Confirmed reports are stating that Kay Kapoor, the head of AT&T Global Public Sector, has resigned. The news took many industry observers by surprise since Kapoor, who had led AT&T’s federal business for four years, and the company’s successful efforts to secure the multi-billion-dollar FirstNet public safety network contract, was appointed to her key corporate position in April. AT&T appointed …
Violent Florida contractor charged in $16 million DOD bribery and kickback conspiracy
Oct. 12, 2017 – Update and Correction: Timothy Donelson, who was arrested on Oct. 4 for participating in a bribery and kickback conspiracy was employed by Level 3 Communications, according to his LinkedIn page, during the period when he allegedly co-conspired with three other individuals who are charged with the issuance of almost $16 million in fraudulent invoices. Donelson’s arrest record identified that …
Indiana’s FirstNet opt-in hits the 50% mark of states coming on board
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced today his decision to accept the FirstNet and AT&T plan to deliver a wireless broadband network to the state’s public safety community. The move puts Indiana as the 25th state to opt-in to the FirstNet system, bringing advanced tools to help Indiana’s first responders save lives and protect communities. “Indiana’s first responders need fast, accurate information to keep Hoosiers safe,” Gov. …
NATE’s STAR Initiative participants represent the gold standard for safety and quality
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today announced the member companies who have been formally approved to participate in the STAR Initiative program for the 2017-2018 year. The NATE STAR Initiative is currently entering its seventh year and is the Association’s signature program designed to help companies operate safely and recognize tower contractors, owners and carriers who voluntarily adhere to …
Tata closing its doors will take a nice chunk out of American Tower’s income
In response to press reports that Tata Group is going to close down its India-based Tata Teleservices Ltd. (TTL), American Tower Corporation (ATC) today announced that the carrier accounted for approximately $80 million, or 5% of the REIT’s consolidated property revenues, including approximately $32 million of pass-through revenue. In addition, TTL accounted for approximately $40 million in gross margin for …
Towercos use the power of the plug and courts to get lease bills paid
While the Empire State Building Realty Trust (ESRT) used the New York Supreme Court this week to win its lawsuit against radio station Pacifica WBAL for unpaid tower rent of $1.8 million plus attorney’s fees, towercos in India owed millions of dollars by Reliance Communications are cutting the carrier’s power to force them to ante up unpaid lease payments that …
Copyright accusations fly as Washington adopts its extensive telecom safety standard
The State of Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) adopted their Safety Standards for Telecommunications, Chapter 296-32, on Monday with a Jan. 1, 2018 effective date for the comprehensive 106 pages of rules. Industry associations had challenged some of the major inclusions, but the final version released yesterday saw mostly definition changes, and clarity revisions that do not require …
Court says broadcasting couple owes millions on their TV and radio stations sale
The Eleventh Circuit yesterday upheld a 2015 U.S. Tax Court decision finding a Florida couple liable for at least a quarter of $79 million in unpaid taxes and interest from the sale of their Wisconsin TV and radio stations using a Midco transaction where the buyer resold the assets of Shockley Communication Corp.’s (SCC) stock. The court said it was …
FCC votes to give $77 million for telecom in PR; Governor’s outages differ from FCC
Update: Oct. 4, 2017 – The FCC unanimously voted today to immediately provide carriers with up to seven-months’ worth of support from the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, which helps lower the cost of deploying service in areas that are costly to serve. Any funds advanced under today’s action can be used to repair telecommunications infrastructure and restore service to customers …
Lack of on-site generators, COWs, contributes to Puerto Rico’s still horrendous cell service
After Hurricane Maria’s catastrophic devastation of Puerto Rico’s cell sites, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai directed his staff last week to reach out to American Tower, SBA Communications and Crown Castle “to see how we can work together to address Puerto Rico’s communications needs,” However, according to over a dozen industry professionals interviewed by Wireless Estimator, the answers are already known …
Engineer sentenced to 8 years for billing over $400K for missing equipment, 6 tower climbs
A former radio engineer has been sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing approximately $400,000 from the College of DuPage Illinois-owned FM station WDCB. John Valenta, 68, of Wheaton, appeared in court Friday, where DuPage County Judge Liam Brennan handed down the sentence. Valenta pleaded guilty to theft over $100,000 as part of a plea agreement on Feb. 28. …
High angle rescue brings down two tower techs in North Carolina
Two workers had to be rescued after being unable to get down from an approximately 125-foot Crown Castle monopole in south Charlotte, N.C. Thursday night. According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, two techs were working on the tower, located at 1800 Rama Rd. when one of the men became ill. The other tower climber proceeded to help his coworker, but couldn’t assist …
Three Tower King techs killed in Florida after gin pole rigging failure
UPDATE: Sept. 29, 2017 – Authorities have released the names of the three technicians who fell to their deaths Wednesday when a gin pole failed during an antenna installation project in Miami Springs, Fla. The men were identified as Marcus Goffena, 31, from Sidney, Ohio, Brachton Barber, 23, of Longwood, Fla., and Benito Rodriguez, 35, of Tampa, Fla. Brachton is …
NATE unveils DAS video featuring Super Bowl LII venue at U.S. Bank Stadium
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today unveiled a Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) video as part of Volume 2 of the popular Climber Connection series. The video was released at the NATE Wireless Industry Network (WIN) Great Plains Regional Conference in Bloomington, Minn. The fast-paced video highlights the explosive growth of DAS and the essential role this technology plays …
Not ready to opt in to FirstNet, Georgia becomes the 13th state to issue an RFP
Georgia recently issued a request for proposals (RFP) asking bidders to submit proposals to build and maintain an alternative LTE radio access network (RAN) for FirstNet under a potential “opt-out” scenario, making Georgia the 13th state with an active procurement for an alternative-RAN vendor. Georgia released the RFP on Sept. 22, and bids are due on Oct. 24. The proposed …
FCC says wireless carriers remain competitive, but not by building new cell sites
Carriers captured high grades for competitiveness, according to the FCC’s Twentieth Mobile Wireless Competition Report, an annual analysis of whether there is effective rate rivalry with wireless operators Although the 34-page report provides a wealth of additional information to support competitiveness, according to Jonathan Adelstein, President and CEO of the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), anybody who has turned on a …
SEMC’s mission: Create commonality in wire rope climb terms, inspections, loading design
The Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP) recently applauded the work of the Safety Equipment Manufacturers Consensus group (SEMC) when it met at the USA Telecommunications Insurance Services facility in Atlanta, Ga. to finalize the first revision of the Wire Rope Climb for Antenna Supporting Structures Guide. SEMC has been working with the staff and leadership from the Telecommunications Industry …
Puerto Rico’s horrendous cell site outages complicated by generator/fuel theft concerns
Puerto Rico’s cell service is still devastated today with over 91% of its sites out of service, basically the same as yesterday. The horrific outages caused by Hurricane Maria are also being felt in the U.S. Virgin Islands where 60.4% of cell sites are out of service, slightly down from yesterday’s 61.3%. In San Juan, P.R., subscribers saw a poor, …
T-Mobile and Sprint marriage announcement is imminent according to romance reports
In February, Reuters broke the news that Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Mobile U.S. was reportedly planning a renewed bid to acquire rival Sprint after a previous reverse attempt was thwarted by regulators. Joined by CNBC, Reuters is again reporting that the romance has fired up again and a deal could be expected by the end of next month. But it’s not …
Technician rescued after he passes out on California emergency tower
A 24-year-old tower technician was rescued by Long Beach, Calif. urban search and rescue experts yesterday afternoon after he became too weak to lower himself from a self-supporting tower in Long Beach. According to Jake Heflin of the Long Beach Fire Department, the man was about 50 feet up on the tower at the Long Beach Emergency Communications and Operations …
