Yesterday, House Democrats unveiled their coronavirus assistance bill, which will include measures to keep families online through the duration of the pandemic and possibly provide a huge pay increase to telecom field workers. It will also provide a new direct cash stimulus check for $1,200. The 1,800-plus page HEROES Act with $3 trillion in funding, will have about $5.5 billion …
Melody picks up over 500 of Uniti’s towers for $220 million
During their Q4 earnings call in early March, fiber and tower owner Uniti Group announced that it was selling 486 of its 672 towers for $190 million to an unnamed company. At yesterday’s Q1 call, CEO Kenny Gunderman announced improved terms for the deal and the identify of the acquirer, Melody Investment Advisors. Uniti’s new agreement has them selling 90% of …
Model and rapper charged with Canadian cell tower fires will get world-wide sentencing attention
A Quebec couple in their twenties, a model and a novice rapper, were arrested Thursday morning in Sainte-Adèle, a town about 50 miles outside of Montreal for allegedly setting fire to seven cell sites in Canada. Quebec provincial police arrested Justin-Philippe Pauley, 28, and Jessica Kallas, 25, after surveillance cameras were able to capture a photo of the license plate …
Terrorism Task Force investigating collapse of 382-foot ATC guyed tower in Nevada
A 382-foot American Tower Corp. guyed tower collapsed early Tuesday morning in Nye County, Nevada, according to the Nye County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO). Authorities said the tower fell just before sunrise at approximately 5:00 a.m and the NCSO believes that vandals may have been responsible for the structure’s failure. An investigation has been launched by the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task …
Legacy’s tower techs lauded in video that can be applied to all of the nation’s techs
With yesterday being Tower Technician Appreciation Day, Legacy Telecommunication went the extra mile to thank their technicians by airing an excellent tribute to tower techs video that was introduced during an all hands safety call. The company has over 75 climbers and approximately 35 support staff members. Legacy is a member company of Enertech Holdings which also includes EasTex Tower, …
NATE sets aside May 6 for the nation to appreciate and thank tower technicians
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association unveiled a commemoration declaring Wednesday, May 6, 2020 as Tower Technician Appreciation Day. For the fourth consecutive year, a day has been set aside by NATE in order to pay tribute to the important work that communications infrastructure technicians conduct on a daily basis to enable a mobile society. “NATE is excited to declare Wednesday, …
Lawsuit challenges FCC’s C-band reorganization, broadcasters want COVID-19 costs considered
Video programming provider PSSI Global Services LLC (PSSI) is taking the FCC to court over the agency’s controversial reorganization of the C-band spectrum, arguing that the agency is crippling an entire industry. In February, the FCC adopted new rules to auction and make available 280 Megahertz of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band available for 5G Services while relocating existing satellite operations …
Labeled as ‘suspicious’, two more cell towers set ablaze in Quebec
Police are investigating two more cell tower fires that occurred early this morning in towns near Montreal, Canada. Wireless Estimator reported on Friday that a multi-tenant Rogers Communications monopole was completely destroyed, possibly by anarchists protesting misguided beliefs that 5G transmissions are dangerous. This morning’s fires are also being viewed as “suspicious” by authorities. Firefighters were first called to a cell …
FCC debuts new ‘safer’ seal that is more representative of current technologies
In anticipation of its upcoming move to Washington’s NoMa district, the Federal Communications Commission has adopted a new FCC Seal. The redesigned seal is the product of an agency-wide contest that solicited proposals from Commission employees and contractors. The winning design was submitted by Umasankar Arumugam and selected by a vote of the agency’s employees and contractors. The revised design incorporates the …
Officials unsure whether Canadian cell tower fire was the work of anarchists industry was looking for
Fire officials in Laval, a city north of Montreal, Canada, have not yet identified whether a multiple-tenant Rogers Communications monopole was purposely set on fire early Friday morning by anarchists protesting misguided beliefs that 5G transmissions are dangerous, although it has been rebutted throughout the world, especially in Canada where a private/public collaboration recently published an excellent report to dispel 5G …
High winds blamed for Texas tall tower collapse, but corossion appears to be the culprit
A 988-foot TV broadcast tower collapsed in Robstown, Texas yesterday morning as a result of a rusted guy wire that detached near its anchor. No tower techs or station personnel were on site when the structure failed. A transmitter building was slighting damaged on one corner after the guyed tower fell at approximately 8:30 a.m. The tower is owned by …
American Tower expects accelerated T-Mobile work beginning in Q3, manages COVID-19
American Tower Corporation reported steady financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, emphasizing how the company is responding to the ever-changing coronavirus landscape. Tom Bartlett, American Tower’s Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we delivered a solid first quarter, including U.S. organic tenant billings growth of 5.6%, consistent international leasing activity and a 20% …
Tested across the country, FirstNet’s Push-to-Talk arrives with high marks
Developed from the ground up specifically with and for public safety, FirstNet Push-to-Talk (PTT) is the first-ever nationwide mission-critical standards-based push-to-talk solution to launch in the U.S. The agency said they tested the FirstNet PTT solution with public safety agencies across the country, including the Cranford Police Department in New Jersey. “Reliable communication is critical. It must work. It must be there …
NATE releases wire rope safety climb document, announces Jeremy Buckles as SEMC’s Chairman
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association today released the Safety Equipment Manufacturers Committee (SEMC) Guide for Wire Rope Safety Climbs on Antenna Supporting Structures – 2020 consensus document. This 15-page, manufacturer consensus document is intended to address use of a wire rope safety climb/system in the telecommunications industry. This resource is only intended to apply to structures that are …
Delay denied in Windstream’s false ad campaign trial against Charter
New York Southern District Bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Drain refused yesterday to delay the start of a bench trial over what he can order Charter Communications to pay for false advertising over rival Windstream Holdings’ Chapter 11 filing last year. Today, Judge Drain is scheduled to hear Counts Vl and VII of Windstream’s complaint. In those counts, Windstream is seeking …
False alarm for ‘leaning’ Roswell, Georgia 180-foot monopole
A Roswell, Georgia police official said last Thursday night that a tower that had a sinkhole 10 to 20-feet deep next to it put the structure at risk of falling and it appeared to him that it was leaning. It was a delicious departure from coronavirus-related articles and the media ran with it. But city officials said that the tower …
Remembered by wireless contractors for his crippling DirecTV buy, AT&T chief steps down
After 38 years with the company and 13 as its top executive, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, 60, is retiring. He’ll officially step down as chief executive on July 1 and will be replaced by John Stankey, CEO of AT&T subsidiary WarnerMedia. Stankey, who also serves as AT&T’s Chief Operating Officer, will become a board member at the beginning of June. …
AT&T gains a network edge through its five-carrier aggregation: RootMetrics
With RootMetric testing efforts currently on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they thought it would be an ideal time to take a look at how the carriers have performed across the 55 markets they’ve tested so far in the first half of 2020. To kick off their reviews of publishing carrier-specific reports with overviews of performance for both 5G …
T-Mobile wacked with a $14 million contract lawsuit over stolen franchise agreement
In a lawsuit filed Friday, a former Illinois T-Mobile franchise owner who will be released from a federal prison halfway house on June 10 after serving almost two years on a tax evasion conviction, is alleging that his former business partner and a T-Mobile account manager cost him $14 million because they stole business contracts that T-Mobile should have known …
FCC moves closer to creating a $9 billion rural 5G fund a reality, contractors to benefit
The Federal Communications Commission today adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on establishing the 5G Fund for Rural America. 5G represents the next leap in mobile wireless technology, bringing significantly increased speeds, reduced latency, and better security than 4G LTE networks, and enabling cutting-edge applications and technologies benefitting consumers, businesses, precision agriculture, education, and healthcare. A FCC staff report on …
