In an act of transparency, the Tower Family Foundation, a 501c-3 non-profit, today touted the organization’s strong financial management and stewardship track record in an industry-wide announcement. Independent certified public accounting firm Vilhauer, Raml & Snyder LP calculated that the Tower Family Foundation’s administrative expenses for the year ending December 31, 2016 as a percentage of total revenue was 3.36%. …
Violent Florida contractor charged in $16 million DOD bribery and kickback conspiracy
Oct. 12, 2017 – Update and Correction: Timothy Donelson, who was arrested on Oct. 4 for participating in a bribery and kickback conspiracy was employed by Level 3 Communications, according to his LinkedIn page, during the period when he allegedly co-conspired with three other individuals who are charged with the issuance of almost $16 million in fraudulent invoices. Donelson’s arrest record identified that …
Indiana’s FirstNet opt-in hits the 50% mark of states coming on board
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced today his decision to accept the FirstNet and AT&T plan to deliver a wireless broadband network to the state’s public safety community. The move puts Indiana as the 25th state to opt-in to the FirstNet system, bringing advanced tools to help Indiana’s first responders save lives and protect communities. “Indiana’s first responders need fast, accurate information to keep Hoosiers safe,” Gov. …
NATE’s STAR Initiative participants represent the gold standard for safety and quality
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today announced the member companies who have been formally approved to participate in the STAR Initiative program for the 2017-2018 year. The NATE STAR Initiative is currently entering its seventh year and is the Association’s signature program designed to help companies operate safely and recognize tower contractors, owners and carriers who voluntarily adhere to …
FCC gives Project Loon a kickstart to keep Puerto Ricans communicating
Google received approval to deploy an experimental balloon-based web service to restore cell reception to Puerto Ricans still struggling after Hurricane Maria devastated the island’s cell service. Today, 81 percent of Puerto Rico’s cell sites were out of service, almost no change from yesterday. The FCC said Saturday that it granted an “experimental license” for Alphabet Inc.’s (Google’s parent company) …
Tata closing its doors will take a nice chunk out of American Tower’s income
In response to press reports that Tata Group is going to close down its India-based Tata Teleservices Ltd. (TTL), American Tower Corporation (ATC) today announced that the carrier accounted for approximately $80 million, or 5% of the REIT’s consolidated property revenues, including approximately $32 million of pass-through revenue. In addition, TTL accounted for approximately $40 million in gross margin for …
Joint agency team assesses Puerto Rico cell tower damage
A team from FEMA and Joint Force Land Component Command assessed damage to cellular and radio towers today caused by Hurricane Maria throughout the island of Puerto Rico According to Spc. Gabrielle Weaver, the team assessed several towers via helicopter in an effort to reestablish communication to the island. They are trying to make a list of which one is …
Towercos use the power of the plug and courts to get lease bills paid
While the Empire State Building Realty Trust (ESRT) used the New York Supreme Court this week to win its lawsuit against radio station Pacifica WBAL for unpaid tower rent of $1.8 million plus attorney’s fees, towercos in India owed millions of dollars by Reliance Communications are cutting the carrier’s power to force them to ante up unpaid lease payments that …
Copyright accusations fly as Washington adopts its extensive telecom safety standard
The State of Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) adopted their Safety Standards for Telecommunications, Chapter 296-32, on Monday with a Jan. 1, 2018 effective date for the comprehensive 106 pages of rules. Industry associations had challenged some of the major inclusions, but the final version released yesterday saw mostly definition changes, and clarity revisions that do not require …
Court says broadcasting couple owes millions on their TV and radio stations sale
The Eleventh Circuit yesterday upheld a 2015 U.S. Tax Court decision finding a Florida couple liable for at least a quarter of $79 million in unpaid taxes and interest from the sale of their Wisconsin TV and radio stations using a Midco transaction where the buyer resold the assets of Shockley Communication Corp.’s (SCC) stock. The court said it was …
FCC votes to give $77 million for telecom in PR; Governor’s outages differ from FCC
Update: Oct. 4, 2017 – The FCC unanimously voted today to immediately provide carriers with up to seven-months’ worth of support from the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, which helps lower the cost of deploying service in areas that are costly to serve. Any funds advanced under today’s action can be used to repair telecommunications infrastructure and restore service to customers …
Grant will provide hundreds of workers with rigger awareness training through NATE
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) announced today that it has been selected by the U.S. Department of Labor – OSHA to receive a $155,000 Susan Harwood Targeted Topic Training Grant for the 2017-2018 program year. The Susan Harwood Training Grant Program awards grants to nonprofit organizations on a competitive basis. Awards are issued annually based on Congressional appropriation. …
Lack of on-site generators, COWs, contributes to Puerto Rico’s still horrendous cell service
After Hurricane Maria’s catastrophic devastation of Puerto Rico’s cell sites, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai directed his staff last week to reach out to American Tower, SBA Communications and Crown Castle “to see how we can work together to address Puerto Rico’s communications needs,” However, according to over a dozen industry professionals interviewed by Wireless Estimator, the answers are already known …
Engineer sentenced to 8 years for billing over $400K for missing equipment, 6 tower climbs
A former radio engineer has been sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing approximately $400,000 from the College of DuPage Illinois-owned FM station WDCB. John Valenta, 68, of Wheaton, appeared in court Friday, where DuPage County Judge Liam Brennan handed down the sentence. Valenta pleaded guilty to theft over $100,000 as part of a plea agreement on Feb. 28. …
High angle rescue brings down two tower techs in North Carolina
Two workers had to be rescued after being unable to get down from an approximately 125-foot Crown Castle monopole in south Charlotte, N.C. Thursday night. According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, two techs were working on the tower, located at 1800 Rama Rd. when one of the men became ill. The other tower climber proceeded to help his coworker, but couldn’t assist …
Three Tower King techs killed in Florida after gin pole rigging failure
UPDATE: Sept. 29, 2017 – Authorities have released the names of the three technicians who fell to their deaths Wednesday when a gin pole failed during an antenna installation project in Miami Springs, Fla. The men were identified as Marcus Goffena, 31, from Sidney, Ohio, Brachton Barber, 23, of Longwood, Fla., and Benito Rodriguez, 35, of Tampa, Fla. Brachton is …
NATE unveils DAS video featuring Super Bowl LII venue at U.S. Bank Stadium
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today unveiled a Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) video as part of Volume 2 of the popular Climber Connection series. The video was released at the NATE Wireless Industry Network (WIN) Great Plains Regional Conference in Bloomington, Minn. The fast-paced video highlights the explosive growth of DAS and the essential role this technology plays …
Rivada to testify at Pennsylvania Senate & House joint hearing on FirstNet
The Pennsylvania Senate and House Committees on Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness and the Senate Committee on Communications & Technology announced they will host a Joint Public Hearing at 9:00 a.m. on Oct. 19, 2017 in the North Office Building to review FirstNet in Pennsylvania. The hearing will focus on construction and interoperability of the Commonwealth Public Safety Broadband Network (CPSBN) through …
Not ready to opt in to FirstNet, Georgia becomes the 13th state to issue an RFP
Georgia recently issued a request for proposals (RFP) asking bidders to submit proposals to build and maintain an alternative LTE radio access network (RAN) for FirstNet under a potential “opt-out” scenario, making Georgia the 13th state with an active procurement for an alternative-RAN vendor. Georgia released the RFP on Sept. 22, and bids are due on Oct. 24. The proposed …
The world’s first all-wireless small cell just got its Sprint “wings”
Chief Operating Officer, Technology, Sprint, Günther Ottendorfer explains the new technology By Günther Ottendorfer Chief Operating Officer, Technology, Sprint There’s magic in the air for Sprint customers! Our newest technology innovation, Sprint Magic Box, has taken to the sky as the world’s first all-wireless aerial small cell. When we launched Sprint Magic Box in May, we hinted that this unique …
