Todd Schlekeway, Executive Director and Paula Nurnberg, Chief Operating Officer of the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE), have agreed to multi-year contract extensions that will keep them directing NATE, the nation’s leading grassroots communications infrastructure organization. “The wireless industry is extremely fortunate to have Todd and Paula directing the management of our organization,” said Jim Tracy, NATE Chairman and …
FCC returns to full five members as the Senate confirms Carr and Starks
The Senate late yesterday evening in a voice vote confirmed Geoffrey Starks as an FCC Commissioner to the open seat left by former Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and Commissioner Brendan Carr for a full five-year term. Carr and Starks had been previously approved by the Senate Commerce Committee, and their swearing in is expected shortly. Both will be paid during the …
Most of the FCC’s operations will be shuttered tomorrow if government shutdown drags on
The partial government shutdown will hit the FCC on Thursday at mid-day when approximately 1,197 workers will be furloughed until further notice if the partial government shutdown isn’t resolved by today. President Trump is expected to meet with Republican and Democratic congressional leaders at the White House this afternoon to try to break the deadlock, but a successful outcome is …
MTA skirts zoning rules, but after Tarrytown dressing down removes its 150-foot monopole
A 150-foot monopole erected in September in Tarrytown, N.Y. enjoyed a scenic view of the eastern bank of the Hudson River, but was retired the weekend before Christmas to a flatbed truck in search of a new home. The tower was constructed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) because the Metro-North Police needed it to improved emergency communications. However, the …
CenturyLink fixes outages, but not outrages from the FCC and state regulators
Last Thursday CenturyLink, the nation’s third largest telecommunications company, announced that it was experiencing phone and internet services technical difficulties, and expected that the disruptions would be fixed in four hours. However, it wasn’t until Friday morning that most outages were resolved and the FCC, prompted by Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, has launched an investigation of CenturyLink to identify the problem …
T-Mobile says they didn’t lie about their 4G LTE coverage, and possibly underestimated it
T-Mobile has emphatically denied an allegation by the Rural Wireless Association (RWA) in an FCC filing on Dec. 10, 2018 that it lied about the extent of its 4G LTE coverage. RWA said they were concerned about overstated coverage by Verizon and T-Mobile that have been borne out by challenge process data. “The vast majority of test points showed non-qualifying …
Wireless contractor’s required Job Hazard Analysis is front and center with NATE’s newest informative video
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) has unveiled their newest video entitled “Job Hazard Analysis: Reducing Your Risk” that highlights the important elements of conducting a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) at a communications tower or any other infrastructure site. The Association is taking an active role in promoting the need for a JHA, an endeavor that Wireless Estimator has been assisting the industry with …
AT&T issues its annual colo-pricing storm warning to the nation’s tower owners
In 2016, Bill Hogg, AT&T’s president of technology operations, made the clarion call to towercos that they must lower their lease rates because their model is “not really sustainable”. Last November, Susan Johnson, SVP of Global Supply Chain, AT&T in announcing an agreement with Tillman Infrastructure to build affordable sites that could be shared by AT&T and Verizon to pressure …
FCC Commissioner Carr and enforcement chief Starks’ limbo status could be decided within days
UPDATE: December 14, 2018 – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) has put a hold on FCC nominee Brendan Carr’s confirmation to a five-year term. Last week, the FCC announced that they were indefinitely pausing the release of $4.5 billion through Mobility Fund Phase II. “If the Chairman feels he needs to put the brakes on this program at this stage …
Deaths, cancer concerns attributed to AT&T cell site are unfounded leads Fast-Forward-Friday
Article Media Deaths, cancer concerns attributed to AT&T cell site are unfounded Sonoma West Times FCC committtee proposes tax on websites to pay for rural broadband ARS Technica CWA, Dish, NTCA, part of new colaition opposing Sprint/T-Mobile Deal ECN AT&T: Ten predictions for the next 25 year WIA Verizon to buy out more than 10,000 employees, take a $4.6B …
FCC green lights a 5G high-band millimeter wave spectrum auction for 2019
The FCC today took a significant step at its open meeting toward holding a major 5G spectrum auction in 2019 by adopting new rules that will promote the availability of high-band millimeter wave spectrum for the next generation of wireless connectivity. The airwaves in the combined Upper 37 GHz and 39 GHz bands are the largest amount of contiguous spectrum …
‘Early warning signs’ point to tower crew shortages delaying next nine repack phases
Since 2015, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has been informing the FCC that a shortage of qualified tower crews and other concerns will prevent many broadcasters from meeting the ambitious repack window. They were correct, according to Curtis LeGeyt, NAB Executive V.P. of Government Relations, who testified during a House Communications and Technology hearing yesterday. He said, “early warning signs …
Carriers weigh in on using ‘fatally flawed’ coverage maps for dishing out universal service funds
The Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) has joined the chorus of concern as to the possibility that some wireless carriers falsely reported information about their coverage areas to the FCC, therefore violating mapping rules pertaining to the Mobility Fund Phase ll reverse auction, as reported by Wireless Estimator. CCA Sr. V.P. Tim Donovan testified during a House Communications and Technology hearing …
Want to ban us from using Huawei or ZTE network equipment FCC, then pay our carriers: RWA
The U.S., including its allies such as the U.K, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan, appear to be championing the need to shut out Chinese tech giant Huawei’s networks due to national security concerns. Also, based upon security issues, Japan is also considering banning ZTE network equipment for government offices and its military forces, according to numerous news reports. However, the …
Drouin, Mallon and Young elected to serve on NATE Board for first time, Scott re-elected
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today released the official results of the 2019 Board of Directors election with Randy Scott, President of Texoma Contracting, Inc. in Muskogee, Okla. being re-elected, and Victor Drouin, President of Green Mountain Communications, Inc. in Pembroke, N.H.; Chris Mallon, President of Tower MRL, Inc. in Sun Prairie, Wisc.; and Michael Young, Chief Operating Officer at Sioux Falls …
Motorola wins bid to send Hytera’s monopoly lawsuit to its backyard
Motorola Solutions Inc. (MSI) has won its bid to transfer from New Jersey to Illinois a federal antitrust lawsuit by Hytera Communications Corp. alleging the company of unlawfully monopolizing the land- mobile-radio market, with a U.S. District Court New Jersey judge finding that the claims would be better-served being tried in the Prairie State. MSI had asked the court to …
FCC investigating whether there were any Pinocchio presentations in carrier coverage maps
The FCC has opened an investigation into whether some wireless carriers falsely reported information about the coverage areas to the agency, therefore violating mapping rules pertaining to the Mobility Fund Phase ll reverse auction. In halting the $5.4 billion program, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, said in a statement, “My top priority is bridging the digital divide and ensuring that Americans …
Bush 41 hit a communications tower and ‘hit the silk’, helping to save other lives during WWll
As the nation pays tribute to the 2,335 non-combatant servicemen killed during the Pearl Harbor attack 77 years ago today, it continues to grieve over the death of former President George H.W. Bush who was buried yesterday in Texas after a 70-mile train ride to his presidential library and museum. Bush, who leaves a kinder, gentler political legacy, also leaves …
The first ‘real world’ 5G test was a dud leads 19 Fast-Forward Friday articles
Fast-Forward Friday is Wireless Estimator’s latest news offering that provides an overview of relevant industry news stories presented during the week by other media that were not covered by our staff, along with a link to the article to go upstream and read it in its entirety. After all, the articles’ authors did all the heavy lifting, and capsuling their content and …
