The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) conducted its 2025 Customer Experience Survey in June, inviting professionals from across the telecommunications and tower industry to share their feedback on NWSA’s certification process and related services. The survey revealed that most respondents feel the NWSA Certification reflects real-world proficiency and safety standards. It also revealed customers’ feedback about the exam process itself, …
Tower technician fatally injured after fall from a 125-foot structure in Marion, Iowa
At approximately 12:30 p.m. on Friday, October 10, the Marion, Iowa, Fire Department was dispatched to a reported tower accident at 3602 N. 10th Street in Marion, where an individual had fallen from a communications tower and was found unconscious and bleeding. Wireless Estimator was able to identify today that the deceased was tower tech Dane Eugene Picknell, age 38, of Cambridge, …
Multiple contractors allege they’re being pressured to accept deep discounts on completed work for DISH
Wireless Estimator has been contacted by multiple sources representing wireless-construction firms who allege that EchoStar/DISH is pressuring vendors to accept steep “after-the-fact” discounts on already-approved and completed projects—some exceeding 50 percent off previously agreed-upon payment amounts. Although each source requested anonymity due to ongoing contract relationships and fear of retaliation, the accounts provided to Wireless Estimator were consistent in describing …
Communications infrastructure theft and vandalism are more severe than presented in trade groups’ report
Two new reports, “Protecting Critical Communications Infrastructure” and “The Real Costs of Communications Outages Due to Infrastructure Theft or Vandalism,” released at the Third Telecom Industry Summit last week, reveal alarming data on the surge in attacks on telecom infrastructure. Between June 2024 and June 2025, the reports document 15,540 incidents, disrupting service for more than 9.5 million customers nationwide. The …
Wireless Estimator’s Blue Book reinvents how the industry connects to contractors, services and suppliers
For more than 15 years, the Wireless Estimator Blue Book™ Buyer’s Guide has been the telecom industry’s go-to resource for connecting carriers, general contractors, and site owners with the right vendors and crews. Now, it’s not just keeping pace with change — it’s redefining what a directory can do. With 1.27 million ad clicks and counting, the Blue Book continues …
Verizon acquires Starry to bolster fixed wireless in multi-dwelling units, taking it off of life support
Verizon Communications has agreed to acquire Starry, the Boston-based fixed wireless broadband provider that serves apartments and businesses from rooftop antennas. The deal, which is expected to close in early 2026, did not require an SEC filing, signaling it’s financially modest but strategically important. A Bargain from Bankruptcy Starry’s assets came cheaply after its 2023 Chapter 11 bankruptcy, when it …
Dan Schulman takes Verizon’s helm, but will he commit to tackling untenable wireless contractor pricing?
Commentary Verizon has named Dan Schulman, former PayPal chief and longtime Verizon board member, as CEO, succeeding Hans Vestberg. Vestberg will remain as a special adviser through 2026 to assist with the transition and integration of Frontier. In his first statement as CEO, Schulman said Verizon is “at a critical juncture,” pledging to “maximize our value propositions, reduce our cost …
From the Hill to harness: SBA, NATE & Banner give DC staffers a hands-on view of wireless rollout challenges
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association and member companies SBA Communications, an independent provider of critical wireless infrastructure, and contractor firm Banner Enterprise LLC, recently hosted a unique cell tower climbing experience and legislative advocacy event at an SBA tower site in Ashburn, Virginia. The event welcomed Capitol Hill staffers, government agency representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration, as …
Cellular coup stopped: What 300,000 rogue SIM cards could do to New York City and other U.S. cities
What was first described last week as a cache of roughly 100,000 SIM cards seized in New York City has now been reassessed as possibly 300,000 after follow-on leads developed since the initial discovery. That escalation isn’t cosmetic; it materially changes the scale of the risk scenario—and the urgency of hardening the city’s and the nation’s mobile networks. How the …
NATE and CCA cheer FCC’s push to speed America’s broadband builds and cut red tape
Two key industry groups, NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association and the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA), applauded the Federal Communications Commission for advancing an item from its September Open Meeting yesterday, aimed at expediting broadband buildouts and removing unlawful state and local barriers that slow infrastructure deployment. Both actions align with Chairman Brendan Carr’s “Build America” agenda, unveiled in July at …
Alaska’s BEAD sticker shock: $113,578 per location is 181% higher than New Mexico’s high $40,433 benchmark
Alaska’s preliminary BEAD award slate landed last week with a six-figure outlier that dwarfs even the pricey builds called out elsewhere. When New Mexico’s $40,433-per-location fiber proposal drew scrutiny in August, it became a national reference point for “too high” costs. Alaska’s tentative award to Quintillion Subsea Ops. clocks in at $113,578 per location—about 181% higher than New Mexico’s benchmark. …
NATE’s Fifth Annual Women’s Leadership Summit delivers inspiration, connection, and growth
The Women of NATE (WON) lit up Baltimore on Thursday, September 18, 2025, with the Fifth Annual Women’s Leadership Summit—a dynamic celebration of leadership, learning, and connection. With a record-setting 130 passionate attendees and the backing of 24 generous sponsors, the summit was nothing short of electric. From start to finish, the day was filled with high-energy programming that blended …
T-Mobile’s incoming CEO, Srini Gopalan, brings fiber-first playbook; will towers lose out?
T-Mobile confirmed that Srini Gopalan will succeed Mike Sievert as CEO, effective November 1, 2025. The leadership change comes amid reports that Sievert, whose contract was set to run longer, was rumored to be resigning earlier than expected. He will move into the role of vice chair, while Gopalan, T-Mobile’s current COO and former member of Deutsche Telekom’s board, takes …
AT&T and Verizon flee ‘high rent’ American Tower site: Tillman’s build-to-relocate strategy sparks lawsuit
Tillman Infrastructure has sued Stearns County in Minnesota after the Planning Commission turned down its bid to construct a 325-foot tower in rural Kimball. Tillman says the denial violates the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which requires that local governments’ refusals be backed by written decisions and “substantial evidence.” But the real story is not the lawsuit itself — siting disputes …
RF Industries’ Q3 shows momentum: double-digit growth, fatter margins, and new wins in aerospace and 5G
RF Industries turned in a strong fiscal Q3 2025, notching year-over-year growth, improved profitability, and meaningful traction in newer end-markets. In the quarter ended July 31, net sales climbed to about $19.8 million, up 17.5% from the prior year and 4.7% sequentially. Gross margin widened to 34%—comfortably above management’s 30% target—powered by a richer mix and ongoing cost discipline. Operating …
Services set for remembering Toby Cole: Tower tech, family man, and a proud Texan
Services have been announced for Toby Cole, 62, of Harlingen, TX, who passed away September 12 after he fell from a tower he was servicing in Little Rock, AR. Born on July 12, 1963, he is preceded in death by his parents, father Eusebio (“Alex”) and mother Margarita A. Alejandro, and paternal and maternal grandparents. Toby was patriotic; he loved sporting …
NTCH lawsuit against T-Mobile alleges $20 million in lost tower development revenues
NTCH, Inc. and several of its affiliates are pursuing a high-stakes lawsuit against T-Mobile USA, Inc. in King County Superior Court in Washington, accusing the wireless carrier of breaching a contractual commitment that was supposed to provide the tower builder with at least 100 new development opportunities under a Build to Suit Master Services Agreement (MSA) signed in 2015. NTCH …
Two sides of the same coin: Why fiber contractors are rallying behind a new petition—and why NATE’s playbook matters
A new petition circulating in the fiber-construction community by PACTEL argues that conditions facing wireline fiber companies mirror the pressures long documented by wireless contractors—thin margins, take-it-or-leave-it MSAs, slow change-order approvals, and payment delays that cascade into layoffs, safety compromises, and business failures. Parallels to NATE’s campaign It’s a message that tracks closely with the themes NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors …
Texas tower tech dies after fall at Little Rock antenna farm; sheriff identifies victim as Toby Cole
A Texas man died Friday after falling from a tower along Two Towers Road west of Little Rock, AR, an area known for its cluster of broadcast and communications structures on Shinall Mountain. The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were dispatched at about 2:09 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, to 19008 Two Towers Road. The office later identified …
Tower crews lose work as Boost’s open RAN ambitions as the nation’s fourth carrier collapse
The prospect of Boost Mobile emerging as an actual “fourth national carrier” has collapsed following EchoStar’s multi-billion-dollar spectrum sales to AT&T and SpaceX. Together, the transactions dismantle Dish/EchoStar’s original 5G greenfield buildout and confirm that the U.S. market will remain dominated by the Big Three—AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile—for the foreseeable future. AT&T deal: Spectrum sale and RAN takeover In late …
