Memorial services are being planned for Thomas “Tom” Stoner, 88, who died on October 19, 2023. The well-respected serial entrepreneur and philanthropist built Stoner Broadcasting and played a vital role in creating American Radio Systems (ARS) in 1993 with the late Steve Dodge. ARS began with 16 stations in seven markets. They took the opportunity afforded by the passage of …
American Tower names Steven Vondran to succeed Thomas Bartlett as President and CEO
American Tower Corporation has announced that Tom Bartlett will retire as President, Chief Executive Officer, and director of the Board of Directors, effective February 1, 2024. The company said in a statement that its Board of Directors, having undertaken a deliberate and thorough succession planning process over the last several years, has named Steve Vondran to succeed Bartlett as President …
DC Judge okays Dish Network’s additional time to buy 800 MHz licenses from T-Mobile
A U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia signed off on an agreement Monday to give Dish Network additional time to buy 800 MHz licenses from T-Mobile. Judge Timothy Kelly accepted a motion filed last week by the two companies and the Department of Justice. Judge Kelly granted the consent motion “with no party to this action opposing the …
Net neutrality, axed under Trump, have Democrats looking for a revival
The Federal Communications Commission voted 3 to 2 along party lines today to move forward with its proposal to reinstate open internet rules that were repealed during the Trump administration. A final vote is expected to come next year. The move would reclassify broadband internet as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, opening the …
Eric Chase resumes CEO leadership of Ontivity; Ian Stringfellow is appointed as its COO
Ontivity, a leading national provider of wireless infrastructure services, has reappointed Eric Chase as Chief Executive Officer. The company said in a statement that the leadership move will fuel the company’s culture of growth. In September, Ontivity acquired Infinity Construction Solutions of Buford, Georgia. The company was integrated into Ontivity member company CMS Wireless. Chase takes over the reins from …
NATE highlights 192 companies that are participating in the STAR Initiative and NATE-OSHA-FCC Partnership
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association today announced the member companies who have been formally approved to participate in the STAR Initiative program and the NATE-OSHA-FCC Partnership program for the 2023-2024 year. NATE has proudly accepted 192 participating companies in this year’s STAR Initiative program and 157 participating companies in this year’s NATE-OSHA-FCC Partnership. The STAR Initiative will be entering …
SpaceX says AT&T and RWA’s opposition to satellite direct to cell is a ‘desperate 11th hour campaign’
AT&T and the Rural Wireless Association (RWA) have coordinated “a desperate, 11th-hour campaign” to prevent SpaceX from testing its mobile coverage from space in partnership with T-Mobile with “baseless procedural claims while offering no substantive reasons” for denying its special temporary authority (STA) approval, SpaceX said in a filing with the FCC. Although Dish isn’t a voting carrier member of RWA …
South Florida Broadband Careers Awareness Day is expected to set the national template for other states
South Florida will host the first national Broadband Careers Awareness Day, a broadband industry coalition led by Broadband Careers and supported by Junior Achievement of South Florida and Neptuno USA, Corp. Open to the public at no charge (REGISTER HERE), the promoters have provided an opportunity for telecommunication companies, education providers, industry associations, and representatives of state, local, and federal …
Nation’s largest-ever lawsuit filed against DoD and Commerce for $39 billion by Ligado in spectrum fight
Satellite company Ligado Networks is seeking up to $39 billion in compensation from the U.S. government for spectrum rights it claims were unfairly denied, alleging that the Pentagon and Commerce Department used a false pretext of GPS interference to deny its use of wireless spectrum licenses. In its Hail Mary attempt to stay solvent as bankruptcy looms for Ligado, and …
Telecoms get rip and replace extension, but China-controlled equipment may be with us past 2024
The FCC has granted five telecom companies’ requests for additional time to “rip and replace” Chinese-manufactured equipment due to a shortfall of funding, supply chain issues, and workforce shortages due to factors beyond their control. The agency agreed to delay their deadlines, extending them all into 2024 with the following new dates: WorldCell, May 20, 2024; Mediacom, January 15, 2024; …
Four innovators inducted into prestigious Wireless Hall of Fame
Approximately 300 attendees honored four individuals last night at a sold-out event. The honored guests joined the 76 wireless industry pioneers and innovators inducted into the prestigious Wireless Hall of Fame in Washington, DC. The event, hosted by the Wireless History Foundation (WHF), a nonprofit organization that has honored the hall of fame members for over fifteen years, celebrated Meredith …
Four honorees will be inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame tonight: Baker, Gellman, Whitacre and Mechaley
Tonight’s 2023 Wireless History Foundation’s (WHF) Hall of Fame Awards Dinner in Washington, DC, is sold out. Still, thanks to The Grampion podcast, available here on YouTube, viewers can get a sneak preview of the event and the history of the WHF from Wireless History Foundation Executive Director Jenifer Snyder. Inductees this year are Meredith Attwell Baker, President and CEO of …
Following a tech’s death, the industry unites for best practices for wire mesh grips in new NATE advisory
After a 32-year-old tower technician passed away last December in Texas and Wireless Estimator identified that a hybrid cable hoisting grip failure might have caused the fatality, NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association engaged a Hoisting Grip Task Team to examine the use of wire mesh grips (WMG), and they provided initial guidance. Those subject matter experts within the industry, …
Ohio tower technician succumbs from injuries following a 250-foot fall during an AT&T installation
Services have been announced for Darren Bishop, 28, of Proctorville, OH, who passed away on Monday, September 25, 2023, after falling approximately 250 feet off a 300-foot guyed tower in Huntsburg Township, OH. According to individuals knowledgeable of the incident, Bishop, employed by Overland Contracting, had been working on an AT&T overlay project managed by Black & Veatch when he …
Heard through the Grapevine women, NATE’s WON summit was a huge success
Women of NATE (WON) held their third successful annual Women’s Leadership Summit on Thursday, September 21, 2023, in Grapevine, Texas. The summit was a massive success due to the support, enthusiasm, and participation of over 30 sponsors and 150 attendees. The event was a day of professional and personal education, development, networking, and community-building, with an opportunity to explore leadership, …
TechDash Telecom shutters its doors, swelling unemployment, but some companies are still hiring
After Fredericksburg, TX, TechDash Telecom ran out of cash when investment funding fell through, and they were aware that one of their lenders would be shortly filing a lawsuit since a note for $4,000,000 had matured, and the company was in default for nonpayment, the turnkey infrastructure company closed its doors on September 11, 2023, according to information obtained by …
‘Real world’ lanyard testing video shows concerns that will be detailed in upcoming NATE SEMC white paper
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association unveiled a video today highlighting a recent fall arrest lanyard testing event that the Safety Equipment Manufacturers Committee (SEMC) held at the University of Dayton Research Institute in Dayton, Ohio. The #ClimberConnection video conducts a deep dive into SEMC’s protocols and procedures that were implemented to test fall arrest lanyards by replicating how they …
BEAD funding will go to lions and tigers and bears, oh my! – Senator Ted Cruz’s investigation
Led by Senator Ted Cruz, Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee released a scathing report Friday that identifies that the Biden administration’s $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program duplicates a number of other subsidy programs and is a shell game for funding “beachfront communities, mountain wedding venues, and mansions.” They also called out the administration’s BEAD rules that exclude …
Rewards offered for a copper stripper’s arrest and recovery of a Hydradyne hoist
Two cash rewards have been offered, one leading to the arrest of an individual who stripped a Subcarrier Communications tower of copper and another for information that will lead to recovering a single drum winch and trailer. Last week, Tad Pepmeier was at a gas station in Monroe City, Indiana, close to where he lives, and noticed a tower climber …
Thirteen distinguished and dedicated wireless leaders to be honored by the Radio Club of America
The Radio Club of America has announced this year’s award recipients, as well as its incoming class of 2023 Fellows. Since 1935, RCA has recognized major contributors to wireless communications. This year, 13 awards are being presented, and eight RCA members are being elevated to Fellow status. The 2023 awards and Fellows ceremonies will be held at the RCA Awards Banquet in …
