At yesterday’s House Communications Subcommittee’s Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, along with his fellow commissioners, said that the FCC would not force broadcasters off the air who missed the 39-month repacking deadline for moving to new channels. Wheeler said that the deadline was not a “drop off the edge of the table” situation, since there was …
Digital Bridge and Stonepeak complete ExteNet Systems’ $1.4 billion recapitalization
ExteNet Systems, Inc., a leading independent provider of distributed networks enabling outdoor and indoor wireless connectivity, announced the successful completion of its recapitalization efforts, initially announced in July. The acquisition is led by Digital Bridge Holdings (Digital Bridge) and Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners (Stonepeak), which together head the consortium that invested or arranged over $1.4 billion capital, inclusive of equity and …
Phoenix Tower International closes its 600 T-Mobile tower buy
Phoenix Tower International (PTI) announces that it has closed its transaction with T-Mobile to acquire the ownership or management rights relating to over 600 wireless communication tower sites including the exclusive right to manage and operate the sites from T-Mobile. Terms of the transaction remain confidential between the parties. TD Securities LLC served as M&A Advisor to PTI and provided …
Half of husband and wife battery theft team given a two year sentence in Ohio
Rachel Cowan, 34, who was her husband Michael’s lookout as he stole backup batteries from tower sites, received a two year jail sentence today in Hamilton County, Ohio after she pleaded guilty in September to charges of breaking and entering, theft and disrupting public services. Michael Cowan, whose case is still pending, would use codes that he acquired through his …
Telemundo’s WNJU tops the list at $900 million in FCC’s new repacking auction prices
The FCC has adjusted repacking opening bid prices for TV stations in the reverse auction, with Telemundo’s WNJU New York having the highest bid price at $900 million, with WCBS coming in second at $889 million. The changes do not impact the start date of the auction, which begins March 29, 2015. In order for broadcasters to have 60 days …
Trump Tower’s not-so-swaying broadcast antenna results in a $2,000 fine to developer
On Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, 2015, Toronto, Canada building authorities closed off an area of the city’s financial district after they received reports of an ‘unstable’ antenna on the Trump Tower. On Friday, the developer of Trump Tower, Talon International Development Inc., was handed a $2,000 bill from the city for the cost of closing off the roads around …
Wireless contractors and suppliers finding the best way to get unsurpassed web exposure
Many contractors and suppliers, after a year of having a web presence on Wireless Estimator’s Blue Book, have seen excellent results, but equally as important, they’ve witnessed a tremendous increase of their company appearing in many search terms on Google, Bing and other sites. Gone are the days of keyword stuffing, linking and other search engine manipulations. However, what has …
Assisted by Dr. Dre, Pai frames 5G plan at 4G America’s technology symposium
FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai addressed the “Future of Mobile Broadband in the Americas LTE to 5G Network Innovation” on Thursday at 4G America’s Technology Symposium with assistance from start to end from record producer, rapper and entrepreneur Dr. Dre. “Now, I understand that some might be a bit confused. After all, this is 4G Americas, the event is about 5G, …
Carriers say they’re being strong-armed with onerous Long Island lease requirement
Carriers leasing space on Riverhead, New York’s water towers have filed federal lawsuits claiming the Riverhead Water District is trying to “strong-arm” them into paying more by not allowing technicians onto the properties to repair and upgrade equipment until they agree to the new terms which the carriers believe are too high MetroPCS has leased space on the water tower …
Vertical Bridge picks up 200 Nsight towers, raising its count to almost 3000
Vertical Bridge, the largest private owner and manager of wireless communication infrastructure in the U.S., today announced it has closed a transaction to acquire the rights to over 200 wireless communications towers from Nsight Tower Holdings, LLC (“Nsight”), a major telecommunication service provider in the Midwest. Vertical Bridge will have the exclusive rights to lease and operate the portfolio of …
SBA Communications sees 2016 growth outpacing 2015’s full year projections
In providing SBA Communications Corporation’s Q3 earnings report today, President and CEO Jeffrey Stoops said, “Our backlogs continue to grow, and our initial 2016 outlook reflects a higher domestic organic growth rate than we now expect for full year 2015. Our portfolio continues to grow as well. We now own over 25,000 sites.” “Our customers remain active,” Stoops said, “and …
Internet service provider’s $44 million Ponzi scheme ends with a nine-year jail sentence
The U.S. Attorney General’s Office announced last week that a former Salisbury, Md. resident and businessman was sentenced to nine years and two months in prison for running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 200 investors of more than $44 million. He duped investors into believing that they were investing in telecom businesses that had Internet towers and other …
Worldwide LTE subscriptions hit 1 billion in less than six years
According to CCS Insight, statistics obtained from market metrics firm The Mobile World, worldwide LTE subscriptions have surpassed 1 billion this month. It took fewer than six years for LTE to reach this milestone, having taken 3G more than eight years and 2G services more than a dozen. Mobile World said first generation analog-based wireless services never surpassed 100 million …
Two dynamic CEOs continue with multiple leadership roles within the wireless industry
Many company CEOs take on leadership roles with other organizations, but few have the drive and talent of SouthernLINC Wireless CEO Tami Barron and Novatel Wireless CEO Sue Swenson. Barron was re-elected to serve on the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) board of directors at their annual meeting held earlier this month in Ft. Lauderdale, and had been re-elected to serve …
Empire State Building to celebrate the Alford antenna’s 50th anniversary
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the antenna that stands atop of it, the Empire State Building will be lit in blue and white on Oct. 29, 2015. The Empire State Building and the Audio Engineering Society (AES), in conjunction with the Society of Broadcast Engineers, will host an informative presentation covering the technology and the techniques of the first and current …
Permitting process comes under fire in broadband deployment hearing
The House Energy & Commerce communications subcommittee discussed barriers to broadband deployment today. The panel’s bipartisan leaders discussed bills to require broadband conduit to be built along with federally funded roads and other proposals to make it easier to provide access to utility poles and determine how federal land could be better used to support broadband infrastructure. Permitting impediments was …
PCIA head spotlights small cell and DAS solutions to meet demand for mobile data
Jonathan Adelstein, the head of PCIA – The Wireless Infrastructure Association, today kicked off the 2015 HetNet (heterogeneous networks) Expo in Los Angeles by spotlighting the deployment of small cell and DAS (distributed antenna) systems in meeting the soaring consumer demand for wireless mobile data. Adelstein’s opening remarks highlighted a study released by iGR that projects the industry “spend” on …
FCC’s AM revitalization order will help stations in troubling times
The Federal Communications Commission has moved forward to revitalize a dying industry, AM radio, by releasing their AM Radio Revitalization Report and Order late Friday afternoon. FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai said the order will ease regulatory burdens on AM broadcasters and address practical problems and interference-related issues that have long plagued AM stations. It includes multiple actions to expand access …
Eshoo, Walden introduce “Dig Once” broadband deployment bill
Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, and Congressman Greg Walden (R-Ore.), Chairman of the Subcommittee, introduced today the Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2015, commonly referred to as ‘dig once’ legislation. This bipartisan, commonsense legislation would mandate the inclusion of broadband conduit—plastic pipes which house fiber-optic communications cable—during the construction of any road …
