Tower crews have been working under challenging conditions to restore cell and wireline services to three carriers in West Virginia after massive floods left tens of thousands of customers without communications services. Frontier Communications, alone, said more than 10,000 of its customers have lost services. The company said in a news release that the number of outages may fluctuate and …
Tower welders torch their surroundings in Pierre, S.D.
Tower techs welding on a communications tower yesterday afternoon started a grass fire that burned several acres in Pierre, S.D. on top of a hill where several towers are located north of HIlger’s Gulch. According to Piere Fire Chief Ian Paul, about 30 firefighters were required to put the fire out that was being fanned by 40 mph winds. After …
No injuries after Indiana tower topples due to 100 mph gusts
An internet service provider’s 180-foot guyed tower collapsed this morning in Russiaville, Ind. after gusts reported to be at 100 mph hit the area. The tower, located at Union and Stewart Streets, is owned by Start of the Art Communications. Local ambulance services and the Howard County Dispatch Center also have equipment on the tower. It also was part of …
New NATE video emphasizes the gravity of not respecting gravity
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today released a Gravity Video as part of the Association’s 2016 Climber Connection campaign. The video features testimonial footage of a tower technician articulating the importance of respecting gravity at all times when working in the communication tower industry. The video also includes practical safety tips for industry workers to follow in order …
Flash Technology enhances service and security for monitoring operations, adds staff
Flash Technology, a global leader in obstruction lighting, has announced the enhancement of the organization’s remote monitoring solutions for Vanguard® SMART series and FTM 190 monitoring devices. The leading monitoring products are now equipped with the encrypted Simple Network Management Protocol version 3, or SNMPv3. The encrypted SNMPv3 provides Flash Technology customers with increased security for the monitoring capabilities of …
Communications Sales & Leasing to acquire Tower Cloud
Communications Sales & Leasing, Inc. (CS&L) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Tower Cloud, Inc. for $230 million in cash and stock. Tower Cloud is a leading provider of data transport services, with a particular focus on providing infrastructure solutions to the wireless and enterprise sectors, including fiber-to-the-tower backhaul, small cell networks, and …
Texas techs and others network at NATE’s regional confab
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) has reported that the second NATE Regional Meeting held on Tues., June 7 at the Texas Star Golf Course Conference Center in Euless, Tex. was a tremendous success. The meeting focused on key industry safety and health initiatives and offered excellent networking and professional development opportunities for meeting attendees. “This was such a successful …
Vertical Bridge deal adds 1,000 building opportunities to its portfolio
Vertical Bridge, the largest private owner and manager of wireless communications infrastructure in the U.S., today announced the signing of an exclusive five-year agreement with The RMR Group to market and master lease telecommunications sites at more than 1,000 RMR managed buildings. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The RMR Group’s managed assets include hotels, travel centers, healthcare, senior …
FCC shuffle puts Suzanne Tetreault in the deputy bureau chief’s seat
FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Chief Jon Wilkins has announced his intention to appoint Suzanne Tetreault as deputy bureau chief. Tetreault will move from her current position as deputy general counsel in the Office of General Counsel. Tetreault will replace current Deputy Bureau Chief Jean Kiddoo who is joining the FCC’s Incentive Auction Task Force as Deputy Chair for Transition. “Suzanne’s …
Key industry test equipment supplier Electro Rent is acquired by Platinum Equity
Platinum Equity and Electro Rent Corporation have announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Electro Rent would be acquired by Platinum Equity for approximately $323.4 million. “We are excited to begin this new phase in Electro Rent’s history, and look forward to partnering with Platinum as we continue to meet and exceed the needs of our …
Unmanned aerial systems safety resource unveiled by NATE
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) announced today the release of a resource document entitled Unmanned Aerial Systems Operations Around Vertical Communications Infrastructure. The safety document, available here, is a by-product of collaboration between the NATE Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Committee and other prominent representatives from the commercial UAS industry. The resource represents NATE’s efforts to educate the wireless …
Tower tech beta testers needed to evaluate upcoming written exams
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) is seeking qualified volunteers who are willing to take part in a beta test of the Telecommunication Tower Technician Certification exams on June 30, 2016 in Dallas, Tex. The ideal candidates to take the beta test are those individuals who are currently working as tower technicians and who have received at least some formal …
Successful exhibit floor at WIA’s record-high attendance conference
Although the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) said that they anticipated that they would have approximately 3,000 attendees prior to the show, and a spokesperson said that the crowd broke a record attendance, he could not provide a count today of actual attendees. Last year, according to the WIA, the show had more than 2,000 registrants. A number of exhibitors said …
Sprint’s emergency response team is ready for the 2016 hurricane season
Sprint says it is ready to help customers stay connected and mitigate impact to its network if a hurricane makes U.S. landfall during the 2016 hurricane season which runs from June 1 to November 30. On the eve of the season, many weather experts are predicting an active tropical storm season with an increase in activity as compared to the …
Key executives at WIA: The tower biz is still where you want to be
When the Wireless Infrastructure Association’s (WIA) annual “View from the Top” presentation kicked off at yesterday’s Dallas, Tex. conference, audio problems kept the packed audience craning their necks for about 10 minutes to hear what was being said. But when WIA President and CEO Jonathan Adelstein restarted the session from the beginning, it was crystal clear to attendees that 2016 …
Chuck Slagle hired as executive director of National Wireless Safety Alliance
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today the hiring of wireless industry veteran Chuck Slagle as the organization’s Executive Director. Slagle, who previously served the NWSA in a consulting capacity, is a former Sprint Environmental Health & Safety Executive with over 38 years of experience in the industry. The NWSA’s leadership announced the hiring at the 2016 Wireless Infrastructure …
NATE’s tower inspection video covers multiple practical tips
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today released a Tower Inspection Safety Video as part of the Association’s 2016 Climber Connection campaign. The Association unveiled the video at the 2016 Wireless Infrastructure Show in Dallas, Tex. The video highlights practical safety tips for industry workers to follow when performing tower inspections. The video includes both ground-based and aerial footage of …
Backhaul team provides flawless service during President Obama’s commencement address
Fastback Networks today announced that its Intelligent Backhaul Radio (IBR) was deployed to provide the temporary wireless backhaul vital to high capacity mobile network services during President Obama’s commencement address at Rutgers University, held May 15, 2016 at High Point Solutions Stadium, Piscataway, N.J. Deployed by the wireless infrastructure services company AMP Communications to carry Tier 1 operator traffic, the …
CTIA: American data usage more than doubled in 2015
Today, CTIA released its annual survey results, which found Americans used 9.6 trillion megabytes (MB) of data in 2015, three times the 3.2 trillion MB in 2013. This is the equivalent of consumers streaming 59,219 videos every minute or roughly 18 million MB. Smartphones are the number one wireless device in the U.S. and still growing There were more than 228 …
FCC publishes final list of 99 applicants for 600 MHz auction
The Federal Communications Commission released the 99 names of completed bidder applications (below) for the forward auction that will see wireless carriers and other participants bid upon spectrum in the 600 MHz band being let go by many TV broadcasters. The next step in the auction will be when the FCC decides whether the 99 applicants are qualified bidders. That …
