The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today that William (Bill) Martin, President at Tower Engineering Professionals, Inc. (TEP), Drew McCarthick, Director of Environmental Health, and Safety at Ericsson, and Mike McGovern, Regional Vice President at DISH Wireless, have been appointed as members of the organization’s Board of Governors. In their new roles as members of the Board of Governors …
Stainless marks a storied 75 years of pioneering leadership in the broadcast industry
FDH Infrastructure Services, LLC (FDH), a leader in engineering investigations of critical structures and developer of global technology solutions, is proudly commemorating the 75th anniversary of Stainless, its broadcast division. Officially incorporated on July 24, 1947, Stainless has been pioneering innovations in tower design, fabrication, erection, modifications, safety, and reliability – holding the longest and most distinguished history in the …
Tower tech’s non-life-threatening injury still required an Iowa rescue team to bring him to the ground
Sioux City, Iowa fire rescue personnel rescued a tower technician Monday evening when he couldn’t make it down from a cell tower that he was working on when he became injured. Rescue workers successfully performed a rope rescue at the tower site off of Florence Avenue in Riverside around 5:00 p.m. Authorities, who would not release the worker’s name or …
AT&T didn’t negotiate with a tower climbers union in its most recent contract ratification
UPDATE – August 4, 2022 – Following the publication of this article, a union spokesperson said that of the 175 workers at AT&T’s Alascom facilities, approximately 105 of Teamsters Local 959 Alascom members “are tower climbers”. According to the union’s hiring requirements, any Technician/Installer “must have or obtain tower climbing certification” and have at least “5 years Electronic Technician background.” It is …
Tower titan Michael T.N. Fitch passes, leaving the industry with a more stable environment
Michael T.N. Fitch passed away on July 22, 2022, leaving behind a rich legacy of assisting towercos and carriers in advancing infrastructure siting. Fitch spent the first 20 years of his extensive career at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), where he advanced from Staff Attorney to Division Chief, Bureau Chief, and ultimately Senior Legal and International Advisor to the Chairman. …
Offering no standards guidance, CWA says safety bulletin ‘threat’ has the tone of an ‘irate boss’
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) Tower Climbers Union has jumped on the carabiner bandwagon of concern regarding a recent NATE advisory bulletin on July 20, 2022, that stated, “Carabiners are NOT intended for rigging applications involving material handling and overhead lifting,” after a LinkedIn article said that the ANSI A10.48 standard allows carabiners to be used if they are “specifically classified by the manufacturer …
Use of a carabiner for load lifting provided varied responses but client requirements still reign
NATE’s July 20, 2022 industry advisory bulletin that carabiners are not intended for rigging applications involving material handling and overhead lifting saw a slew of Facebook comments in the past six days that had some posters defending the use of carabiners for those purposes that are largely prohibited by major tower owners whose structures tower techs are erecting or providing …
FBI found Huawei gear near U.S. military bases and silos could easily disrupt nation’s nukes
Federal officials investigating Chinese land purchases in the U.S. in recent years discovered that Huawei equipment on cell towers in the Midwest “was capable of capturing and disrupting highly restricted Defense Department communications, including those used by U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the country’s nuclear weapons,” a CNN exclusive report said today. The FBI’s investigation revealed that Huawei had a pattern …
Topping estimates, all Valmont segments are up in Q2 financial report but telecommunications shines
Shares of Valmont Industries (VMI) hit their highest level in more than a month, gaining 7.8% to $256.53 in noontime trading after the infrastructure and agricultural solutions provider reported Q2 2022 results that beat estimates and raised its FY guidance. In the past five days, the stock has seen a rise of $31.59, a 14.08% increase. Valmont said that it had record sales …
Contractors warned using carabiners for material rigging applications could suspend future work
Industry stakeholders have issued a warning that no matter how strong a carabiner is, companies using them for material handling and overhead lifting could see a loss of work when their jobs are shut down. NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association said today that on July 13, 2022, the organization became aware of an article titled “Rigging is a Dynamic …
Death of a tower worker falling off a 300-foot Crown Castle guyed tower proves to be incorrect
News reports on Monday described an industry fatality when a tower technician fell off a guyed tower that he was working on in Anderson, SC. However, the reporting was incorrect. TV station WSPA said a man working on a tower in Anderson County had been found dead and cited the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) as stating the man fell …
Tribute to tower technicians in a new NATE video is a well-deserved acknowledgement of their importance
Tower technicians are undeniably the indispensable linchpins that keep America’s communications networks operating. Without them, everything falls apart, and NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association has released a new, animated whiteboard video that details the truly prominent role they perform in building out and maintaining the country’s wireless networks – from 1G to 5G and beyond. The tribute to the …
Placing pipe bombs at AT&T and Verizon locations could result in a ‘life’ sentence for Michigan man
A Whittemore, Michigan man might spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty yesterday to two separate criminal cases related to the placement of explosive packages outside cellphone stores in Cheboygan and Sault Ste Marie and threatening to destroy cell sites. John Douglas Allen pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Thomas Ludington in Bay City, Michigan. …
South Carolina sheriffs arrest alleged cell site copper thief moments before his haul is recycled
A Sumter, SC man was arrested on July 11, 2022, during a traffic stop, Sumpter County Sherriff’s Office (SCSO) officials said in a statement this morning. Trent Martin was detained because the vehicle he was driving matched the description of a vehicle caught on camera in connection to a theft from a Farmers Telephone Company (FTC) cell site earlier in …
After dozens of FCC staffers provide the goods for a $116 million fine, robocaller will likely not pay a dime
Thomas Dorsher, the CEO of Fargo, ND DigiGames, a manufacturer and software developer of TV games for professionals and event planners that oftentimes used phones to play live trivia games at events, was most likely concerned about scathing reviews from Trustpilot and Yelp that castigated his products and services. However, he didn’t appear to be troubled about possible FCC action …
In an early morning fire, a Crown Castle tower gets ‘lit up like a Christmas tree’
A 162-foot self-supporting multi-tenant cell tower became engulfed in flames early this morning in Seattle, WA near the busy intersection of I-90 and I-5 south of downtown in the International District. According to Seattle Fire Department Chief Geoff Wall, the fire that was reported at 3:00 a.m. was in one place on the tower when firefighters arrived but then changed …
Majority interest in 40K of Deutsche Telekom’s towers acquired by DigitalBridge and Brookfield
DigitalBridge Group, Inc. announced this morning that together with Brookfield Infrastructure and its institutional partners the companies have reached an agreement to acquire a 51% ownership stake in Deutsche Telekom-owned GD Towers. The transaction values GD $17.5 billion, including the assumption of net debt. GD Towers is Germany’s largest tower company, owning and operating over 33,000 towers and communication sites in …
Monopole torched on Friday has California deputies arrest a suspect the following day
A 44-year-old California man with previous arrests for arson was jailed for allegedly setting fire to a cell tower on Friday, July 8, 2022. According to the Kings County, CA Sheriff’s Office, at 8:20 a.m. deputies were dispatched to Stratford Elementary School after it was reported the cell tower at this location was on fire. Kings County Fire Department was …
Florida and Iowa have just six days left to capture at least $100 million in broadband funding
Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that only two states have not signed on to participate in the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative, which will invest $45 billion to provide affordable, reliable high-speed internet for everyone in America by the end of the decade. Since NTIA announced the initiative, except for Florida …
Rogers’ embarrassing outage prompts industry minister to demand changes within 60 days
Canadian Industry Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Francois-Philippe Champagne yesterday said he has directed carriers to assist each other in emergencies and develop communication protocols to keep people better informed after Rogers Communications’ massive outage on Friday that affected millions of subscribes. “So, in essence, what I’ve demanded and expect the telecom companies in Canada is to enter to …
