs and …
Vertical Bridge closes out the year with record-breaking philanthropy funding driven by employees
Vertical Bridge REIT, LLC, the largest private owner and operator of communications infrastructure in the United States, has announced that, with its matched employee donations, it has donated more than $1.5 million to charitable organizations in 2019. This is the firm’s largest annual contribution since its founding in 2014 and a nearly 20% increase over last year. Since Vertical Bridge’s founding …
A dangling upside-down tower tech in Alabama leads Fast-Forward Friday news
GUY SNAPS HURLING TOWER TECH 40 FEET UP AN ALABAMA TOWER A tower tech last Friday dangled 40-feet in the air upside-down when a guy wire snapped while he was on the ground catapulting him upwards on the tower. The tech, employed by Douglasville, Georgia-based Bennett Communications, didn’t hit the tower on the way up. The Atmore News covered the …
Four NATE Directors re-elected as Cobb joins Board for the first time
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today released the results of their 2020 Board of Directors election. The Association announced that Jimmy Miller, President of MillerCo, Inc. in Gulfport, Mississippi; John Paul Jones, President of Tower & Turbine Technologies LLC in Austin, Texas; Kevin Dougherty, President of Millennia Contracting, Inc in New Castle, Delaware; and Bryan Lee, President of …
FCC gives 5G a green light as the agency maintains existing RF exposure limits
Following proposed modifications to its radio frequency (RF) exposure rules originally released in 2013, and to allay concerns about 5G transmitters and devices, the FCC has released a decision maintaining existing allowable RF exposure limits while simplifying the process for determining whether devices are exempt from RF exposure testing. The agency voted unanimously last week to keep in place RF …
Having saved more lives than he ever knew, Winton ‘Dub’ Wilcox Jr. passes at age 74
Simply said, what Guglielmo Marconi did for radio, Winton (Dub) Wilcox Jr. achieved for climber safety as he took a cottage industry with loosely knit safety practices to a heightened professional awareness to save tower techs’ lives through his advocacy and establishment in 1995 of one of the first schools to teach tower climbing safety – ComTrain. He passed away …
American Tower and SBA’s tower source in Brazil has now become their key competitor
For many years, both SBA Communications and American Tower Corp. have eyed Brazil as an excellent country to buy and build wireless infrastructure to serve the world’s fifth-largest country with 210 million people. Adding to their portfolios, in 2012 American Tower acquired 1,800 towers from Telefonica’s Vivo. Also, in 2012, SBA inked a deal for 800 towers from Vivo …
FCC scraps 4G subsidy program and plans to dole out $9 billion for 5G in rural areas
The FCC said yesterday that it plans to scrap a $4.5 billion subsidy program for 4G LTE in rural areas and in its place launch a $9 billion fund to bring 5G wireless to hard to reach parts of the country. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the new fund will help carriers pay for 5G deployments in sparsely populated, hard-to-reach …
Toppling a 500-foot structure, ice isn’t nice to a Nebraska tower
A weekend winter blizzard in Chadron, Nebraska that included freezing rain and heavy snow powered by 50-60 mph winds, collapsed a 500-foot guyed tower owned by Eagle Communications, Inc., headquartered in Hays, Kansas The Saturday storm knocked out Eagle’s Double Q Country/KQSK radio station in addition to disrupting service for the Dawes County Sheriff’s Office, Northwest Rural Public Power District, …
NATE member Petrilla to serve on Department of State’s International Telecommunications Advisory Committee
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) announced today that Jesse Petrilla has been selected to serve on the U.S. Department of State’s International Telecommunications Advisory Committee (ITAC). The purpose of the ITAC is to advise the Department of State with respect to telecommunications and information policy matters related to United States participation in the work of the International Telecommunication …
