A 41-year-old Ohio tower technician foreman, Eric James Connors, passed away August 1, 2019, with conflicting reports as to whether his death was due to a worksite accident or a medical emergency occurring when his crew was working on an antenna installation project for WKBN in Youngstown, Ohio on a tower owned by American Tower Corp. The event reportedly took …
One copper thief dead, one critical after Oklahoma AM transmitter site electrocution
UPDATE: August 5, 2019 -Tulsa County Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a woman in connection to the electrocution of a man at a radio tower near Sand Springs on Sunday. Angie West, 37, was booked into the Tulsa County jail Sunday night on a complaint of first-degree murder. Prosecutors charged her today only with one count of entering with intent to …
Tech’s workday half ‘heritage’ flag on a monopole isn’t a hit with a few Nebraskans
Call out someone for having too many groceries in a 10-item checkout line and you could be called a racist. No matter which side of the political aisle you’re on, there’s a chance that you might be called a race-baiter or you are weaponizing race in some manner. And it’s likely that the R word will be a frequent inclusion in …
Tower erector’s bookkeeper arrested after she decided to become a silent partner
Tower construction is difficult enough to maintain a profit without your bookkeeper dipping into the till. When the owner of Tower Service and Manufacturing in Greenwood, Ind. went to his bank in April of 2018 to transfer $4,000 from his business checking account he was told that he didn’t have enough funds to complete the transaction. Not so, he knew, …
Vodafone to create Europe’s largest tower owner with potential for IPO
Vodafone Group is spinning off its European tower business into a separate company named TowerCo, which will provide 61,700 towers in 10 countries, with the majority of its sites in Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. The company said today that its likely it will price TowerCo for an IPO within the next 18 months. Nick Read, CEO of Vodafone, …
DOJ greenlights T-Mobile-Sprint merger, requiring them to give up 20,000 cell sites
The Department of Justice today approved the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, allowing the $26 billion deal to move forward after years of exploration by the nation’s third and fourth-largest wireless companies. The merger required the approval of the DOJ which enforces antitrust law, and the FCC which directs the telecommunications industry. In May, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai broadcast his …
NATE members privileged to participate in ‘Pledge to America’s Workers’ White House event
A delegation of National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) leaders were invited to represent the Association in a workforce development-themed event today at the White House in Washington, D.C. The NATE members were invited to participate by President Donald Trump and Presidential Advisor Ivanka Trump. At the event, President Trump and Ivanka Trump both delivered remarks commemorating the One Year Anniversary …
AT&T’s remaining US towers and those in Mexico are on the chopping block
In its second quarter earnings conference call today, AT&T Chief Financial Officer John Stephens confirmed that the carrier is looking to sell its remaining cell towers in the U.S as well as those in Mexico. In discussing asset sales, Stephens said, “I think that it’s public knowledge that we’re out there selling our collections of about 1,300 U.S. cell towers that …
Novel ‘shenanigans’ concern cited in FCC’s $25,000 lighting/marking fine
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania gospel radio station WGBN-AM’s owner was notified yesterday that they were to be fined $25,000 for presenting a public safety risk to passing aircraft for failing to properly light two antenna structures 206-feet in height and failing to notify the FAA of lights being out on the towers and not painting them to meet visibility requirements. The FCC …
Dueling Centerlines may end their ‘mark’ lawsuits following Solutions’ bankruptcy
Centerline Solutions, LLC (CS) of Colorado filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on July 12, and it could end a lawsuit they filed last August against Centerline Communications, LLC (CC) of Massachusetts in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado regarding a service mark dispute. In its complaint, CS said that CC brought an action before the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board …
DOJ expected to give their blessing on the Sprint/T-Mobile merger this week: report
According to a Fox Business report this morning, the U.S. Department of Justice could announce a settlement to make way for the merger of Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. by mid-week, Sources told Fox that a settlement announcement between the DOJ and the carriers could come “Wednesday or Thursday, or possibly sooner.” The settlement would include plans for divestitures …
Wisconsin residents can’t return to their homes until tower’s structural integrity is assessed
Police in Bloomer, Wisconsin evacuated residents of eight homes on Thursday evening after authorities became concerned that a nearby tower could collapse, causing injury to those living in the immediate area. It may still be another day or so until they are able to return. The 499-foot guyed tower, owned by InSite Towers LLC of Virginia, was constructed in 1969. InSite acquired …
The New York Times gets it right: ‘The 5G Health Hazard That Isn’t’
The New York Times is fast becoming the nation’s leading advocate for exposing 5G cancer myths and educating the public that cell towers and especially 5G frequencies are not dangerous as they’re frequently described in the media and social networks. In an extensive article written by Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist William J. Broad this week, he exposes how Bill P. …
Momentum builds around wireless installations at military facilities leads Fast-Forward-Friday
Article Media Momentum builds around wireless installations at military facilities WIA Palm Beach and AT&T at odds over spotty service Palm Beach Post Virginia Beach leaders have concerns about 5G antennas Government Technology Crown Castle crushed its second-quarter earnings guidance The Motley Fool Brookfield inks $3.7 billion deal to invest in Reliance’s tower assets VC Circle With Ripon tower gone …
BACOM updates information on deceased California tech who fell in Nevada
To clarify the misinformation that has appeared on social and other media regarding a recent industry fatality, Broken Arrow Communications, Inc.’s (BACOM) President, Dan Filler, has provided a statement to Wireless Estimator: “On July 11, 2019, Joel Miller, a Broken Arrow Communications, Inc. employee lost his life following a fall from a tower near Sparks, Nevada. “Joel was a father …
Strawberry fields not quite forever for Sprint as it caves in in California
The City of Ripon, California’s City Council agreed yesterday to move forward with an agreement with Sprint (below) to allow the carrier to replace an existing cell tower at the Weston Elementary School with one to be built on acreage with strawberry fields approximately three-quarters of a mile north of the school. Bowing to pressure in April, Sprint turned off …
Key carrier contractor Centerline Solutions throws in the towel with its bankruptcy filing
Citing, delayed payments from carriers, slim margins and competition that doesn’t have high corporate expenses, Colorado-based Centerline Solutions, one of the nation’s larger contractors, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Friday Centerline said in its filing that it has assets of $10.21 million and owes creditors $7.63 million. It’s a who’s who list of creditors The creditors are well-known (pages 74 through …
FCC says its jurisdiction rules in pole pricing rift between Crown Castle and ComEd
Crown Castle Fiber accused Illinois utility Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) last month of breaking FCC rules by charging excessive pole attachment fees and denying the company access to hundreds of poles. ComEd filed a motion to dismiss both charges, arguing that the FCC lacks jurisdiction over Crown Castle’s complaints because the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has “preempted Commission jurisdiction over all …
FCC’s short-lived Tropical Storm Barry reporting has long-awaited changes
The FCC deactivated its Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) for Tropical Storm Barry yesterday, issuing it’s final report as of 11:30 a.m. showing that only 25 cell sites were out in Louisiana out of a total of 3,075. Mississippi had no sites out in the affected counties that represented 1,284 sites. Reporting began on Friday. Of interest were the new …
Pedophile may have inadvertently put OSHA tower safety rule on permanent hold
President Donald Trump said Friday that embattled Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta is resigning because Acosta doesn’t want his decade-old plea deal with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to distract the President from pressing issues. Epstein, 66, was arrested last weekend and charged in the Southern District of New York with sex trafficking of young girls. A judge has postponed his decision …
