In a court filing today, all claims and defenses between AT&T and the City of Liberal, Kansas, are dismissed without prejudice, according to a joint application filed with the District Court for the District of Kansas in Wichita. In addition, the parties agreed that each party would bear its own attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses. In its November 23, 2023 …
Reading isn’t required for FCC enforcement agents tracking down pirate radio broadcasting
It appears that an FCC’s Portland, OR-based Enforcement Bureau agent might benefit from a quick course on using internet search tools and a little leg work to locate a pirate radio broadcaster instead of threatening a Baptist church property owner with a $2.3 million fine. The FCC said last week that their Enforcement Bureau is investigating a complaint about an …
OSHA is warned that their 2024 deadline requiring tower climbers to use powered ascenders is in jeopardy
Eleven powered ascender manufacturers, the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), and NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association have petitioned Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas Parker to extend the December 31, 2024 deadline set by OSHA requiring all tower climbers to be equipped with a powered ascender. The enforcement agency cautioned contractors during a panel discussion at the South …
Interagency squabble ends with OSHA requiring the nation’s revered raptors to harness up
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) severed all relationships with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) today, announcing that both agencies were at an impasse regarding the best option to use that will ensure the continued safety of bald eagles while they are working or resting at heights. The clash between both organizations surfaced in August 2007 when …
NATE debuts video highlighting fixed wireless deployments throughout America
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association this week announced the release of a video on Fixed Wireless Deployments. The video, the first to debut in Volume 6 of the Association’s popular #ClimberConnection series, premiered at the 2023 South Wireless Summit in Nashville, Tennessee. The video highlights the importance of Fixed Wireless Deployments to the nation’s goals of closing the digital divide. NATE has …
Texas court will likely give AT&T a hollow victory in its $1.44M lawsuit against former golden child Goodman
Contractors and suppliers that have had to sue clients, such as Nexius, for past due payments know that it’s an expensive legal and often fruitless process that can take a year or two since attorneys aren’t adverse to the defendant’s counsel delaying the process as long as possible as they pile up billable hours. So when AT&T’s attorneys filed a lawsuit …
Canadian firm might help American Tower with its financial struggles in once-vibrant India
Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ) is in talks with American Tower Corp (ATC) to buy a 50% stake in its Indian unit, according to multiple news reports. The valuation of the India arm is estimated at $1.5-$2 billion. On February 23, in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), ATC said …
Watchdog probe says FCC enforcement chief and six others alleged to have traded in prohibited stocks
Watchdog organization Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has filed a complaint with the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Inspector General and the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) concerning FCC officials trading stocks in companies they are banned from trading under federal law. According to CLC, the Communications Act prohibits any FCC employee from having a financial interest in any company significantly regulated …
Pirate radio broadcaster never paid a $20K fine in 2015, so why does the FCC think they’ll get $2.3 million for a second offense?
The FCC yesterday announced its first proposed fines under the Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement Act (PIRATE Act) against three pirate radio operators. The agency issued the maximum penalty allowable, $2,316,034, against César Ayora and Luis Angel Ayora for pirate radio broadcasting in Queens, New York. However, the Commission most likely realizes that the fine is more of a …
NATE and member companies Ericsson, MILLERCO and SBA Communications host Florida Congressman Neal Dunn on tower site visit
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association and member companies Ericsson, MILLERCO, and SBA Communications Corporation today facilitated an opportunity for Congressman Neal Dunn, M.D. to conduct a communications tower site visit in the 2nd Congressional District of Florida. During the visit, Congressman Dunn toured an SBA Communications Corporation tower site and compound in Panama City, Florida with event participants and heard …
Former Cyberspace Operations director Joe Wassel will lead FirstNet as its chief executive officer
The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) announced Friday that Joseph M. Wassel has been named Executive Director (CEO) of the FirstNet Authority. He joins the FirstNet Authority after serving in senior executive positions at the Department of Defense (DoD), where he oversaw global technology and communications systems during his 34-year career. “After conducting a thorough search, the FirstNet Authority Board is …
Toppling of Nebraska 300-foot guyed tower might be investigated as an act of domestic terrorism
The Furnas County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) has opened an investigation after a communications tower south of Oxford, Nebraska was intentionally destroyed. The sheriff’s office said the tower, owned by Strayer Communications, was toppled and destroyed on Saturday. Their initial findings indicated intentional damage to a guy wire that was cut and resulted in complete structural failure of the tower, causing …
Eastman, Hester and Pleibel’s compassion and industry insight will help guide the Tower Family Foundation
The Tower Family Foundation announced today three leadership appointments to serve the non-profit organization. Jon Eastman, President of VIKOR, Dr. Bridgette Hester, Adjunct Professor and Researcher, and Chris Pleibel, Vice President at PerfectVision Manufacturing, have been appointed to serve on the Tower Family Foundation Advisory Committee. In their roles as members of the committee, Eastman, Hester, and Pleibel will be …
Oregon man stranded in snow couples his phone and drone to text his rescuers
While trying to traverse a remote area in Willamette National Forest in Oregon, a motorist recently became stuck in the snow, and no cell service was available in the very forested area. Fortunately, the Lane County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue office (LCSSR) said the unidentified stranded motorist’s ingenuity in using a cell phone and a drone to alert them most …
President Joe Biden’s FCC nominee Gigi Sohn says she’ll go after another Joe deals a crippling blow
President Biden’s pick to serve as an FCC Commissioner is withdrawing her nomination, following a bitter 16-month lobbying fight that blocked her appointment and opened her up to ruthless personal attacks. Gigii Sohn, a longtime public interest advocate and former Democratic FCC official who was first nominated by the White House in October 2021, said her decision to withdraw followed “unrelenting, dishonest and cruel …
Nexius crashes and burns its dedicated construction supply chain, stiffing them for millions of dollars
Selected by AT&T in 2016 as one of their eight suppliers of the year out of more than 5,000 companies, well-established Frisco, Texas-based network deployment firm Nexius cemented a relationship with the carrier that would see them become one of their leading suppliers and turfing contractors. Wireless infrastructure manufacturers, distributors, and contractors were eager to accept Nexius’s business and provide …
NATE UNITE 2023 breaks all-time attendee, exhibitor, and sponsor records
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association announced today that the recent NATE UNITE 2023 Conference in Orlando, Florida ascended to record-setting heights. The Association said that 2,843 individuals registered to attend NATE UNITE 2023. The total eclipses the organization’s all-time conference registered attendee total in its 28-year history, exceeding the previous attendance record from last year’s NATE UNITE 2022 in …
Win $100 by guessing the number of attendees at NATE UNITE 2023’s record-breaking Orlando show
Step back Las Vegas and make room for Orlando as the host of NATE – The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association’s largest attended conference in the association’s 28-year history. The event ended last Thursday. In 2022, a record was set with 2,619 registrants, eclipsing Raleigh’s record of 2,146. However, this year, according to an early tally that will not be finalized until Tuesday morning, O-Town …
Dish Network’s ransomware attack enters its sixth day of affecting customers
Dish Network has confirmed that a ransomware attack was the cause of a multi-day network and service outage that started on Friday. The outages hit Dish.com, the Dish Anywhere app, Boost Mobile, and other websites and networks owned and operated by Dish Network. It has also been reported that the company’s call center phone numbers were not working. In an …
OSHA, media and the CWA routinely and inaccurately portray the wireless industry as the ‘most dangerous’
Commentary — In 2006, after exhaustive research, Wireless Estimator identified cell tower climbers had the most dangerous job in America, exposing a death rate per 100,000 workers of 115.2 based upon approximately 8,700 workers within the industry. The data was obtained, in part, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) lagging 2004 data, based upon ten fatalities, later revised to …
