Police are investigating two more cell tower fires that occurred early this morning in towns near Montreal, Canada. Wireless Estimator reported on Friday that a multi-tenant Rogers Communications monopole was completely destroyed, possibly by anarchists protesting misguided beliefs that 5G transmissions are dangerous. This morning’s fires are also being viewed as “suspicious” by authorities. Firefighters were first called to a cell …
FCC debuts new ‘safer’ seal that is more representative of current technologies
In anticipation of its upcoming move to Washington’s NoMa district, the Federal Communications Commission has adopted a new FCC Seal. The redesigned seal is the product of an agency-wide contest that solicited proposals from Commission employees and contractors. The winning design was submitted by Umasankar Arumugam and selected by a vote of the agency’s employees and contractors. The revised design incorporates the …
Officials unsure whether Canadian cell tower fire was the work of anarchists industry was looking for
Fire officials in Laval, a city north of Montreal, Canada, have not yet identified whether a multiple-tenant Rogers Communications monopole was purposely set on fire early Friday morning by anarchists protesting misguided beliefs that 5G transmissions are dangerous, although it has been rebutted throughout the world, especially in Canada where a private/public collaboration recently published an excellent report to dispel 5G …
High winds blamed for Texas tall tower collapse, but corossion appears to be the culprit
A 988-foot TV broadcast tower collapsed in Robstown, Texas yesterday morning as a result of a rusted guy wire that detached near its anchor. No tower techs or station personnel were on site when the structure failed. A transmitter building was slighting damaged on one corner after the guyed tower fell at approximately 8:30 a.m. The tower is owned by …
American Tower expects accelerated T-Mobile work beginning in Q3, manages COVID-19
American Tower Corporation reported steady financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, emphasizing how the company is responding to the ever-changing coronavirus landscape. Tom Bartlett, American Tower’s Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we delivered a solid first quarter, including U.S. organic tenant billings growth of 5.6%, consistent international leasing activity and a 20% …
New digital safety, supply & rigging catalog available from Site Pro 1
Valmont Site Pro 1 just launched their brand new 2020-2021 Safety, Supply and Rigging catalog in digital format, ready for immediate download. The catalog features brand new products from Petzl, Skylotec, 3M DBI, Elk River, Sterling and more. “With the release of our new 2nd edition catalog with the primary focus of safety supply and rigging we’ve become an even …
Tested across the country, FirstNet’s Push-to-Talk arrives with high marks
Developed from the ground up specifically with and for public safety, FirstNet Push-to-Talk (PTT) is the first-ever nationwide mission-critical standards-based push-to-talk solution to launch in the U.S. The agency said they tested the FirstNet PTT solution with public safety agencies across the country, including the Cranford Police Department in New Jersey. “Reliable communication is critical. It must work. It must be there …
NATE releases wire rope safety climb document, announces Jeremy Buckles as SEMC’s Chairman
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association today released the Safety Equipment Manufacturers Committee (SEMC) Guide for Wire Rope Safety Climbs on Antenna Supporting Structures – 2020 consensus document. This 15-page, manufacturer consensus document is intended to address use of a wire rope safety climb/system in the telecommunications industry. This resource is only intended to apply to structures that are …
Delay denied in Windstream’s false ad campaign trial against Charter
New York Southern District Bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Drain refused yesterday to delay the start of a bench trial over what he can order Charter Communications to pay for false advertising over rival Windstream Holdings’ Chapter 11 filing last year. Today, Judge Drain is scheduled to hear Counts Vl and VII of Windstream’s complaint. In those counts, Windstream is seeking …
False alarm for ‘leaning’ Roswell, Georgia 180-foot monopole
A Roswell, Georgia police official said last Thursday night that a tower that had a sinkhole 10 to 20-feet deep next to it put the structure at risk of falling and it appeared to him that it was leaning. It was a delicious departure from coronavirus-related articles and the media ran with it. But city officials said that the tower …
Remembered by wireless contractors for his crippling DirecTV buy, AT&T chief steps down
After 38 years with the company and 13 as its top executive, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, 60, is retiring. He’ll officially step down as chief executive on July 1 and will be replaced by John Stankey, CEO of AT&T subsidiary WarnerMedia. Stankey, who also serves as AT&T’s Chief Operating Officer, will become a board member at the beginning of June. …
AT&T gains a network edge through its five-carrier aggregation: RootMetrics
With RootMetric testing efforts currently on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they thought it would be an ideal time to take a look at how the carriers have performed across the 55 markets they’ve tested so far in the first half of 2020. To kick off their reviews of publishing carrier-specific reports with overviews of performance for both 5G …
T-Mobile wacked with a $14 million contract lawsuit over stolen franchise agreement
In a lawsuit filed Friday, a former Illinois T-Mobile franchise owner who will be released from a federal prison halfway house on June 10 after serving almost two years on a tax evasion conviction, is alleging that his former business partner and a T-Mobile account manager cost him $14 million because they stole business contracts that T-Mobile should have known …
FCC moves closer to creating a $9 billion rural 5G fund a reality, contractors to benefit
The Federal Communications Commission today adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on establishing the 5G Fund for Rural America. 5G represents the next leap in mobile wireless technology, bringing significantly increased speeds, reduced latency, and better security than 4G LTE networks, and enabling cutting-edge applications and technologies benefitting consumers, businesses, precision agriculture, education, and healthcare. A FCC staff report on …
Twitter targets panicking tin hat conspiracy theories stating 5G causes coronavirus
Twitter has added conspiracy theories to their ever-increasing list of unverified coronavirus claims that are grounds for removal. “We have broadened our guidance on unverified claims that incite people to engage in harmful activity, could lead to the destruction or damage of critical 5G infrastructure, or could lead to widespread panic, social unrest, or large-scale disorder,” Twitter announced. Examples they …
AT&T acknowledges permitting and work force shortages as it builds out FirstNet, 5G
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, while discussing the carrier’s Q1 earnings with analysts yesterday said the company is still building FirstNet and enhancing their 5G network’s density, but he echoed the general concern of all carriers, their inability to get timely permitting for new projects. “These [projects] require permitting and government officials, and government officials are sheltered in place…so while we …
UK’s FCC counterpart Ofcom and Vodafone take a tough stance on 5G coronavirus misinformation
Earlier this month it was reported that in the UK there were approximately five cell sites that were set on fire by individuals falsely linking 5G to COVID-19. That number has seen a dangerous increase to over 60 and Vodafone UK CEO Nick Jeffery is appealing to the vandals to end the attacks, especially in light of an incident where …
Dr. Frock to lead NATE’s workforce development initiatives
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association announced that the organization has entered into a professional consulting services agreement with Gemma Frock, PhD from GKF Consulting Services. In her consulting role, Dr. Frock will be tasked with implementing the year one objectives outlined in the Telecommunications Industry Workforce Strategic Plan which she drafted on behalf of NATE. Her focus will include meeting …
Coalition asks Congress to not use COVID-19 recovery money to fund T-Mobile’s merger commitments
The Communications Workers of America (CWA), New America’s Open Technology Institute, the Rural Wireless Association, NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association, the American Economic Liberties Project, and Free Press Action sent a letter yesterday calling on Congress to ensure that T-Mobile does not receive COVID-19 recovery funding to meet the merger specific build-out commitments it agreed to when it sought …
FCC approves Ligado’s 5G network over strong protests about GPS concerns
The FCC has approved, with conditions, Ligado’s application to deploy a low-power terrestrial nationwide network in the L-band that will primarily support 5G and Internet of Things (I0T) services. The Democratic and Republican leaders of both armed services committees called last week for rejecting Ligado’s plan. Last month, the departments of Interior, Commerce, Justice, Energy and Homeland Security all signed a …
