Commentary Earlier this month, FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington said that the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau (EB) erred in taking AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile to the woodshed and fining them $100,000 each for not meeting their obligations by April 3 to provide 911 location certifications by using Z-axis data that would allow first responders to know where the caller …
Kathy Stieler’s new role at NATE will help the industry navigate safety, health and compliance issues
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association has announced the hiring of Kathy Stieler as Director of Safety, Health & Compliance, a new staff position established by the Association. Stieler officially began her duties with NATE this morning. Stieler, a long-time industry subject matter expert and safety professional, joins NATE after serving as Director, ERI Installations and Safety since 2012. During …
Nokia and AT&T accelerate C-Band rollout with first commercial equipment call
Creating a connection is so much more personal than just devices and networks. For AT&T’s teams who are deploying their 5G network it’s about thinking and working ahead in the race to develop what their customers will need next before they know they need it, the company said in a blog yesterday. That anticipation is what allowed AT&T and Nokia …
SBA CEO Jeffrey Stoops elected WIA Chairman and Tom Kane joins Board of Directors
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) has announced that Jeffrey Stoops, President and CEO of SBA, was elected to serve as Chairman of the WIA’s Board of Directors. A new slate of officers was also elected. The new Chairman and officers include: Chairman: Jeffrey A. Stoops; President and Chief Executive Officer; SBA Communications Corporation Vice Chairman: Alex Gellman, Chief Executive Officer, …
Ohio’s lawsuit seeking public utility status for Google confuses tower owners
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a landmark lawsuit yesterday, asking the court to declare Google a public utility, reining in the ways the powerful search engine provides search results to Ohioans. “Google uses its dominance of internet search to steer Ohioans to Google’s own products–that’s discriminatory and anti-competitive,” Yost said. “When you own the railroad or the electric company or …
Colony Capital, Digital Colony rebrand under the umbrella of a ‘new’ DigitalBridge
Colony Capital, Inc. today announced a corporate rebranding of the company to DigitalBridge, effective June 22, 2021. Digital Colony, the Company’s digital infrastructure investment platform, will also change to operate under the DigitalBridge brand. In connection with the transition, the corporate name will be changed to DigitalBridge Group, Inc. and the Company will begin trading under a new NYSE ticker …
FCC, carriers asking SCOTUS to permanently put Portland’s ‘David & Goliath’ 5G order concerns to bed
The FCC, DOJ, carriers and wireless organizations strongly voiced their opinions last week to the U.S. Supreme Court that the high court should not consider the City of Portland, Oregon’s request to reopen challenges to the FCC’s 2018 orders that allowed the nation’s wireless operators to standardize the installation of 5G small cells on the local level in municipal rights …
San Antonio police seeking to solve Crown Castle monopole arson
San Antonio, Texas Police and Crime Stoppers are seeking the help of the general public to track down a suspected arsonist that set a fire at a Crown Castle monopole site in the 1800 block of Hunt Lane on May 24. Police issued the announcement on Sunday. Authorities said that the man, pictured, above, used an accelerant to ignite the …
Government watchdog says FCC needs its disaster response role clarified
In a report issued Tuesday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that although the FCC supported telecommunications restoration efforts following Hurricane Maria, future disaster recovery efforts by the agency could be improved. The GAO found that the FCC’s disaster response role was unclear in guidance published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), even though the guidance states that all …
President Biden’s budget tackles 1099 independent contractor misclassifications
President Joe Biden’s 2022 budget plan released Friday highlighted his administration’s commitment to employment protection to workers who have been classified as 1099 independent contractors. The budget calls for the U.S. Labor Department receiving $7.5 billion in the coming fiscal year to boost worker-protection efforts, including to root out misclassification. “The administration is also committed to ending the abusive practice …
American Tower is convinced Crown Castle’s early Dish builds is not a long-term concern
American Tower Corp. EVP, Treasurer and CFO Rod Smith said at Monday’s J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications conference call that he’s not concerned that a competitor is expected to get a larger than typical share of Dish Network colocations. Although J.P. Morgan Managing Director Phil Cusick did not mention Crown Castle as the competitor in his interview, he …
AT&T brings secure, automatic, friction-free public Wi-Fi to downtown Austin with OpenRoaming™
The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) today announced that AT&T has successfully completed a proof-of-concept trial of its Wi-Fi network with WBA OpenRoaming™ in areas of downtown Austin, Texas along 6th Street and outside of Stubbs BBQ. The network showcases the future of public Wi-Fi, where OpenRoaming provides secure, automatic and friction-free access to any device using their public Wi-Fi network. AT&T …
Wireless pioneer Betacom secures $15M in funding, launches industry’s first managed private 5G network
Betacom, a longtime design and deployment partner for the world’s leading telecommunication companies including AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, announced that it has secured $15M in funding from private investors including Braxton Carter, past CFO of T-Mobile. The funds will be used to drive adoption of Betacom 5G-As-A-Service, the industry’s first fully-managed private wireless service. US enterprises now have access to …
FCC Commish Carr says big tech should pony up after decades of enjoying a free ride
In a Newsweek op-ed, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr outlined a new approach to funding the federal government’s efforts to close the digital divide. The FCC’s current model for funding Internet builds and ensuring affordable access—the Universal Service Fund (USF)—relies on a charge that operates as tax on consumers’ monthly bills for traditional telephone services. USF is on the verge of …
Guy wire clip seen as possible reason plane crashed in Michigan killing 23-year-old pilot
A 23-year-old man died when the single-engine plane he was piloting crashed last Monday and caught fire in a mid-Michigan field, and may have hit a guy wire on a nearby tower. Midland County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene just before 1:30 p.m. after a passerby saw the plane in flames in a Jasper Township field. After a …
Frontier lied about internet speeds, FTC, 6 states allege in their lawsuit
The Federal Trade Commission, along with law enforcement agencies from six states, sued internet service provider Frontier Communications this week, alleging that the company did not provide many consumers with internet service at the speeds it promised them, and charged many of them for more expensive and higher-speed service than Frontier actually provided. In a complaint, the FTC and its state …
Millerco and Vertical Bridge team up in Fish & Wildlife video to promote saving 4 million birds a year
As part of a national effort to prevent bird collisions and help meet industry needs, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has produced a public service announcement video directly targeted to communication tower owners, the single most important audience they can work with to prevent migratory birds being killed or injured after impacting many of the 160,000 communication towers across …
COVID-5G conspiracist and serial litigator wants 10th Circuit to revisit New Mexico 5G cell tower ruling
The Tenth Circuit abandoned its judicial duty when it shot down most of the constitutional claims in March in a lawsuit accusing Santa Fe, NM of exposing residents to dangerous radiation levels by installing telecom equipment in public rights-of-way, a local alliance group has told the court. The Santa Fe Alliance for Public Health and Safety along with Monika Steinhoff, …
‘Turf-like’ contractor model isn’t sustainable down under: Australian communications union
Over 600 telecommunications technicians across Australia quit installing and repairing National Broadband Network (NBN) services yesterday as part of a National Day of Action, according to the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU). The NBN is an Australia-wide project funded by the Federal Government to provide all homes and businesses with a fast, reliable connection to the internet. Access to …
T-Mobile and Dish are at odds over clearing the 12 GHz band for 5G services
On Friday, the 5G For 12GHz Coalition, comprised of Dish Network, the Rural Wireless Association and other associations and telecommunications firms, noted the May 7, 2021 deadline for informing the FCC whether spectrum-sharing among 5G terrestrial services, direct broadband satellite (DBS), and non-geostationary orbiting satellites (NGSOs), both existing and prospective is possible. The lobbying group’s co-chair, Joe Lockhart, a former …
