The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) has announded the dates and locations for the 2019 Advanced Rigging Principles Training sessions. Twelve (Advanced Rigging Principles Courses will be hosted nationwide in 2019 and will be offered free of charge to industry employees and employers due to a Susan Harwood Training Grant (SH-05018-SH8) from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. …
FCC commish concerned about the possibility of Trump taking over the airwaves
In a Tweet yesterday, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said it’s time to survey the nation’s laws and consider what happens with a declaration of a national emergency as President Trump has threatened to do to build his southern border wall which Rosenworcel’s fellow Democrats are blocking. She said in the War Powers of President code, it allows the President to …
Three carriers give three Pinocchios to AT&T for its false ‘5G E’ claims
In a statement Monday, Verizon, the nation’s largest mobile carrier called upon carriers to not use the term 5G for services until they use actual 5G hardware and radio standards. It was obvious that it was directed towards AT&T whose recent over the air upgrade displayed a “5G E” logo on certain Android devices in lieu of the standard LTE …
Broadband provider is suing the DOJ and FCC for foreclosure action from prison and wants $50+ million for slander
The FCC on Thursday reaffirmed its earlier decision that Hawaii-based Sandwich Isles Communications (SIC) knowingly defrauded the Universal Service Fund (USF) of more than $27 million for reimbursements it was not entitled to receive. In its order for reconsideration, the FCC said between 2002 and 2015, the USF provided nearly $250 million of funds to SIC to provide service to …
Exclusive interview with FCC Commissioner Carr addresses industry issues and our 5G future
Wireless Estimator Publisher Craig Lekutis and National Association of Tower Erectors Executive Director Todd Schlekeway recently conducted an exclusive interview with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr in late December. In this extensive feature article, Commissioner Carr discusses the FCC’s role in paving the way for a 5G future, the nation’s networks’ resiliency, and restoration lessons learned, the importance of industry workforce development initiatives …
Schlekeway and Nurnberg sign long-term extensions as NATE moves through 5G and beyond
Todd Schlekeway, Executive Director and Paula Nurnberg, Chief Operating Officer of the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE), have agreed to multi-year contract extensions that will keep them directing NATE, the nation’s leading grassroots communications infrastructure organization. “The wireless industry is extremely fortunate to have Todd and Paula directing the management of our organization,” said Jim Tracy, NATE Chairman and …
FCC returns to full five members as the Senate confirms Carr and Starks
The Senate late yesterday evening in a voice vote confirmed Geoffrey Starks as an FCC Commissioner to the open seat left by former Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and Commissioner Brendan Carr for a full five-year term. Carr and Starks had been previously approved by the Senate Commerce Committee, and their swearing in is expected shortly. Both will be paid during the …
Most of the FCC’s operations will be shuttered tomorrow if government shutdown drags on
The partial government shutdown will hit the FCC on Thursday at mid-day when approximately 1,197 workers will be furloughed until further notice if the partial government shutdown isn’t resolved by today. President Trump is expected to meet with Republican and Democratic congressional leaders at the White House this afternoon to try to break the deadlock, but a successful outcome is …
MTA skirts zoning rules, but after Tarrytown dressing down removes its 150-foot monopole
A 150-foot monopole erected in September in Tarrytown, N.Y. enjoyed a scenic view of the eastern bank of the Hudson River, but was retired the weekend before Christmas to a flatbed truck in search of a new home. The tower was constructed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) because the Metro-North Police needed it to improved emergency communications. However, the …
CenturyLink fixes outages, but not outrages from the FCC and state regulators
Last Thursday CenturyLink, the nation’s third largest telecommunications company, announced that it was experiencing phone and internet services technical difficulties, and expected that the disruptions would be fixed in four hours. However, it wasn’t until Friday morning that most outages were resolved and the FCC, prompted by Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, has launched an investigation of CenturyLink to identify the problem …
T-Mobile says they didn’t lie about their 4G LTE coverage, and possibly underestimated it
T-Mobile has emphatically denied an allegation by the Rural Wireless Association (RWA) in an FCC filing on Dec. 10, 2018 that it lied about the extent of its 4G LTE coverage. RWA said they were concerned about overstated coverage by Verizon and T-Mobile that have been borne out by challenge process data. “The vast majority of test points showed non-qualifying …
Wireless contractor’s required Job Hazard Analysis is front and center with NATE’s newest informative video
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) has unveiled their newest video entitled “Job Hazard Analysis: Reducing Your Risk” that highlights the important elements of conducting a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) at a communications tower or any other infrastructure site. The Association is taking an active role in promoting the need for a JHA, an endeavor that Wireless Estimator has been assisting the industry with …
AT&T issues its annual colo-pricing storm warning to the nation’s tower owners
In 2016, Bill Hogg, AT&T’s president of technology operations, made the clarion call to towercos that they must lower their lease rates because their model is “not really sustainable”. Last November, Susan Johnson, SVP of Global Supply Chain, AT&T in announcing an agreement with Tillman Infrastructure to build affordable sites that could be shared by AT&T and Verizon to pressure …
FCC Commissioner Carr and enforcement chief Starks’ limbo status could be decided within days
UPDATE: December 14, 2018 – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) has put a hold on FCC nominee Brendan Carr’s confirmation to a five-year term. Last week, the FCC announced that they were indefinitely pausing the release of $4.5 billion through Mobility Fund Phase II. “If the Chairman feels he needs to put the brakes on this program at this stage …
Deaths, cancer concerns attributed to AT&T cell site are unfounded leads Fast-Forward-Friday
Article Media Deaths, cancer concerns attributed to AT&T cell site are unfounded Sonoma West Times FCC committtee proposes tax on websites to pay for rural broadband ARS Technica CWA, Dish, NTCA, part of new colaition opposing Sprint/T-Mobile Deal ECN AT&T: Ten predictions for the next 25 year WIA Verizon to buy out more than 10,000 employees, take a $4.6B …
FCC green lights a 5G high-band millimeter wave spectrum auction for 2019
The FCC today took a significant step at its open meeting toward holding a major 5G spectrum auction in 2019 by adopting new rules that will promote the availability of high-band millimeter wave spectrum for the next generation of wireless connectivity. The airwaves in the combined Upper 37 GHz and 39 GHz bands are the largest amount of contiguous spectrum …
‘Early warning signs’ point to tower crew shortages delaying next nine repack phases
Since 2015, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has been informing the FCC that a shortage of qualified tower crews and other concerns will prevent many broadcasters from meeting the ambitious repack window. They were correct, according to Curtis LeGeyt, NAB Executive V.P. of Government Relations, who testified during a House Communications and Technology hearing yesterday. He said, “early warning signs …
Carriers weigh in on using ‘fatally flawed’ coverage maps for dishing out universal service funds
The Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) has joined the chorus of concern as to the possibility that some wireless carriers falsely reported information about their coverage areas to the FCC, therefore violating mapping rules pertaining to the Mobility Fund Phase ll reverse auction, as reported by Wireless Estimator. CCA Sr. V.P. Tim Donovan testified during a House Communications and Technology hearing …
Want to ban us from using Huawei or ZTE network equipment FCC, then pay our carriers: RWA
The U.S., including its allies such as the U.K, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan, appear to be championing the need to shut out Chinese tech giant Huawei’s networks due to national security concerns. Also, based upon security issues, Japan is also considering banning ZTE network equipment for government offices and its military forces, according to numerous news reports. However, the …
