To lower carrier lease rates, AT&T, Verizon and Tillman Infrastructure last year announced a joint agreement to build hundreds of cell towers, some for new macro builds, others for “build-to-relo”. The major towercos quickly and cavalierly dismissed their efforts as non-hazardous to their business model’s health. But last week American Tower Corp. let it be known that they are concerned and …
Settlement of $4.25 million to a first responder’s family after telecom tower collapse
The family of a Nutter Fort, W. Virg. firefighter was awarded a $4.25 million settlement agreed to by the Harrison County Court System yesterday. The resolved lawsuit and details from the defendant’s bankruptcy also bring into question whether better vetting of a contractor could have prevented his death. Michael Garrett was responding to a tower collapse on Feb. 1, 2014 when the …
Canadian who skated on toppling 1,100 foot tower is now charged with murder
A 75-year-old Canadian man who was found guilty of collapsing an 1,100-foot Bell Canada guyed tower in Ottawa in 1987 and had his conviction stayed by Canada’s Supreme Court, is expected to plead not guilty today to a more serious charge – murder. Last Thursday, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) arrested James “Jimmy” Wise and charged him with first-degree murder in …
TIRAP elects new leadership group with SBA’s Sams at the helm
The Executive Board of the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP) announced today that David Sams, Vice President of Risk Management with SBA Communications, was elected Chairperson of the group. Paul Roberts, Vice President of Compliance for American Tower Corp., was elected Vice-Chairperson, and Beau Aero, President and Founder of GME Supply, was elected Secretary. Former Chairman Scott Kisting was …
AT&T’s “Extreme-Weather Drone” ensures faster network recovery and a first responder role
By Art Pregler AT&T Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program Director It can see through obstacles, fly through rain, operate in extreme temperatures and communicate in areas without infrastructure. And it took its first flight last week in Bedminster, New Jersey. Meet the newest superhero of AT&T’s Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) Team – “The Extreme-Weather Drone.” This versatile new technology has the …
With boots on the steel, FCC Commissioner Carr learns about exacting disciplines
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE), National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) and Sioux Falls Tower & Communications today jointly hosted FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr on an industry training and climbing experience site visit. The event was held at the Sioux Falls Tower & Communications new corporate headquarters and state-of-the-art training center in Sioux Falls, S.D. During the event, management …
AT&T expected to meet FirstNet deployment targets sooner than anticipated
AT&T said it is planning to deploy public safety LTE service on 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum quicker than it anticipated, with approximately one-third of the projected buildout to be completed by the end of next March or earlier, according to AT&T Chief Financial Officer John Stephens. During an interview by Colby Synesael of Cowen and Company at the company’s …
From the Bronx to Boston, Crown’s employees made a meaningful difference
More than 1,700 Crown Castle employees participated in a day of service earlier this month, contributing more than 7,036 hours of planting, building, painting and cleaning up the nation’s parks. On May 9, Crown hosted the day of service as part of its Connected by Good community parks initiative. Doubling its efforts from last year, Crown identified 22 parks in …
Crop duster pilot killed as he topples 1,040-foot Oklahoma tower
Update: May 31, 2018 -Andrew Deterding, 57, of Pond Creek, Okla., owner of Andy Deterding Ag Aviation, who was flying an S2R-T34 Thrush plane on Wednesday when the aircraft struck a radio tower guy wire, has been identified as the deceased pilot. A post on his Facebook page, written by one of his children, states Deterding’s memories and stories will live on through “every …
Kicking osprey nest off of tower riles neighbors, but not environmental police
A homeowner living off of Center Hill Rd. in Plymouth, Mass. contacted the Massachusetts Environmental Police (EP) on May 17, informing them that she was watching ospreys nesting near the top of a nearby cell tower when “I saw men in harnesses come up the tower and, whey they got to the top of the platform, kick the nests off.” …
Training coupled with a drone provides for a tech’s safe self-rescue
A tower technician in Biloxi, Miss. rappelled safely to the ground yesterday evening after being stuck in a man basket for a few hours after a crane lost its hydraulic system. While performing maintenance work on the Alpha Media radio tower, the unnamed tech got stranded 140 feet up in the air. The tower is located just behind WLOX’s TV …
‘Un-towerco’ says there will be some pain with a T-Mobile/Sprint merger
If the marriage of Sprint and T-Mobile is approved by regulators, the majority opinion of towerco executives at Connect (X) in Charlotte, N.C. last week was that business would still be robust. Jay Brown, President and CEO of Crown Castle, said during the View From the Top presentation, “It will almost be irrelevant how many carriers we have.” He said …
Geek guy Pai enthusiastically wants America to win the 5G race
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, a self-described lover of geeking out infrastructure issues, three weeks ago scaled a utility pole in Gainesville, Fla., to get an up-close and personal view of how difficult it is to string aerial fiber. He also spent time with representatives of MillerCo, a Gulfport, Miss. nationwide wireless contractor, to learn about the exacting requirements of site …
Dish’s foray into 5G is already a soothing shot in the arm for nation’s towercos
Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen said that his company will be building a full-blown 5G wireless network that will cost $10 billion in an interview Wednesday at the Wireless Infrastructure Association’s Connect (X) conference in Charlotte, N.C. by former FCC Commissioner Rob McDowell. Ergen pointed out that current wireless networks are designed for approximately 300 million smart phone users in …
AT&T settles for a record $30 million to injured tower technician’s family
With a Philadelphia, Pa. jury trial scheduled to begin today to determine whether AT&T and other defendants were negligent and contributed to a tower technician falling 50 feet to the ground and causing him to sustain severe and permanent injuries, the carrier agreed to a $30 million settlement, the largest recorded payment in the U.S. to an injured wireless infrastructure worker, …
O’Rielly opens up about opening up more wireless services spectrum
During an interview by Kathleen Quinn Abernathy yesterday, special counsel for Wilkinson, Barker Knauer at ConnectX in Charlotte, N.C., Commissioner Micael O’Rielly discussed FCC priorities, emphasizing the need to open up more wireless services spectrum and to further streamline deployment. He noted one “bad actor” community that recently wanted to charge $4,000 per small cell for deployment. The company nixed …
FCC’s 2020 repack deadline is questionable following first year’s bleak build
After assessing the progress of the first 12 months of the broadband repack, and the immense pressure put upon the small cadre of contractors that specialize in tall tower broadcast work, the NAB is again championing the need for the FCC to address what the trade group and tower companies believe is an “unrealistic schedule” and the organization is urging …
PerfectVision and Trylon team up to ensure successful wireless rollouts
PerfectVision Manufacturing, a leading manufacturer of satellite, broadband, and wireless products, and Trylon, an end-to-end wireless infrastructure developer and tower manufacturer, have entered into a partnership agreement for a long-term joint manufacturing and distribution relationship to support the growing demands of the industry. The alliance will drive continued improvement in the quality and cost of products in the wireless marketplace by aligning …
All tower techs get to bask in the limelight on appreciation day
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today unveiled a commemoration declaring Wed., May 9, 2018 as Tower Technician Appreciation Day. For the second consecutive year, a day has been set aside by NATE to coincide with OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down Week in order to pay tribute to the important work that tower technicians conduct on a daily basis to …
FCC Commissioner Carr gets an enlightening Cook’s tour of tower site work
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr today conducted a site visit to a communications tower located in Noblesville, Ind. The tour was facilitated by representatives from NATE, Crown Castle and Heartland Solutions Corporation. During his time spent on site, Carr visited with technicians and staff from NATE member companies Heartland Solutions and Crown Castle to discuss the work that is conducted on …
