The Tower Family Foundation announced today two leadership appointments to the non-profit organization’s Endowment Committee. Shylesh Moras, Senior Vice President, Operations, Development & IT at Phoenix Tower International in Boca Raton, Florida and Andy Haldane, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Tower Engineering Professionals in Raleigh, North Carolina, have been appointed to serve on the Tower Family Foundation Endowment Committee. …
After falling over 200 feet off of steel, high school junior is preparing for the 300-foot gridiron
Last year, Uriah King was a standout running back for the Brownwood, Texas Freshman Lions and looked forward to a junior year of equally outstanding achievements. But on June 1, while the tower tech was at approximately the 225-foot level on a 359-foot tower while disassembling an AT&T antenna mount in Seale, Alabama for Texas-based King Strong Tower Enterprises, the …
Site developer sues over towers of Madison County rejection
In the 1995 movie Bridges of Madison County, Merrill Streep and Clint Eastwood fell in love at the Roseman covered bridge in rural Winterset, Iowa. A quarter-century later, AT&T and FirstNet wanted to erect a 300-foot guyed tower four miles away in an agricultural area that required cell phone coverage. However, Madison County’s board of adjustment on August 4 wasn’t …
FCC dings a New York ISP with a $164K fine for allegedly popping its subscription numbers
The FCC has proposed a $163,912 fine, the maximum amount allowed by law, against Internet service provider Barrier Communications Corporation (BarrierFree) for apparently reporting inaccurate information that significantly inflated its broadband subscription numbers, failing to file required deployment data, making false statements to Commission investigators, and failing to respond to other inquiries. In a revised March 2018 filing, and in September 2019 and …
Maine station engineer dies after falling from a ham radio tower
The Knox County, Maine Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that a Bangor resident fell from a ham radio tower in a residential area of Union. Authorities said that at approximately 1:00 p.m. yesterday, James Larner, 74, was on the structure when he fell, according to a friend who was on site when the accident occurred off of Olson Farm Lane. Larner, who …
NARB: Verizon should nix “Building the most powerful 5G experience for America”
A panel of the National Advertising Review Board (NARB), a division of BBB National Programs, has recommended that Verizon Communications, Inc. discontinue the claim that “Verizon is building the most powerful 5G experience for America.” This claim appeared in two television commercials — “NFL: 5G Built Right,” which focused on Verizon’s installing its 5G network in the home of the …
CTI’s 1,150 towers acquired by Melody Investment Advisors for an undisclosed price
Melody Investment Advisors LP (Melody) today announced the entry into a definitive agreement to acquire CTI Towers, Inc., an owner and manager of wireless towers in the U.S. CTI Towers is majority owned by Comcast Ventures, Comcast Corporation’s venture investment arm. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close later in 2020, subject to the …
U.S. ends up in last place in the race for 5G download speeds
Compared to other countries, the U.S. has lost the race to 5G regarding download speeds offered, so much so that in some countries 4G speeds are faster than two of the three major carriers that are touting their 5G offerings. Last week the BBB took T-Mobile to task, stating that it should modify its claims to more clearly identify the metrics …
FCC axes domestic coverage rule for NGSO satellite networks
Satellite constellation operators no longer need to provide nationwide broadband coverage to be in compliance with FCC regulations after the agency voted to change the rule Wednesday, releasing the report and order on Friday. The FCC eliminated the requirement for non-geostationary-satellite orbit, fixed-satellite service (NGSO FSS) systems, stating that with advances in NGSO technology and spectrum sharing, the domestic coverage …
Update: 8/31/20: Laura thrashes Louisiana’s broadcasters and mobile networks
UPDATE – August 31, 2020 – Louisiana’s cell sites that were out of service continued to improve since yesterday, with 5.5% of the cell sites out of service in the affected parishes. However, hard-hit Cameron Parish still had 72% of its cell sites out. LOUISIANA AFFECTED PARISHES Date Cell Sites Served Cell Sites Out Percent Out Cell Sites Out Due to …
Judge rules that a Massachusetts city was correct in denying ExteNet’s poles over power concerns
In a ruling yesterday, US District Court Judge Allison Burroughs dismissed a lawsuit by ExteNet Systems against the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts and its Pole and Conduit Commission over the commission’s decision to reject five of the ExteNet’s proposed small cell wireless installations in the city because its applications did not specify how the company would power the wireless devices …
Digital Colony is interested in Crown Castle’s fiber business – Reuters
Digital Colony Partners has contacted Crown Castle International Corp to signal interest in buying a minority stake in its fiber-cable business, according to three people familiar with the matter, according to a report by Reuters today. The exclusive article states that Marc Ganzi, CEO of Digital Colony , a major investor in data centers, cell towers, fiber networks and small cell networks, has spoken …
Providing no details President Trump touts a new 5G network
Just before the election for his second term, Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed the interstate highway system in 1956. In President Donald J. Trump’s campaigning for his second term on Monday he floated his idea for establishing “a national high-speed wireless internet network” in a campaign ad. President Eisenhower’s vision came to fruition and is an integral part of …
T-Mobile advised to stop some of its 5G claims but gets selected NAD marketing support
The National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs determined that T-Mobile US, Inc. supported claims that its 5G service is faster than a competitors’ 4G, as well as its own 4G, but recommended it discontinue express and implied claims that its 5G network is more reliable than competing 4G or 5G networks. Similarly, NAD determined that T-Mobile supported claims …
NATE video highlights new wireless infrastructure technician program at Southeast Technical College
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association today unveiled a video shining a spotlight on the new Wireless Infrastructure Technician Program at Southeast Technical College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The video’s release is timely as community college and technical institute students across the United States head back to school for the fall 2020 semester. The video features testimonial interviews with …
Sprint and T-Mobile settle Manhattan $2 million townhouse damage claim in a New York minute
Justice is said to be blind but no one ever said it was fast, especially in the COVID-19 era where lawsuits are causing the wheels of justice to move at glacial speeds. So a lawsuit that was filed by homeowners in June against Sprint and T-Mobile alleging that they installed 5G antennas on a Manhattan penthouse that caused damage to …
Elderly Vertical Bridge AM tower goes horizontal after being walloped by 130 mph winds
A 310-foot self-supporting tower owned by Vertical Bridge that broadcast WMT-AM radio’s signal throughout Iowa collapsed last week after tornado-type winds swept through Linn County. According to the National Weather Service, a powerful line of severe thunderstorms known as “Derecho” tracked across Minnesotta, eastern Iowa, and northwest Illinois in the afternoon of August 10. Straight line winds were estimated to …
Elliott alleges Crown Castle ‘seems to know there is a problem, but refuses to acknowledge it’
After Activist investor Elliott Management Corporation (Elliott) last month registered its concerns about the operation of Crown Castle’s fiber business, the company appeared to have yielded to its pressure and unveiled a mandatory Board retirement policy of age 72, with several directors, including its founding chairman J. Landis “Lanny” Martin, 73, not being renominated. Last Thursday, Crown Castle also announced …
Environmental consultant’s concern dings Georgia towerco with a $16,000 FCC fine
The FCC issued a $16,000 fine against a Georgia vertical realtor aligned with an FCC licensee on Friday, after its site development contractor’s environmental consultant firm informed the agency that a new tower was erected prior to completing environmental and historic preservation reviews. Public Service Towers (PS Towers) of Reynolds, Georgia, according to the FCC’s order, in the spring of 2018 hired …
In Iowa storm’s wake, communications have rebounded but 240K still without power
After a powerful series of thunderstorms with 100 mph winds roared across the Midwest earlier this week, downing trees, damaging structures and knocking out power to more than a million people and disabling communications, the FCC is reporting this afternoon a marked improvement from yesterday’s 12.4% of cell sites down in the affected counties of Iowa. The destructive storms laid …
