State officials will “wreak havoc” on companies’ ability to merge if they disagree with federal regulators and block deals on their own as 10 states are trying to do with the T-Mobile/Sprint marriage, the chief antitrust official of the Justice Department said during a speech to the Media Institute in Washington D.C. yesterday. Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim’s surprising swipe at …
NCCCO and NWSA launch new Telecommunications Tower Rigger Certification
The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) and the National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today the official launch of the Telecommunications Tower Rigger Level I (TTR-I) Certification Program. Established collaboratively between NCCCO and NWSA, the new TTR-I certification was adapted from NCCCO’s Rigger Level I program and specifically addresses those with responsibility for handling and moving …
Third copper thief in a gang of five pleads guilty of stripping 80-plus towers
An Illinois man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge accusing him of shutting down power to more than 80 cellphone towers across Missouri and Illinois to steal copper from the sites. He was arrested in Pike County, Missouri when a County Sheriff’s Office deputy saw the lights go out on a guyed tower near Eolia, and was indicted on …
FCC approves rules for 10-year $20 billion broadband expansion fund
The FCC voted this morning to approve the process for handing out $20 billion in subsidies to assist in closing the digital divide. Democrats on the commission, who dissented in part, were critical of the plan that has most of the money being spent before the FCC had figured out where it was most needed. The Report and Order adopted …
New Jersey homeowner’s legal stand against a Verizon tower site collapses in his second appeal
An Alexandria Township, N.J. homeowner has lost his legal battle against Verizon placing cell antennas atop a power line tower adjacent to his property. Glenn Fodor, who lives on Route 579, appealed the approval of the township’s Land Use Board on December 21, 2017 before the Hunterdon County Superior Court, to allow 12 antennas on top of the 150-foot power …
NATE weighs in regarding FAA’s digital license plates in the sky, requesting relief on 400′ limitation
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) has weighed in with their comments to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the agency’s notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that seeks to require the remote identification of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operating in the airspace of the United States, and the ability of people on the ground to determine the identity of …
Don’t thread or step (bolt) on me: Crown responds quickly to community’s tattered flag concern
The stars and stripes were flying whole again yesterday morning in Towamensing Township, Pennsylvania on a Crown Castle monopole after residents pressured the company to take down a tattered American flag that had been flying for months in the Carbon County community of 4,429 residents. Numerous local TV and news outlets championed the cause of township officials and residents who …
KATC tower crash: Pilot was troubled, erratic and tower lights were working
Scripps Broadcasting agreed to pay a $1.13 million fine to the FCC earlier this month for lighting violations on multiple tower structures. The settlement order adopted by the FCC started after an agency investigation began after a small plane crashed into KATC’s TV tower near Kaplan, Louisiana on August 31, 2018. Although the FCC Enforcement Bureau said that it found …
American Tower’s revenues will tank in India if government fees create a carrier duopoly
India, once the darling of tower companies looking to expand their international footprint, is not where towercos might want to be today with the potential for a considerable tenancy drop if Vodafone Idea collapses under the weight of government license fees totaling $6.2 billion that are due by January 23, 2020. Vodafone Idea may not be able to pay the …
Court to decide if City of Colorado Springs monopole can be beefed up by Vertical Bridge
Vertical Bridge Development, LLC has filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado for a ruling that the City of Colorado Springs is violating federal laws by not allowing the company to modify an existing tower that does not substantially change the physical dimensions of the tower. According to the complaint, Vertical Bridge manages a …
Miller digs into obstacles of broadband deployment, providing solutions to U.S. Senate committee
National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) Chairman Jimmy Miller, President at MillerCo, Inc. in Gulfport, Mississippi, provided expert witness testimony at this morning’s U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. regarding “The 5G Workforce and Obstacles to Broadband Deployment”. The hearing was convened by U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) who serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, …
All site acquisition eyes will be on a San Jose Diocese’s RF ‘study’
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 …
