The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) was a key participant today at the 2015 Environmental, Health & Safety International Communications Conference in Los Angeles, California. The conference, organized by the Environmental, Health & Safety Communications Panel (EHSCP), consisted of a series of high-profile sessions focused on key industry safety and health topics, and was attended by stakeholders representing prominent …
White House: Like water, broadband is a core utility required in homes
Similar to water, electricity and sewer in terms of importance to homeowners, the White House has declared that broadband Internet is also a “core utility,” in a 40-page report published by the Broadband Opportunity Council, which was created by President Barack Obama. “Broadband has steadily shifted from an optional amenity to a core utility for households, businesses and community institutions,” …
Small cells to be given extreme test during high Pope visit traffic
Crown Castle International’s devout Catholics might be praying to St. Vincent Ferrer, patron saint of builders, that their small cell network will support the data tsunami expected on Sept. 26-27, 2015 along the historic Benjamin Franklin Parkway, stretching from the Philadelphia Museum of Art to Logan Square, during Pope Francis’s inaugural visit where more than one million people are expected …
Lawmakers’ RF concerns are on target, but media inflates dangerous site totals
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D. Calif.) have raised concerns to the FCC in regards to radio frequency radiation and the impact such exposure can have on tower technicians and other workers not involved in wireless work such as HVAC technicians and electricians. They’re also concerned about residents who might be exposed to excessive RF exposure on …
Former tech and his wife arrested after multi-state battery theft spree
A husband and wife team from Gilbert, Ariz. that caused millions of dollars in losses to carriers as well as a seven-hour service disruption in Cincinnati, Ohio, were caught after a ping from a cell tower eventually brought them down because Cincinnati police had been tracking their phone. Police say that Rachael and Michael Cowan went on a battery stealing spree …
Deceased tower techs’ signatures were forged to falsely state they were W-9 contractors
A U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Administrative Law Judge has found that a Louisiana tower erector’s owners, during a hearing to vacate a $7,000 Serious OSHA fine received following the death of two of the company’s workers in 2013, purposely misled the court, fraudulently altered documents and were deceitful in a number of representations, and he denied their …
New content rich Daily News Briefs now available from Wireless Estimator
Known for its original feature news content, Wireless Estimator has expanded its editorial offerings with its Daily News Briefs, industry stories that are too important to miss, and oftentimes are not covered by industry media. The new section, separate from Wireless Estimator’s featured articles, is light on NIMBY news which is important for readers of local newspapers and other suburban …
FBI investigating a string of fiber cuts; AT&T posts $250,000 reward
AT&T said yesterday that the company is offering up to $250,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for fiber vandalism across Alameda County in California. AT&T spokesman Jim Greer said vandals cut fiber in two different manholes about 10:30 p.m. Monday at Altamont Pass and Carroll Road in Livermore, causing Internet service to go out. …
Many wireless contractors will be required to provide a week of paid sick leave in 2017
Based upon an executive order signed by President Obama last week, wireless contractors with contracts from the federal government, as well as their subcontractors, will be required to provide up to seven days of paid sick leave a year starting January 1, 2017. It is likely to affect the cost of FirstNet’s deployment of the $7 billion 700 MHz nationwide …
PCIA urges California’s governor to sign bill that would alleviate site delays
PCIA – The Wireless Infrastructure Association has urged Governor Jerry Brown to sign California Assembly Bill 57, which will help alleviate delay in applications to site new wireless facilities and renew permits for existing wireless facilities. In the letter, Adelstein noted, “For example, in San Diego, a PCIA member reports that applications for conditional use permit renewals at four separate …
Epidemiologist: Banning Wi-Fi in schools based on cancer is “cuckoo”
Dr. Geoffrey Kabat, an epidemiologist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in response to a question regarding what he thought about movements to ban Wi-Fi in schools with a view toward exercising the “precautionary principle,” told the McGill Reporter he thinks those efforts are misplaced. “Based on my reading of the evidence, this whole movement is cuckoo. These exposures …
Key analyst likes Crown Castle, but sees American Tower with less acquisition exposure
Morningstar analyst Michael Hodel has provided an excellent overview of the industry’s three publicly-traded companies, American Tower Corp., Crown Castle International, and SBA Communications. Whereas there are almost daily yawn-inducing recommendations from analysts, Hodel’s insight and extensive analysis is worth the read. Although Hodel has previously said that his favorite amongst the towercos is Crown Castle, because he thinks it …
Carabiner’s use in lieu of shackle could have caused tower tech’s decapitation
The Kentucky Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (KY FACE) has released a comprehensive examination of an industry fatality that happened last year when a 28-year-old Indiana worker died in Cynthia, after he was decapitated by a cable when a 5/8” shackle failed while his crew was lifting a 1800-pound boom with antennas on it. One of the key findings was that …
Man who fell from tower is stable, but news reports aren’t healthy with facts
On Sunday, weekend anchor Andrew Havranek for WDTV in Clarksburg, W.Va. provided a 29-second news story on a man that fell from a “cell phone tower” in Summit Park in Harrison County Friday afternoon. The incident, Havranek said, according to Harrision County EMS officials, required the worker to be flown to Ruby Memorial Hospital with a head injury, but he …
To be 5G, or not to be, that is the question seeking answers at Super Mobility 2015
In advance of any standardized next-generation network, it is expected that carriers will be following Verizon’s lead and will be jumping on the faux 5G bandwagon. But the proclamations will be steeped in marketing since there are no clear paths to which technologies 5G will include. Tom Keathley, AT&T’s senior vice president of network and product planning, said at Fierce Wireless’ breakfast panel …
FCC denies review of a site fencing violation and obstruction lighting charge
The FCC recently denied two tower owners’ requests to review their forfeiture orders and let stand their fines totaling $16,600. Following a petition for reconsideration by Alaska Integrated Media, Inc., licensee of Station KOAN, Anchorage, the FCC said it found no basis for them to review the fine of $5,600 for failing to enclose the station’s tower within an effective …
Clear Channel Outdoor Americas and Vertical Bridge announce landmark partnership
Vertical Bridge, the largest U.S. private owner and manager of wireless telecommunication infrastructure and Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of iHeartMedia Inc., today announced the signing of an exclusive multi-year agreement for the management and marketing of wireless deployment on Clear Channel Outdoor America’s (CCOA) billboards and other out-of-home assets in 45 of the top 50 U.S. markets. …
FCC Commissioner Pai says Title ll has depressed broadband investment
While FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler was pumping next March’s incentive auction of 600 Mhz wireless spectrum at CTIA Super Mobility 2015, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai was deflating Wheeler’s belief that imposing Title II regulations on broadband were good for the nation, stating that Wheeler had dismissed arguments that classifying broadband as a common carrier service would depress investment, but data is …
India High Court: Use your landline if you don’t want cell towers installed
In a rather unorthodox response to a petition by residents alleging that a cell tower was being constructed in their neighborhood in violation of a local recommendations of an inter-ministerial committee, India’s Delhi High Court dismissed their plea and basically said that residents of Vasant Kunj should stop using their cell phones and revert back to using landlines, and then, …
FCC’s Wheeler says he’s banking upon 600 MHz auction taking place in March 2016
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler committed today to a March 29, 2016 start date for an incentive auction of 600Mhz wireless spectrum now under the control of the nation’s broadcasters. He told a packed audience at CTIA Super Mobility 2015 that the auction, which he described like a Swiss watch with many moving parts, has never been done before, …
