The National Association of Tower Erector’s (NATE) and Wireless Industry Network (WIN) unveiled the speaker line-up and agenda for the NATE WIN Great Plains Regional Conference on Wed., Sept. 27, 2017 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Bloomington, Minn. The conference will feature dynamic speakers and informative sessions on cutting-edge industry topics. The event will also offer tremendous networking …
Dougherty joins NATE’s Executive Committee as Secretary/Treasurer
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) announced today that Board of Directors member Kevin Dougherty has been elected to serve on the Association’s Executive Committee. NATE made the announcement at the organization’s 2017 Summer Conference in Kansas City, Mo. Dougherty, CEO of Millennia Contracting, Inc. in New Castle, Del., was elected to serve in the position of Secretary/Treasurer on …
FCC is back at full strength with Rosenworcel and Carr’s confirmation
UPDATE: August 3, 2017 -The U.S. Senate voted today to confirm the nominations of Jessica Rosenworcel and Brendan Carr to the Federal Communications, returning the FCC to full strength with five members. Rosenworcel, a former Commissioner and Capitol Hill staffer previously joined the FCC in 2011. Her new five-year term is retroactive to July 2015 and runs through 2020. She …
Safe guy wire inspections explored in NATE’s newest Climber Connection video
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today unveiled a Guy Wire Anchor Inspection safety video as part of Volume 2 of the popular Climber Connection series. The video was released by NATE at the Association’s 2017 Summer Conference in Kansas City, Mo. The NATE Guy Wire Anchor Inspection video provides an overview of surface inspections and dig-to-block inspections, the two …
Circuit court confirms that the FCC set fair utility pole attachment rates
The Eighth Circuit denied a petition from the nation’s power and electric companies for review of a 2015 Federal Communications Commission order governing the rates utilities may charge telecommunication providers for attaching their networks to utility-owned poles. The court found the pricing decision to be just and reasonable, holding that the term “cost” in Pole Attachments Act, 47, U.S.C. 224, …
Charter Communications snubs SoftBank’s proposed merger
Cable giant Charter Communications said that it is not interested in acquiring Sprint following reports that Sprint’s owner, SoftBank proposed a merger with Charter. “We understand why a deal is attractive for SoftBank, but Charter has no interest in acquiring Sprint,” Charter spokesman Alex Dudley said in a statement, although SoftBank reportedly proposed the merger that would combine Sprint and …
Mobilitie thumbs its nose at Houston’s pedestrians as it plants poles in the middle of sidewalks
After the City of Houston, Tex. Public Works and Engineering Department recently became aware that numerous DAS nodes had been installed on sidewalks, a City engineer promptly red-tagged at least one monopole that was erected by MasTec North America, Inc. for Mobilitie, LLC. It also prompted the department to issue FAQs on network nodes, below, that were released today. Council …
AT&T’s FirstNet chief mum on new tower builds, questions ‘public safety grade’ towers
A two-hour progress hearing on FirstNet yesterday by the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet provided scant details on AT&T’s plans for new tower builds throughout the country, especially in rural areas, other than a brief mention there was an aggressive program in place to accomplish it. Michael Poth, CEO of FirstNet and Chris Sambar, Senior Vice President, …
Crown Castle makes a $7 billion bet on going horizontal with Lightower
Crown Castle International Corp had reportedly made an offer to acquire Lightower Fiber Networks for more than $7 billion, including debt, according to Reuters. Another company courting an acquisition of Lightower was Uniti Group Inc., Reuters said. Formed by Berkshire Partners, Lightower’s network extends over 33,000 route miles throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest, providing dense connectivity to over 22,000 service …
NATE and WIN readying Great Plains regional conference on September 27
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) and the Wireless Industry Network (WIN) have announced that they will be hosting a Great Plains Regional Conference on Sept.27, 2017 at the Embassy Suites Hotel – Minneapolis Airport in Bloomington, Minn. The conference will focus on key industry safety initiatives and offer tremendous networking and professional development opportunities for attendees. “This event …
NAB attacks Microsoft’s slick rebooting of failed white spaces rural broadband plan
Before the salad forks were lifted at yesterday’s media luncheon in Washington where Microsoft President Brad Smith was readying his Rural Airband Initiative that would use white space spectrum, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) attacked Microsoft’s proposal as “the height of arrogance.” In a press statement, NAB Executive Vice President of Communications Dennis Wharton said, “It’s the height of …
Discrimination lawsuit against Mobilitie mirrors plaintiff’s groundless racial issues with Bechtel
A wireless construction manager has filed a discrimination lawsuit against Mobilitie, LLC, a nationwide wireless infrastructure service provider, alleging that the company “engaged in a pattern or practice of failing to hire African-American and non-Caucasian applicants” for numerous construction-related positions in its offices throughout the country. Rufus Lovell Brooks of Orlando, Fla. filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for …
Tech’s condition is stable after he allegedly rode guy wire down from an ATC Texas tower
Update: July 11, 2017 – According to reliable sources, the company that the injured worker was employed by was Advanced Data Technology of Pearsall, Tex. Established in 1995, Advanced Data is a systems integrator of voice, data, and video solutions in rural markets. The company did not respond to a request for additional information regarding the incident. The injured technician has …
Corrupt broadband provider loses its exclusivity grant in the Hawaiian Home Lands
In an opinion and order released on July 3, the Federal Communications Commission revoked the exclusive license of Waimana Enterprises to build, construct, maintain and operate a telecommunications network in the Hawaiian Home Lands (HHL). In December, the FCC said that Sandwich Isles Corporation, Waimana Enterprises, Inc. (WEI), its parent company, and Albert S.N. Hee, owner of both organizations, were …
L.A. Times calls State’s small cell bill an ‘audacious’ power (pole) grab
On Monday, California Democratic State Senator Bill Hueso tweaked his proposed bill to prohibit a city or county from adopting or enforcing any regulation on the placement or operation of a communications facility in the rights-of-way by a provider that is authorized by state law. His amended SB649 bill removed requiring an escrow deposit or performance bond for removal of …
White House says POTUS picks FCC’s top counsel to be Republican Commissioner
As anticipated, the White House has announced that President Donald Trump has nominated Brendan Carr to fill the open Republican seat on the Federal Communications Commission. Carr, a former telecom lawyer, joined the Commission in 2012 as then Commissioner Ajit Pai’s wireless public safety and international legal advisor and was then appointed in January to general counsel by Chairman Pai. …
Dumb RF engineer who shut down smart meter base stations is sentenced to jail
In 2014, a radio frequency engineer upset after being fired from his job which required him to set up base stations that employed omni directional antennas on communications towers to monitor water meters, took revenge upon his unnamed employer and hacked into base stations to shut them down. He also changed the radio frequency for communications. and altered the code for …
NATE’s all-time high membership count is attributed to benefits
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) announced today that it had established a new all-time record of 828 member companies, a continuing increase in membership that the Association has seen for a number of years. NATE’s 828th member is Construction & Telecommunication Services, Inc. of Danvers, Mass. “NATE member companies encompass all layers of the wireless infrastructure chain and …
With his 52 TV station buy, failed LightSquared’s Falcone is the comeback kid
Philip Falcone, former CEO of Harbinger Capital and bankrupt satellite-based network LightSquared, is back in the telecom arena again with HC2 Holdings, Inc.’s purchase of DTV America Corporation (DTVA) which currently owns and operates 52 LPTV stations in more than 40 U.S. cities. Falcone, HC2’s Chairman, President and CEO, stated, “This investment is another meaningful addition to our dynamic and …
Surveyor and design firm are off the hook in siting errors that cost Texas city $508,000
When Rowlett, Tex. officials found out in March that they had constructed a police communications 325-foot tower on a neighbor’s plot of land and not city property, they fixed the error, as reported by Wireless Estimator, by paying $478,000 additional to buy the adjoining lot. Otherwise, they would have incurred a $400,000 penalty for not having the tower constructed to …
