All Risks, Ltd. has announced that it has sold its tower program business to Tower Program Insurance Services, Inc. (TPIS) of Austin, Tex. Scott Hermesmeyer and Patrick Shea will return to Tower Program Insurance Services, Inc and continue to manage this book of business. Hermesmeyer and Shea have been managing the nation’s largest and most successful program dedicated to the …
Thieves use Ghana president’s seal for removal while heisting cell site batteries
An incident that appears to be auditioning for the tower industry fake news columns is actually true. In Ghana yesterday, police arrested three men between the ages of 25 and 35 for stealing backup batteries and copper ground wire. The thefts are a frequent occurrence in all countries, but the method that the thieves used to obtain smooth passage through various police checkpoints …
CITCA, DTS team up to co-market industry training opportunities
The Communication Industry Training and Certification Academy (CITCA) and Dover Telecommunication Services (DTS) have formed an alliance that will allow both companies to market each other’s training at discounted rates. CITCA offers a complete line of college-based tower erection and safety training programs and services directly related to the communications and wind turbine industries, with training provided at the client …
Eighteen wireless carrier CEOs urge FCC to revise Mobility Fund ll Plan
In a letter yesterday to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, 18 wireless carrier CEOs urged the Commission to revise its Mobility Fund II (MFII) plan to ensure sufficient, predictable support for the preservation and deployment of wireless networks. Competitive wireless carriers depend on Universal Service Funding (USF), in addition to their own capital resources, to provide comparable service to their …
WIA expands frequency coordination operations with addition of microwave
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), which currently provides frequency coordination services to private and public entities, has added microwave frequency coordination to its comprehensive list of frequency coordination services. The new license management and frequency protection and monitoring services include: Point-To-Point Microwave coordination and Part 101 coordination for Multiple Address Systems along with associated Frequency Protection and Monitoring; FAA Studies/FCC …
Municipal representatives unveil Georgia’s ROW agreement with Mobilitie
After meeting with representatives of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau last week, city and town leaders from Massachusetts, Georgia and Minnesota, as well as a representative of the National League of Cities, presented them with what they believe could be a model template for telecom installations in public rights of way. During the meeting, they urged the Commission to avoid …
CWA’s wireless workers at AT&T turn up the heat by alluding to a strike
Wireless workers at AT&T are planning protests throughout the nation this weekend ahead of their contract expiration on Saturday night. The Communications Workers of America (CWA), representing about 21,000 AT&T wireless workers, is planning to protest in a number of U.S. cities to put pressure on the carrier to have them accept their contract requests. More than 90% of members …
High winds in Florida topple Jackson County broadcast tower
When strong winds swept through Jackson County, Fla. late Tuesday, they took down WTOT and WJAQ’s tower in Marianna. WTOT posted a message on their webpage along with a picture of the downed guyed tower saying, “In case you were wondering where your good time oldies are, and your phone APP is not working, well they say a picture is …
Straight Path secures $17.5 million to help pay off FCC fines
Straight Path Communications Inc. announced it has secured $17.5 million in new debt financing, expanding the company’s options as it continues to explore strategic alternatives for the company. Last month, the Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau announced a settlement valued in excess of $100 million with the company to resolve an investigation of Straight Path’s failure to deploy wireless services …
Radio equipment thief arrested who put Tennessee county’s public at risk
The Perry County Tennessee Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) arrested Frank Thomas Aldridge, 48, of Lobelville on Thursday for stealing radio equipment that disrupted local, state and emergency communications. According to a police report, on or about Dec. 12, 2016, Aldridge made forced entry into a communications tower compound off of Crooked Creek Rd. in Lobelville. The tower site is owned by …
FCC chief takes first step to increase transparency of rulemakings by releasing documents
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai today announced a pilot program designed to dramatically increase the transparency of Commission rulemakings. For the first time, the Chairman is releasing to the public the full text of documents he circulated to his fellow Commissioners for a vote at the FCC’s next Open Meeting on Feb. 23. Traditionally, these documents, and the draft proposals contained …
AT&T in advanced discussions with powercos to jump to their lines
AT&T is in advanced discussions with power companies and others to trial Project AirGig in at least two locations by this fall. One location will be in the United States with others to be determined in the coming months. AT&T has experimented with this unique, patented broadband-over-power lines (BPL) technology at their outdoor facility for some time with positive results. …
GCI mourns death of company co-founder and communications pioneer Bob Walp
General Communication Inc. (GCI) has announced the passing of Bob Walp, one of the company’s co-founders and its first president. He was 89 years old. A steadfast advocate of competition in the Alaska telecommunications industry, Walp, along with Ron Duncan, founded GCI in 1979. Initially they operated the company from Bob’s small apartment in Anchorage. After battling regulatory and business obstacles, …
AT&T Mobility, CWA negotiations begin for more than 20,000 employees
AT&T Mobility began negotiations last week with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) on the Mobility Orange contract, covering more than 20,000 Mobility employees in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The contract expires on Feb. 11. The negotiations are expected to cover wages, benefits, pension and work rules. AT&T is the country’s largest employer of full-time union-represented labor. …
Landmark study of the huge impact of 5G is released
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. commissioned and released a landmark study, The 5G Economy, examining the potential economic and social impact of 5G around the world. The study was conducted jointly by research firms IHS Markit, PSB and leading economist Professor Dr. David Teece, director of the Tusher Center at the Haas School …
Grand Opening of Primus West in Phoenix, Arizona
Primus, one of the nation’s largest and leading wireless distributors, announced today the grand opening of Primus West, a second fulfillment center in Phoenix, Ariz., in the Freeport Industrial Center near Interstate 10/Papago Freeway and the 51st Avenue interchange. The new location boasts 100,000 square feet of warehouse space – more than doubling their current distribution capacity – which allows …
NATE’s free Train-the-Trainer and Fall Prevention Worker training courses available
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) will be facilitating one Train-the-Trainer Course and twelve Fall Prevention Worker Training Courses throughout the United States in 2017. NATE is pleased to offer these training courses free of charge to members and non-members, and anticipates that the sessions will achieve the Association’s objectives of having a nation-wide impact, helping small businesses establish …
Coax reel takes off down a highway in the direction of a tower
A number of Wireless Estimator viewers directed us to a YouTube video of a freewheeling reel of what they believe is coaxial cable rolling down Route 40, heading east into Uniontown yesterday morning in Fayette County, Pa. You can view it in real-time, 10 times the speed and slow motion. A cell phone video captures the alarming wrong-way travels of …
President Obama renominates FCC Democrat in his final days
After her term expired and her reappointment was not confirmed by the Senate, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel authored her farewell message on Dec. 30, 2016, stating that “No matter who you are or where you live in this country, you need access to modern communications to have a fair shot at 21st century success.” Rosenworcel may also have a fair …
FCC spreads the bad news to ‘silent’ Pennsylvania gospel radio station
The FCC has notified Pentecostal Temple Development Corporation, owner of AM gospel radio station WGBN, on Dec. 29, 2016 that it is liable for a forfeiture in the amount of $25,000 for willful and repeated violations of not cleaning or repainting their antenna structures, failing to maintain antenna structure lighting and failure to file a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM). Pentecostal …
