Most Christians’ beliefs are sacrosanct without evidence, but when it comes to technology over theology, some parents and parishioners of St. Christopher Catholic Church and school in San Jose, California want evidence that until proof is established that cell tower radiation isn’t harmful to their children, they want nothing to do with the base station in their church steeple that …
Pennsylvania techs shot at by a more than tipsy felon who is now behind bars after seven shots
A Pennsylvania man, reportedly intoxicated, was arrested by police after he returned to the scene of his alleged crime of firing gun shots at tower techs while they were working on a 400-foot guyed tower in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania. According to a report from the Hanover Township Police Department, officers were dispatched to a tower owned by Crown Castle off of …
NWSA announces dates, locations for first two Practical Examiner Accreditation Workshops of 2020
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) is encouraging industry employers, trainers and workers to register for the Telecommunications Tower Technician Practical Examiner Accreditation Program (PEAP) Workshops scheduled for March 24-26, 2020 in Mt Juliet, Tennessee, hosted by Comstar LLC, and April 7-9, 2020 in Phoenix Arizona, hosted by Tower Safety & Instruction. NWSA-accredited Practical Examiners are NWSA-certified personnel who have …
Ice is unkind to Nebraska 1,500-foot tower, causing it to collapse in Beaver Crossing
Service has been restored to the majority of Channel 10/11 viewers in Nebraska who lost signal when a KOLN tower collapsed early Saturday morning, but some over-the-air viewers may still be unable to receive their signal. The main KOLN tower in rural Beaver Crossing, collapsed during a severe ice storm. There were no injuries when the 1,500-foot guyed tower fell …
Wireless Rooftop Deployment Training is being offered free
Registration is now open for a highly-sought after industry training session – Wireless Rooftop Deployment Training – that is free to all wireless infrastructure company employees. The training, provided by the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) is available at no charge to NATE members as well as non-members Twelve Wireless Rooftop Deployment Training Courses will be hosted nationwide in 2020 …
Macro towers, 20K more trained tower techs and new skill sets needed to roll out 5G says FCC
Although small cells and 5G were high on the list of topics during yesterday’s U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation’s hearing on Industries of the Future, FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly emphasized that 5G deployment requires more than just sound spectrum policy to be successful, and macro towers and additional worker skill sets are needed “It will need a …
Bill proposes over $1 billion to develop 5G alternatives to Huawei
A bipartisan group of leading national security Senators introduced a bill to encourage and support U.S. innovation in the race for 5G, providing over $1 billion to invest in Western-based alternatives to Chinese equipment providers Huawei and ZTE. Heavily subsidized by the Chinese government, Huawei is poised to become the leading commercial provider of 5G, with far-reaching effects for U.S. economic …
Four dead after plane crashes into guyed tower in Southern Montana
Update: January 17, 2020 – KPVI ran a touching piece on the four men who died: Before deadly plane crash, sobriety brought 4 victims together. January 14, 2020 – Four Billings, Montana men were killed Saturday in a plane crash when the pilot reportedly hit a communications tower near Dunn Mountain north of Billings. According to authorities, the single-engine Cessna 183 crashed …
Border Protection seeking your suggestions on how to protect a 320-foot tower with vulture-proof netting
Federal officials are asking the industry to rescue a Customs and Border Protection self-supporting tower that has been taken over by 300 vultures in Kingsville, Texas. They’ve issued a Request for Information (RFI) to obtain viable sources of supply, industry practices and answers that will assist them in providing what they believe will be a deterrent – a 320-foot tall …
Scripps pays $1,130,000 to FCC to settle tower lighting issues
Scripps Broadcasting Holdings LLC has agreed to pay a $1,130,000 penalty to settle an FCC investigation into malfunctioning TV tower lights used to alert nearby airplanes. The settlement order adopted by the FCC concludes an agency investigation that began after a small plane crashed into a TV tower near Kaplan, Louisiana in 2018. The tower was operated by a subsidiary …
Ninth inning for T-Mobile merger begins Wednesday with closing arguments
Final arguments in the T-Mobile-Sprint merger lawsuit are slated for this Wednesday and it’s expected that U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero will issue a ruling in February. Last week, states suing to block the $26.5 billion mega merger said in a filing that the deal’s previous approval by the Justice Department and the FCC shouldn’t carry any weight in deliberations …
Tower Family Foundation, students and the Fallen Seven Harley rider fund benefit from NEWA tourney
The New England Wireless Association (NEWA) on Thursday presented the Tower Family Foundation with a generous donation to help fund their outreach programs. The foundation assists in providing financial assistance to family members of a severely injured, permanently disabled, or deceased tower worker injured or killed in an accident stemming from working at heights on communication structures or other on …
Two bills presented, one for California backup power, another for power to Florida for siting
Two bills are being introduced, one in California for a mandatory backup power requirement and another in Florida that would allow for the state to bypass local governments for siting if public safety is at risk. After reviewing data from the FCC that identified 874 cellphone towers were offline during an Oct. 27 power shutoff during wildfires that affected millions …
Puerto Rico’s out of service towers expected to be operational by Sunday
Power is expected to be slowly restored to all homes in Puerto Rico over the coming days in the aftermath of a 6.4 magnitude earthquake that left many cell sites down yesterday with 31.7% out of service. Today, according to the FCC, there has been a marked improvement with 19.5% down. Towers down because of lack of power totaled 478 …
3M issues advisory on its DBI-SALA EZ-Stop shock absorbing lanyard
3M is emphasizing that their EZ-Stop Lanyard portfolio remains safe to use as it meets all aspects of the relevant OSHA regulation (OSHA 29 CFR 1926.502), but they are issuing an advisory and not a recall. The company said that as part of 3M Fall Protection’s on-going commitment to delivering high quality safety equipment, they are notifying their customers of …
FCC data assails Chicago Tribune’s cell phone RF concerns, possibly collapsing lawsuits
In August, the Chicago Tribune published test results indicating that several popular cell phones can emit radiation-causing exposure up to five times higher than current limits allow. The smart phone models were tested by an independent testing laboratory, RF Exposure Lab in San Marco, Calif. Citing the newspaper’s article, a new class-action lawsuit against Apple and Samsung was filed two days later …
Pure Safety Group recalls SRLs with stainless steel or web lifelines
Pure Safety Group (PSG) has issued an immediate recall and stop-use alert for its Guardian Fall Protection Self-Retracting Lifelines that use a stainless steel or web lifeline. “A small number of SRLs were identified as noncompliant with ANSI Z359.14-14 and must immediately be removed from service,” PSG states in a press release. Under certain conditions, the stainless steel or web lifeline may …
T-Mobile axing its projects led a baker’s dozen top news stories during 2019
The top stories in 2019, according to Wireless Estimator readership analytics, followed previous years’ subject matter favorites based upon the site’s in depth and exclusive articles as well as its comprehensive coverage of industry fatalities. T-Mobile’s unexpected new build cancellations in August came in first with 41,362 views. However, a Crosby product recall in November for certain 7/8” shackles surprised …
Fatal falls from heights are at a five year low, but not for the nation’s tower techs
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) has released its Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Report for 2018, and OSHA and media have been heralding the marked 14% decrease from 2017 of fatal falls to a lower level totaling 615, a five-year low since 2014 when there were 674 deaths. The wireless construction industry also saw a marked improvement in 2018 …
Two tower workers on the mend after 30-foot fall from Pennsylvania tower
Two unnamed men were injured this afternoon when the tower they were working on in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania collapsed. According to multiple news reports the men were taken to a hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries after falling aproximately 30 feet. Firefighters and paramedics had to use all-terrain vehicles to rescue the pair off of a hilltop …
