In American Tower Corp.’s investors’ conference call this morning, EVP and CFO Tom Bartlett cautioned analysts that their master lease agreement (MLA) with AT&T was not expiring in 2016 when he was questioned by one caller regarding the expiration. Bartlett said he had seen that statement in some write-ups, but it wasn’t correct. In August, SVP and Treasurer Leah Stearns …
Comp insurance is down along with project prospects for some wireless contractors
Experience mod requirement of 1.0 or less seen as ‘ridiculous’ The good news for contractors, according to Bruce Eades, Regional President for Insurance Office of America, is workers compensation insurance premiums are going down from an average of $12 per $100 of remuneration to $6 based upon a change in NCCI Class Codes. But truly troubling news, Eades says, is …
Tasked with cultivating smiles across the country, Centerline pulls it off in one day
Golden, Colorado-based Centerline Solutions, a full turnkey wireless company, can easily design, build, modify and maintain wireless infrastructure, even if there are ambitious deadlines. But recently their CEO asked his 300-plus employees to find a way to keep hundreds of VIPs happy with a national project that had a drop dead timeline of one day. They did. And they were …
Broadcaster sues its attorney for $20 million after a 16-year-old FCC filing snafu
Florida corporations Beach TV Properties, Inc. and The Atlanta Channel, Inc. (ACI), affiliates with common ownership, are suing high profile law firm Garvey Schubert Barer and one of its former attorneys for failing to properly file a license application with the Federal Communications Commission. The malpractice lawsuit being brought before a federal court in Washington, D.C. says the botched incomplete …
T-Mobile’s Legere predicts ‘dark horse’ bidders in 600 MHz auction
John Legere, the oftentimes eccentric and outspoken CEO of T-Mobile US, in a studio setting that mirrored an Imus in the Morning production complete with caustic remarks by the un-carrier chief, provided an entertaining as well as illuminating third-quarter conference call where Legere said today, “I do expect some dark horses to show up,” such as Google and Charter Communications …
The taxman cometh armed with a Stingray on steroids spy gear
UPDATE: Oct. 28, 2015 – The head of the Internal Revenue Service told a Senate committee on Tuesday that its stingrays are only used in criminal investigations. “It is only used in criminal investigations,” Commissioner John Koskinen testified before Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and the rest of the Senate Finance Committee. “It can only be used with a court order. It can …
Services set for Ernie Jones, an industry safety and structural icon
Services have been announced for Ernest “Ernie” Raymond Jones, 64, of Lynnville, Ind. who passed away Wed., Oct. 21, 2015 while inspecting a tower in Oklahoma City, Okla. He was born November 5, 1950, in Evansville, to the late Raymond E. and June B. (Beldon) Jones. Ernie attended Rose-Hulman Institute for Engineering. He also attended The University of Evansville. He …
Crown Castle will reinstate gag order keeping them from discussing carriers
Crown Castle CEO Ben Moreland said yesterday during the company’s Q3 conference call that Crown’s executives used to refrain from speaking with any specificity about carrier deployments, but “over the last couple of years, we’ve sort of relaxed that standard, and probably spoken a little bit too much occasionally around specific carrier deployment plans.” But Crown’s easing of carrier build …
Ernie Jones succumbs following tragic tower elevator-related accident in Oklahoma
An industry icon who helped shape and advance structural and safety initiatives during his service to the tower industry was killed yesterday in an elevator-related accident on a broadcast tower in Oklahoma City, Okla., according to individuals knowledgeable of the incident. Although there are few verifiable details, Ernest “Ernie” Jones had reportedly been working with a crew on KOCO’s broadcast …
GCI fined $620,500 by FCC for not registering 118 towers and lamping three structures
In what appears to be the highest fine ever levied against a tower owner, the Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau announced a $620,500 settlement with General Communication, Inc. (GCI), parent company of The Alaska Wireless Network, for failing to register numerous communications towers through the agency’s Antenna Structure Registration system. Prior to constructing or upon acquiring these towers, the Alaska-based …
One towerco to own a mind-boggling 1.5 million towers in China in a $34 billion deal
Every large tower owner dreams of the day when they can boast that they’re the largest in the world. Those hopes were dashed yesterday with the announcement that the big three telecommunications operators in China have agreed upon an infrastructure-sharing joint venture, China Tower Corp. According to Barclays, the total tower count will be a staggering 1.5 million towers. The …
NATE establishes committee on unmanned aerial systems
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) has announced the formal establishment of an Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Committee. The newly minted committee will be tasked with monitoring the trends and regulatory environment associated with rapidly evolving UAS technologies and making recommendations to NATE members and the wireless infrastructure community on best practices when it comes to UAS integration. The committee …
FCC Commissioner’s new tower builds is based on a hazy crystal ball
Commentary — Making subsidies more flexible and removing legal hurdles are two of several changes the Federal Communications Commission should make to advance wireless infrastructure development, FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly said Wednesday at the Competitive Carriers Association conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Another adjustment they should consider is providing their Commissioners with research that they’ve unearthed to provide direction rather than …
131 STAR Initiative companies recognized for their higher safety standards
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today announced the member companies who have been formally approved to participate in the prestigious STAR Initiative program for the 2015-2016 year. The Association made the announcement at the 2015 Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) Annual Convention in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “We are thrilled with both the quantity and caliber of companies who have …
CM refuses $100,000 in back overtime as Crown Castle asks to put her case on hold
A former construction manager was offered $100,000 plus her attorneys’ fees by Crown Castle USA, Inc. to settle claims for back overtime wages she said she was due after she worked for 43 weeks that ended February 9, 2015, but she didn’t accept the offer and may now be responsible for her attorneys’ costs moving forward in a case that …
T-Mobile battles Sirius cell site interference claims and an FCC dispute resolution proposal
After a number of Sirius XM customers complained to the satellite radio company last year that they were losing their radio signal in some urban markets, Sirius did some drive-by tests and said they found the guilty party, T-Mobile. The company said T-Mobile was interrupting its service to the point that it was “alarmingly severe, extensive and frequent,” but T-Mobile …
Industry experts readying testing process for tower technicians’ certifications
FDH Velocitel’s Don Doty Selected as Presiding Chairman of Test Development Task Force The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) convened a distinguished group of the industry’s leading subject matter experts in Dallas, Tex. this week to begin the test development process for the Telecommunications Tower Technician I (TTTI) and Telecommunications Tower Technician II (TTTII) certification programs. The NWSA is a …
Prophetic wireless kick start statement was made by AT&T 100 years ago today
A transcontinental radio telephone demonstration transmitted from the U.S. naval radio station in Arlington, Va. to the naval radio station 2,500 miles away in San Francisco, Calif. and then relayed to Honolulu, for a total of 4,900 miles was sent today a century go. Its impact was revolutionary since the First World War was in progress in Europe and it would be …
Tech’s death in Pennsylvania is the industry’s third work site fatality in 2015
UPDATE: Sept. 28, 2015 – Visitation services for Matthew J. Vance, 37, will be held today from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. today at the Sorge Funeral Home in Hollidaysburg, Pa. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015, at Evangelical Lutheran Church in Duncansville. Vance, a tower technician, fell approximately 90 …
TIRAP urges employers to embrace career training, safety and quality
The Chairman of the private/public Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP), Scott Kisting, today urged telecommunications employers to fully embrace an industry-wide effort to train new workers and instill higher standards in the workplace. In a presentation before the Environmental, Health & Safety International Communications Conference, Kisting said, “If the telecom industry is going to meet soaring consumer demand, we’ll …
