Van Thompson, a cell tower development pioneer, passed away quietly at his home in Annapolis, Maryland on January 5. He was 66. Thompson was known as a founding force in managing, developing and implementing wireless infrastructure in the mid-Atlantic region. He began his career in telecom in 1987 as a consultant purchasing right of way for fiber optics in Texas. …
As the labor pool tightens, contractors are sweetening employment offerings with bonuses
Wireless contractors and other infrastructure companies are offering bonuses to attract new hires and are rewarding employees who refer job seekers from other companies as well as inexperienced candidates that remain with the company for a set period of months. A review of Wireless Estimator help wanted ads found many companies offering from $1,000 to $5,000 sign-on bonuses as a carrot …
AT&T expects a spring or summer start of their one climb strategy that will keep contractors busy
AT&T contractors are expected to be busy in late spring or early summer as AT&T uses single tower climbs to deploy two bands of new mid-band spectrum for 5G, allowing the carrier to simultaneously expand C-band and roll out its recently won 3.45 GHz. It is possible that the upgrade build will involve approximately 25,000 cell towers since AT&T CEO John …
Thirty-year-old tower tech passes after falling from 400-foot tower in Ontario
Canada, frequently identified as one of the safest countries for tower climbers, had a fatality yesterday when a 30-year-old tower technician fell to his death in the Township of Minden Hills, Ontario. The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) reported that at approximately 11:30 a.m., the Haliburton Highlands OPP was contacted by Haliburton County Paramedic Services (EMS) for a worker who had …
Bogus BLS averages put larger wireless contractors at a greater risk of being red-flagged
Avetta and other compliance vendors continue to use the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data to initially assess the safety culture and performance of wireless contractors through metrics such as the Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) average. Compliance vendors red flag contractors if their TRIR exceeds the BLS’s current TRIR averages, even though they are aware …
Windy City Tower Techs resolves OSHA fatality investigation with zero citations relating to accident
Windy City Tower Techs, LLC (“Windy City”) suffered an unfortunate fatality incident on September 3, 2021 at a monopine telecommunications tower in Olympia Fields, Illinois. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) conducted a comprehensive investigation into the incident. Importantly, OSHA found no violations relating to the fatal accident. During its inspection, OSHA learned that the employee was not …
CTI Towers announces the appointment of CFO Tammy Wolfe
CTI Towers is one of the largest private tower companies in the US, and has been a portfolio company of Melody Investment Advisors LP (“Melody”), an alternative asset manager focused on telecommunications infrastructure investments, since 2020. CTI Towers owns and manages approximately 1,150 towers in 47 states. Lessors of CTI Towers assets include top wireless carriers AT&T, DISH, T-Mobile and …
DigitalBridge surpasses its fund target by over $2.3 billion in commitments
DigitalBridge Group, Inc. has announced that DigitalBridge Investment Management, the firm’s investment management platform, has closed its second flagship fund, DigitalBridge Partners II, LP, with $8.3 billion in commitments, surpassing its original target of $6.0 billion. The Fund received strong demand from a diverse, global group of new and existing investors, resulting in an over 100 percent re-up rate from …
Close to 100 contracting companies join the NATE-OSHA-FCC Strategic Partnership
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association congratulates the inaugural year participating companies in the NATE-OSHA-FCC Strategic Partnership for 2021-2022. The NATE-OSHA-FCC Partnership provides participants the opportunity to work cooperatively with OSHA, FCC and other contractors, to identify the most serious workplace hazards, develop workplace-appropriate safety and health management systems, share resources, and find effective ways to reduce work injuries, illness, …
Proposed OSHA heat stress rule should be looked at from a tower climber’s elevation: NATE
OSHA states that it is aware that 70% of heat-related deaths and serious illnesses occur within the first few days of work, and upwards of 50% occur on the first day of work for workers who have not been acclimatized to hazardous heat, and recommends a reduced schedule of strenuous work in outdoor or indoor settings. The agency believes that …
Supreme Court blocks Biden’s Covid vaccine and testing mandate for large contractors and vendors
The Supreme Court today blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a vaccine or testing mandate for large employers, allowing wireless contractors and suppliers with over 100 employees to not adhere to OSHA’s vaccine Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). Although there were guidelines that should have been in place following the January 10 deadline, two large contractors had not required the testing …
DISH Chairman Ergen and FCC’s Carr added to NATE UNITE’s stellar lineup of keynotes and presenters
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association announced today that DISH Co-Founder and Chairman Charlie Ergen and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr will participate in a Q & A Keynote Fireside Chat at the NATE UNITE 2022 Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The keynote session will be moderated by prominent industry analyst Jennifer Fritzsche, Head of North American Telecom and Digital Infrastructure …
Audax picks up controlling interest in Centerline Communications, buoying acquisitions
Audax Private Equity (“Audax”) announced today that it has acquired a controlling interest in Centerline Communications LLC (“Centerline”), a leading professional services organization focused on the design, build, and maintenance of wireless and wireline network infrastructure from Wincove Private Holdings, LP (“Wincove”) and Stone-Goff Partners (“Stone-Goff”). This transaction took place in August 2021 and terms of the transaction were not …
Mo Katibeh, AT&T’s network infrastructure build chief, moves to RingCentral’s cloud
RingCentral, a provider of global enterprise cloud communications, video meetings, collaboration, and contact center solutions, today announced that Mo Katibeh, former Chief Product Officer and Chief Marketing Officer for AT&T Business, will join the company as Chief Operating Officer on January 18, 2022,, reporting to founder, chairman and CEO Vlad Shmunis. Katibeh has managed a portfolio of businesses with $36 …
New NATE Director Santee joins reelected Directors, Cobb, Dougherty, Lee and Miller
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association released the official results of the 2022 Board of Directors election. The Association announced that Jessica Cobb, Chief Executive Officer of MDTS in Ortonville, Michigan, Kevin Dougherty, President of MILLENNIA CONTRACTING, INC. in New Castle, Delaware, Bryan Lee, President of Lee Antenna & Line Service, LLC in Springtown, Pennsylvania and Jimmy Miller, President of MILLERCO …
DISH Network appoints John Swieringa as its new wireless prexy as pressures mount to launch in Las Vegas
DISH Network has named John Swieringa as President and Chief Operating Officer of DISH Wireless. In this expanded role, he will be responsible for all operational aspects of DISH’s wireless business including the deployment and management of DISH’s virtualized, O-RAN 5G broadband network. Swieringa also will continue to lead DISH’s retail wireless business, and oversee day-to-day wireless activities. The Sweiringa announcement comes at …
Congressman Dan Crenshaw and FCC Commissioner Brendan Car visit tower site in Texas
U.S. Congressman Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr recently conducted a site visit to a communications tower located in Huffman, Texas. The tour was facilitated by representatives from NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association and Enertech Holdings Company. Congressman Crenshaw is a member of the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he has championed important communications and …
The 10 biggest wireless infrastructure news stories of 2021 can be distilled down to one
In assessing Wireless Estimator’s Top 10 News stories in 2021, there were dozens to choose from pertaining to safety, fatalities, 5G infrastructure, COVID-19, workforce shortages, and Dish’s ambitious buildout. However, there was one story that dwarfed all others in readership and its ability to shape 2021 and beyond – NATE’s full-court press in exposing and championing its core contractor members’ concerns regarding …
Verizon welcomes the new year with a fireworks display
On New Year’s Eve, firefighters responded to a cell tower that was on fire at West 2nd Street, City of Gulf Shores, AL. According to city officials, the fire was immediately extinguished and emergency service communications were not affected. The 150-foot monopole, constructed in 2006, is owned by Verizon and managed by American Tower Corp. It is unknown if maintenance …
