SoftBank Group’s agreement to acquire DigitalBridge Group, Inc., announced today, has quickly drawn attention across the digital infrastructure investment community, not only because of the transaction’s strategic importance but also because of how the $16-per-share price will be paid and whether that valuation fully captures the company’s long-term potential. How the $16 Per Share Will Be Paid According to the …
Local governments warn FCC expansion of permitting authority could trigger litigation
Local governments are warning the Federal Communications Commission that attempts to expand its authority over broadband and wireless infrastructure permitting could result in court challenges, according to the most recent filings in the agency’s ongoing “Build America” proceedings. In reply comments filed December 19, 2025, municipal organizations and local officials argue that the FCC lacks apparent statutory authority to impose …
A Christmas messge to the Wireless Estimator family
As 2025 comes to a close, we want to thank our readers, partners, and friends across the wireless infrastructure community for being part of the Wireless Estimator family. This time of year is an opportunity to reflect, recharge, and enjoy time with family and loved ones. While many industry websites slow or pause publishing during the holidays, this season also …
SUCCESS for BEAD Act could open new construction and training opportunities beyond fiber deployment
While the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program has primarily been viewed as a fiber-centric initiative, newly introduced legislation could significantly expand opportunities for wireless infrastructure and construction firms once initial deployment obligations are met. By allowing states to redirect unspent BEAD funds toward network resilience, mobile infrastructure, public safety systems, and workforce development, the SUCCESS for BEAD Act …
Why Sen. Luján forced the FCC’s “Independence” question — and why Carr let it end with a website change
The most contentious moment in this week’s Senate oversight hearing of Federal Communications Commission leadership had nothing to do with spectrum auctions, broadband deployment, or media ownership. Instead, it revolved around a single word that has defined the agency for nearly a century: independent. By the end of the exchange, that word had disappeared from the FCC’s website (View Video …
Built for speed and performance: ConcealFab launches Side Enclosures for faster small cell rollouts
Valmont Telecom, the wireless infrastructure business of Valmont Industries, has introduced the ConcealFab Side Enclosure portfolio, a new family of RF-transparent, pole-mounted outdoor cabinets engineered to support the rapid expansion of 5G small cells, fiber networks, and private LTE/5G systems across North America. As U.S. operators deploy an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 small cells annually, and municipalities continue to tighten …
American Tower presses court for early judgment regarding DISH’s tower rent obligations
American Tower has escalated its legal battle with DISH Wireless, asking a federal judge to rule as a matter of law that DISH cannot walk away from billions of dollars in tower lease obligations by claiming its business strategy collapsed. In a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings filed December 12, American Tower and its affiliates—SpectraSite Communications and InSite Wireless …
Inside the $300 million contracting scandal—apparently linked to a major U.S. carrier—that brought down ASG
Indictment reveals years of bribery, forged invoices, shell companies, and concealed payments inside a telecom contracting giant When the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment against Allstate Sales Group’s (ASG) CEO Anthony Tepedino last week, the wireless infrastructure industry received its clearest—and most troubling—view yet into the corruption that led to the company’s dramatic …
Skyline Tower Painting, president plead guilty and fined $50K after lead paint chips fall on neighborhoods
Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has announced that Skyline Tower Painting, Inc. of Colorado and its President, Christopher Mecklem, 43, of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, each pleaded guilty to criminal violations of Maryland’s environmental laws for the illegal dispersal and disposal of lead-containing paint in Baltimore City in June 2022. The investigation was led by the Attorney General’s Environmental and Natural …
FCC presses Supreme Court to combine Verizon and AT&T fights over massive fines that vacate jury trials
The Federal Communications Commission is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Verizon’s challenge to a $46.9 million location-privacy fine together with a parallel case involving AT&T’s vacated $57 million penalty, saying the Court should resolve—once and for all—whether the agency may impose large monetary forfeitures without offering companies a jury trial. The government told the justices that the two …
NATE announces 2026 Board election results; Strong member turnout reflects industry crossroads
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association announced the official results of its 2026 Board of Directors election, marking one of the strongest principal-contractor participation rates in recent history. The Association’s independent accounting firm, VRS, tabulated and certified all ballots cast, confirming the election of five candidates who will assume their posts in February 2026. Three incumbents, Victor Drouin, Mike Young, …
Gin pole failure claims a tech’s life on an Atlantic City tower, the 2nd fatality this week, the 6th this year
A 44-year-old tower technician died late yesterday afternoon in Atlantic City, N.J., after a gin pole reportedly failed while a crew was removing an abandoned FM pylon from atop a 347-foot self-supporting tower located off Murray Avenue, near the city’s water-treatment plant. Individuals familiar with the incident, who requested anonymity and declined to identify the technician or his employer pending …
South Carolina tower tech dies after 100-foot fall in Wisconsin, marking troubling fifth industry fatality of 2025
On Monday, December 1, at approximately 10:30 a.m., a tower technician fell from a cell tower and later succumbed to his injuries, according to the Douglas County, Wisconsin Sheriff’s Office in a brief statement. Sheriff Matt Izzard said his agency received a report that a male worker had fallen roughly 100 feet from a structure located off Industrial Park Road …
NATE and AT&T reach a landmark deal — What it means for the tower-contracting industry
In a move that could rewrite the business model for how America’s wireless infrastructure gets built and maintained, NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association and AT&T recently reached an agreement to overhaul longstanding contracting practices. According to NATE, the deal includes fundamental changes the association expects will “advance material aspects of the tower construction ecosystem,” including phasing out the “turf …
