In Sprint’s earnings call this morning, the carrier said that they were going to have a massive network overhaul that will include thousands of new macro sites, tens of thousands of new small cells, and the upgrade of almost all existing sites to support its three spectrum bands, 800 MHz, 1900 MHz and 2.5 GHZ. Analysts believe that Sprint will …
Phoenix Tower International’s U.S. footprint expands with deal to acquire the rights to 600 T-Mobile towers
Boca Raton, Fla.-based Phoenix Tower International (PTI) announced yesterday that it has entered into a contract with T-Mobile to acquire the ownership or management rights relating to approximately 600 wireless communication tower sites including the exclusive right to manage and operate the sites from T-Mobile via PTI’s local US subsidiaries. Terms of the transaction remain confidential between the parties. The …
All Risks acquires industry’s largest program administrator, Tower Program Insurances Services
All Risks, Ltd., the nation’s largest independent insurance wholesaler, has acquired Tower Program Insurance Services, Inc. (TPIS), a national program administrator, based in Austin, Tex. TPIS has developed a national program for the tower construction industry and has joined All Risks, Ltd. effective August 1, 2015. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Patrick Shea and Scott Hermesmeyer, founders of …
New Orleans Saints partners with NATE to host high-profile events at NATE UNITE 2016
The National Football League’s New Orleans Saints and the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) announced today that they are teaming up for several high-profile events that will be held in conjunction with the NATE UNITE 2016 Conference in New Orleans, La. NATE UNITE 2016 will take place Feb. 22 through Feb. 25, 2016 and is widely regarded as the …
AT&T and U.S. Cellular executives Join TIRAP’s Board of Directors
The Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP) announced that two new members will be adding their expertise to its Board of Directors. Jim Walker-Pontius, U.S. Cellular’s Director of Network Operations, will serve as Chairman of TIRAP’s Technology Committee. Art Pregler, AT&T’s Director of National Cell Site Programs, has been named Chairman of the Board’s Quality Committee. Retiring from the Board …
SBA disses DAS and small cells, preferring the macro site tower business for growth
Business relationships have an average shelf life of less than five years primarily because there is a lack of cohesiveness in shared visions. Tower owner SBA Communications and ExteNet Systems, a neutral host provider with some of the most profitable DAS locations in America, fit that model and decided to call it quits after five years, even though they seemed to …
Memorial fund set up after fiery crash takes the lives of five cell site workers in Florida
UPDATE – July 31, 2015 – Memorial services for all five crew members that died following the accident earlier this week will be on Monday, August 3, 2015 at 4:00 p.m. at the Mission of Guadalupe Catholic Church, 2150 Bomber Rd., Eagle Lake, Fla. The Wingate Communications Lost Employees Children’s Memorial Fund, has been set up to assist the deceased’s children. Donations have been coming …
Safety alliance reaches out to tower techs and appoints two climbers to their Board of Governors
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today that Ed Owens from Broken Arrow Communications in Sacramento, Calif. and Kevin Schmidt from Sioux Falls Tower and Communications in Sioux Falls, S.D. have been selected to fill the tower technician seats on the organization’s inaugural Board of Governors. Owens and Schmidt were selected from a competitive applicant pool of 22 candidates …
First ever NATE regional meeting to be hosted in Kankakee, Illinois in September
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) will be hosting a Midwest regional meeting on Friday, Sept. 25, 2015 at the Kankakee Community College Banquet Center in Kankakee, Ill. The meeting will focus on key industry safety initiatives and offer tremendous networking and professional development opportunities for attendees. The meeting is open to NATE members as well as those companies …
Newest Hall of Shame tech should be severely disciplined or let go by his employer
The message is clear, 100% tie-off at all times. The message that you shouldn’t allow someone to be climbing a tower without adequate PPE, training and supervision is even clearer, especially since a 28-year-old Texas woman died last March after her boyfriend took her on a test climb on a site where he had no authorization to be and she fell …
In a surprise move, SBA walks out with cash and away from its investment in DAS
Five year DAS ride for SBA unexpectedly ends In a deal that took many industry observers by surprise, DAS developer ExteNet Systems, Inc. announced that Digital Bridge Holdings and Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners will recapitalize the company with more than $1 billion dollars, and Digital Bridge’s CEO Marc Ganzi will assume the position of Chairman of the Board. Key members of …
Crown Castle’s tenants per tower take a slight dip as revenues show a marked increase
Although Crown Castle’s site rental revenues for the second quarter were up $26.3 million over its 2014 quarter, the tower owner’s average tenants per tower for sites operated for 10 years or longer fell off slightly in all BTAs. The tenant per tower average in the top 100 BTAs for sites operated 10 years or more was 2.9 compared to …
Four tower Maryland sales deal likely to add $75 million to Cumulus Media’s balance sheet
The sale of an array of four AM towers in Bethesda, Md. for a record $75 million or more wasn’t based upon outrageously high multiples being paid for Cumulus Media’s prime Beltway tower site; in fact, the buyers, Winchester Homes and Toll Brothers will be dismantling the four 400-foot towers that were erected in the early 1940s. The reported high …
NWSA’s new web site will benchmark alliance’s growth
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) unveiled the organization’s official informational website. NWSA is a national non-profit assessment and certification organization whose mission statement is to provide thorough, independent assessments of knowledge and skills and provide verifiable worker certification in order to enhance safety, reduce workplace risk, improve quality, encourage training, and recognize the skilled professionals who work on towers …
PCIA head calls for improved wireless construction skills training to meet demands of industry
Jonathan Adelstein, the President and CEO of PCIA – The Wireless Infrastructure Association today moderated a White House summit on the urgent need to train U.S. workers for careers in the wireless industry. Adelstein called on leaders from industry, government, and academia to work together in developing a safer, more proficient, and more diverse “wireless workforce of the future” to …
National Wireless Safety Alliance moves forward with NCCCO partnership for certifications
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) and the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) announced today that they have entered into a professional partnership for the development and administration of nationally accredited certification programs. The partnership puts the NWSA a strategically important step closer to rolling out their certification programs for tower technicians expected to be available sometime …
U.S. tower counts and site information are often inaccurate and purposely misleading
Editor’s Note: The following article on the elusive number of towers in the U.S. and the total number of structures that companies state they own was published in Sept. of 2010, and while wireless technology has dramatically changed, tower count accuracy and a desire to embellish statistics hasn’t. And the article is still on target and worth the read. View Top 100 U.S. Tower Companies. Reporters, …
Tower contractor’s owner refutes report that his worker fell from a tower
A Massachusetts contractor said that, although he had a worker who sustained jobsite injuries, his tower technician did not fall from a Crown Castle International tower yesterday in Gorham, Maine, as reported by a Maine newspaper. In a Portland Press Herald article, based upon a police ‘news release,’ an employee of Centerline Communications of Raynham, fell from the 300-foot guyed tower while …
SBA Communications’ ‘improper accounting’ whistleblower act charge is denied by court
A U.S. District Court judge has denied a former SBA Communications employee the right to sue under the Florida Whistleblower Act (FWA) since the alleged request for her to create false assets was not a company policy, but the court will hear her remaining three discrimination complaints filed in Palm Beach County, Fla. On October 7, 2014, former SBA employee …
In lieu of double time pay, New Jersey police have tech spending time in jail
While most industry workers were celebrating July 4th with a well-deserved day off, tower technician Louis Lucas, 45, was one of the few that had to be on duty to service a cell site at 1191 Williamstown Rd., Gloucester Township, N.J. That’s the story he told Gloucester Township Police Corporal M. Pickard, but upon further investigation after Pickard saw Lucas …
