After Hurricane Harvey hit the coastal tourist town of Rockport Tex., decimating communications in Aransas County, carriers reported to the FCC on Saturday that 18 of 19 cell sites were out of service. This morning, according to the FCC, the county is still without service, but more importantly, the percent of cell sites that are down in the affected counties …
Wireless industry works to maintain service for millions of Americans impacted by Hurricane Harvey
The wireless industry is working hard to maintain service for the millions of Americans across Texas and parts of Louisiana impacted by Hurricane Harvey, as data released by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) showed that 95 percent of the thousands of cell sites across the region were up and running, although sites that are not operating are increasing. The nation’s major wireless carriers, AT&T, …
Charter advance allows SBA to break into the S&P 500 on Sept. 1
S&P Dow Jones Indices has announced that it will add Charter Communications Inc. to the S&P 100 Index on Sept. 1, providing the opportunity for Boca Raton, Fla.-based SBA Communications to become the newest S&P 500 company. Charter, which is part of the S&P 500, is replacing DuPont, which has been acquired by Dow Chemical Co., with the combined company …
Fox stations to begin broadcasting from World Trade Center next year
The Fox-owned New York stations, WNYW and WWOR, will move their transmitters to the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere next year, One World Trade Center. “We are pleased to welcome Fox’s WNYW and WWOR to One World Trade Center’s broadcast facility,” said John Lyons, assistant vice president and director of broadcast communications of The Durst Organization, which manages, operates …
American Tower manager Leifer to head Society of Broadcast Engineers
The Society of Broadcast Engineers, the association for broadcast and multimedia technology professionals, announced the results of the 2017 election for the national board of Directors. Jim Leifer, CPBE, was elected as the society’s president. Leifer is senior manager of broadcast operations at American Tower Corporation, Andover, Mass. Regarding the election, Leifer said, “I look forward to serving the Society …
Goodbye Moto? Not likely, but competitors will cut into LMR and FirstNet business
Motorola Solutions is entrenched with U.S. government agencies and their land mobile radio (LMR) purchases are a significant share of the company’s profits, but in the past week a number of media are questioning whether the company could be vulnerable to competitors building handsets and other devices meeting FirstNet standards. According to a Forbes report, “FirstNet devices are expected to …
Photos proved to be elusive for most tower techs, but not the eclipse’s enjoyment
Taking eclipse photos with their beloved broadband structures in the foreground proved to be a daunting task for tower climbers yesterday as they tried to capture the first coast-to-coast total eclipse of the sun in the past 99 years. And using NASA’s suggestion to take your ISO certified sunglasses and put them in front of your smart phone camera’s lens …
Crown Castle disputes whistleblower’s claim that it hid millions in fees from New York
A whistleblower lawsuit filed on Dec. 28, 2015 alleging that Crown Castle International has cheated New York out of millions of dollars by hiding fees it received from wireless carriers that were supposed to be split with the State has been unsealed in N.Y. State Supreme Court. The U.S.’s largest operator of towers and DAS systems is accused of filing …
Endangering daughter’s life on communications rooftop is beyond comprehension
A Wisconsin amateur radio operator overstepped the bounds of common sense when he allowed his daughter to use the top of Marshfield, Wisconsin’s City Hall as her personal playground this week. And one misstep on her part could have resulted in her tragic death or a serious injury. Chris Henry had the day off and decided to remove an unused …
AT&T and FirstNet are keeping a low profile as Verizon touts its public safety network
Verizon’s announcement yesterday that it would build a core network to support the nation’s public safety users, putting it toe-to-toe with AT&T which won the FirstNet contract to build a nationwide public safety network, has communications officials questioning whether Verizon’s network will meet the FirstNet interoperability requirements set by the FCC for states or territories deciding to opt-out and build …
California tower technician rescued by emergency crews
A tower tech working on a 120-foot self-supporting tower in Los Flores Ranch Park, southeast of Orcutt, Calif. was rescued after he became weak and nearly fainted, and could not descend the tower this afternoon. According to Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni, the worker was doing repair work on the structure owned by the city of Santa Maria, …
Verizon takes on AT&T with its dedicated first responders network
Verizon Wireless, the largest wireless network operator in the U.S. announced today that it going to build and operate its own private network core to serve first responders, jumping into the ring with AT&T who has the contract to build out the opt-in FirstNet network. SVP, Public Sector for Verizon Mike Maiorana discussed the carrier’s commitment to public safety communications …
Tower climbers have the ideal opportunity for the greatest solar eclipse photographs
The total solar eclipse on Mon., Aug. 21, 2017 will be visible along a narrow strip of approximately 70 miles wide, spanning from Oregon to South Carolina. The first industry company where employees can walk outside their office and take in the first total solar eclipse to sweep the U.S. coast-to-coast in 99 years is Slatercom of Salem, Ore. beginning …
Firstnet’s progress lauded at APCO as Arizona and Kansas join the public safety network
UPDATE August 15, 2017: Kansas is also transforming public safety communications by opting in to FirstNet. This afternoon, Governor Sam Brownback announced his decision to accept the FirstNet and AT&T plan to deliver a wireless broadband network to the state’s public safety community. This will make Kansas the 14th state or territory to bring advanced technologies that will help first responders save lives and protect communities. FirstNet Chairwoman Sue Swenson extolled …
CCA wants the FCC to deny Verizon’s $3.1 billion offer for Straight Path
In a Petition to Deny filed with the Federal Communications Commission, the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) encouraged the Commission to deny the proposed transaction to transfer the control of Local Multipoint Distribution Service, 39 GHz, 3650-3700 MHz, and common carrier fixed point to point microwave licenses from Straight Path Communications Inc. to Verizon Communications Inc. If approved, CCA believes, the …
Court tosses Tall Tower’s lawsuit filed after Vertical Bridge acquired Clear Channel’s towers
A lower court should have dismissed Tall Tower Capital, LLC’s lawsuit accusing Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, LP of breaching an agreement in a deal to buy Clear Channel’s 472 broadcast tower assets, a Florida appeals court ruled Friday, finding that the firm had not established personal jurisdiction in Florida. A three-judge panel for the Florida Second District Court of Appeals unanimously …
AT&T heralds ‘one climb’ to get three units of spectrum in service
At last week’s Oppenheimer’s 20th Annual Technology, Internet & Communications Conference, AT&T CFO John Stephens said that he expects the carrier’s overall capex to increase as a result its FirstNet build over the next three to four years with work beginning this year with the states that have opted in. “What we expect is that it will be one of …
Shenandoah Tower Service is acquired by Site Resources
Site Resources LLC (SRI), owned by H&N Holdings LLC (H&N) has purchased Shenandoah Tower Service Ltd. (STS) out of Staunton, Va. in an asset purchase deal. STS’s CEO, Dave Anthony, a long-time safety advocate and active supporter of the National Association of Tower Erectors and the Telecommunicati6ons Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program said, “I have spent the last five years searching …
NATE’s WIN Great Plains September conference agenda and speakers unveiled
The National Association of Tower Erector’s (NATE) and Wireless Industry Network (WIN) unveiled the speaker line-up and agenda for the NATE WIN Great Plains Regional Conference on Wed., Sept. 27, 2017 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Bloomington, Minn. The conference will feature dynamic speakers and informative sessions on cutting-edge industry topics. The event will also offer tremendous networking …
Dougherty joins NATE’s Executive Committee as Secretary/Treasurer
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) announced today that Board of Directors member Kevin Dougherty has been elected to serve on the Association’s Executive Committee. NATE made the announcement at the organization’s 2017 Summer Conference in Kansas City, Mo. Dougherty, CEO of Millennia Contracting, Inc. in New Castle, Del., was elected to serve in the position of Secretary/Treasurer on …
