Tillman Infrastructure has sued Stearns County in Minnesota after the Planning Commission turned down its bid to construct a 325-foot tower in rural Kimball. Tillman says the denial violates the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which requires that local governments’ refusals be backed by written decisions and “substantial evidence.” But the real story is not the lawsuit itself — siting disputes …
RF Industries’ Q3 shows momentum: double-digit growth, fatter margins, and new wins in aerospace and 5G
RF Industries turned in a strong fiscal Q3 2025, notching year-over-year growth, improved profitability, and meaningful traction in newer end-markets. In the quarter ended July 31, net sales climbed to about $19.8 million, up 17.5% from the prior year and 4.7% sequentially. Gross margin widened to 34%—comfortably above management’s 30% target—powered by a richer mix and ongoing cost discipline. Operating …
Services set for remembering Toby Cole: Tower tech, family man, and a proud Texan
Services have been announced for Toby Cole, 62, of Harlingen, TX, who passed away September 12 after he fell from a tower he was servicing in Little Rock, AR. Born on July 12, 1963, he is preceded in death by his parents, father Eusebio (“Alex”) and mother Margarita A. Alejandro, and paternal and maternal grandparents. Toby was patriotic; he loved sporting …
NTCH lawsuit against T-Mobile alleges $20 million in lost tower development revenues
NTCH, Inc. and several of its affiliates are pursuing a high-stakes lawsuit against T-Mobile USA, Inc. in King County Superior Court in Washington, accusing the wireless carrier of breaching a contractual commitment that was supposed to provide the tower builder with at least 100 new development opportunities under a Build to Suit Master Services Agreement (MSA) signed in 2015. NTCH …
Two sides of the same coin: Why fiber contractors are rallying behind a new petition—and why NATE’s playbook matters
A new petition circulating in the fiber-construction community by PACTEL argues that conditions facing wireline fiber companies mirror the pressures long documented by wireless contractors—thin margins, take-it-or-leave-it MSAs, slow change-order approvals, and payment delays that cascade into layoffs, safety compromises, and business failures. Parallels to NATE’s campaign It’s a message that tracks closely with the themes NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors …
Texas tower tech dies after fall at Little Rock antenna farm; sheriff identifies victim as Toby Cole
A Texas man died Friday after falling from a tower along Two Towers Road west of Little Rock, AR, an area known for its cluster of broadcast and communications structures on Shinall Mountain. The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were dispatched at about 2:09 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, to 19008 Two Towers Road. The office later identified …
Tower crews lose work as Boost’s open RAN ambitions as the nation’s fourth carrier collapse
The prospect of Boost Mobile emerging as an actual “fourth national carrier” has collapsed following EchoStar’s multi-billion-dollar spectrum sales to AT&T and SpaceX. Together, the transactions dismantle Dish/EchoStar’s original 5G greenfield buildout and confirm that the U.S. market will remain dominated by the Big Three—AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile—for the foreseeable future. AT&T deal: Spectrum sale and RAN takeover In late …
Contractor ASG sued in federal court over WARN Act violations; execs named in New Jersey complaint
Just one week after broadband infrastructure company Allstate Sales Group, Inc. (ASG) abruptly froze operations and delayed paychecks, leaving an estimated 500 workers jobless, a federal class action lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The complaint, brought by former ASG Vice President of Electrical Sales Joseph Horling on behalf of himself …
AT&T Mexico withholding rent puts $300M a year at risk for American Tower, clouding its cash flow
AT&T Mexico—a legally separate subsidiary from AT&T Mobility (U.S.) with its own master lease—has been withholding tower rent since early 2025, American Tower told investors last Friday in a late afternoon SEC filing. In 2024, AT&T Mexico contributed about $300 million of AMT tenant revenue, roughly 3% of AMT’s total property revenue. By contrast, AT&T Mobility (U.S.) accounts for approximately …
Infrastructure contractor ASG freezes operations and delays paychecks; roughly 500 workers laid off
UPDATE, Sept. 9, 2025 – A class action WARN Act lawsuit has been filed against Allstate Sales Group and two of its executives. Telecom infrastructure contractor Allstate Sales Group (ASG) has laid off roughly 500 employees who say they haven’t been paid and will soon lose health insurance, according to multiple individuals who shared internal emails with Wireless Estimator and …
Tilson’s $22 million sale to ITG Communications underscores the deep discount of a distressed auction
Wireless Estimator’s early presumption that Tilson would ultimately sell at a “fire sale” price following its bankruptcy has proven correct. Despite the company’s July balance sheet superficially showing more than $361 million in assets, Tilson announced in a press release Friday that it had selected an offer from ITG Communications, LLC for approximately $22 million as the highest and best …
500-foot broadcast tower toppled, $500K in damage—but sentences seen as too lenient
Two Oklahoma residents received what many consider light sentences after a copper theft that collapsed a 500-foot FM tower and caused more than $500,000 in damage, knocking Payne Media Group’s K95.5 (KITX) off the air in January 2024. Prosecutors said Candice Marie Logan and Matthew Carl Wilson cut a guy-wire at the KITX site near Hugo in the early hours …
New Mexico’s $40,433-per-doorstep BEAD fiber should face a tech-neutral sanity check
Commentary: Valley Telephone Cooperative is slated for $40,433 per passing (300 locations), the highest line item in New Mexico’s final BEAD proposal. Oso Internet Solutions isn’t far behind at $39,253 (729 locations). In parts of Valley’s footprint, the typical home value hovers near $100,000, so U.S. taxpayers are being asked to fund a single pass that approaches half—or more—of a …
AT&T to buy EchoStar spectrum for $23B, adding 600 MHz and 3.45 GHz licenses across ~400 U.S. markets
AT&T said it will acquire a nationwide bundle of wireless spectrum from EchoStar for about $23 billion in cash, a move the company says will bolster its 5G coverage and capacity and accelerate growth in both wireless and home-internet services. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in mid-2026. Under a related agreement, AT&T and …
NATE’s Tough Tower video captures skill, safety, speed—and Verità’s win
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association has released a new video that highlights the skill, safety, and teamwork on display at the 2025 Tough Tower Event in North Jackson, Ohio, held in June. The annual competition, built around real-world tasks in climbing, safety, rescue, rigging, installation, and speed, is designed to showcase the technicians who keep America’s communications networks running. …
Radio Activo wins order to stop American Tower from tearing down Nevada broadcast site; power shutoff stands for now
A federal judge in Nevada granted Radio Activo Broadcasting LLC a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking American Towers LLC and Insite Towers, LLC from decommissioning, dismantling, or removing the 190-foot self-supporting tower that carries the broadcaster’s signal, but declined to require American Tower to restore electrical service to the site immediately. American Tower provides power for the site, constructed around …
DigitalBridge-led capital fuels Vantage’s new $25 billion 1.4-GW “Frontier” data center in Texas
Vantage Data Centers, a DigitalBridge Group-backed hyperscale data center portfolio company, has announced its most significant investment to date of over $25 billion to develop a mega-scale 1.4GW data center campus in Shackelford County, Texas. The state-of-the-art campus, “Frontier,” will lead to advancements in AI and employ more than 5,000 individuals across construction and ongoing operations. DigitalBridge manages the capital, …
Harmoni moves fast to remove 295-foot tower above Alabama highway after foundation failure was discovered
A 295-foot, multi-tenant self-supporting tower perched about 60 feet above an Alabama highway is being dismantled by crane this week after inspectors found it leaning and at risk of collapse in Cullman County late last week. The structure, owned by Harmoni Towers and located along Highway 69 in Bremen, northeast of Jasper, was undergoing a scheduled maintenance visit when it …
‘Tracking device’ ruling: Court upholds $92M fine; T-Mobile and Sprint’s pay-first move ends jury bid
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld $92 million in Federal Communications Commission forfeitures against T-Mobile and Sprint for failing to safeguard customer location data. Writing for a unanimous court, Judge Florence Y. Pan, joined by Judges Karen LeCraft Henderson and Brad Garcia, rejected the carriers’ bid to vacate penalties tied to 2018–2019 …
Cell tower legal showdown: Developers score wins in two out of three federal siting cases
Three separate rulings in New Hampshire, Virginia, and Florida over the past week have reshaped the legal landscape for wireless infrastructure deployment on the East Coast. From outright victories for developers to partial wins for a local government, the decisions highlight both the legal guardrails of the federal Telecommunications Act (TCA) and the consequences of procedural missteps by municipalities. Rapidan, …
