A representative of the Eldorado Space Program, an Eldorado, Tex. high school program that teaches students to design instrumentation packages and launch them into space, said on its Facebook page Saturday that a cover story photograph in the March edition of QST published by the National Association for Amateur Radio, represented an inaccurate, unsafe depiction of a student climbing a …
Cover girl climber shot could send high schoolers to their death
Commentary – The March issue of a well-respected magazine published by The National Association for Amateur Radio (ARRL) will most likely latch onto the literal lunacy award for depicting in a photograph the most egregious tie-off violations one could imagine. In QST’s latest edition, their antenna issue, the cover shows a picture of Chase Mertz of Eldorado, Tex. climbing a …
Kansas mayor is perplexed why FCC chief singled out his city’s broadband
During a press conference yesterday, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai singled out a small Kansas community that he said had 75 residents that could possibly receive economic prosperity if they were to be provided with adequate broadband services, but City of Allen Mayor Charles Eastman said he’s not quite sure as to how that would be achieved – or if the city …
Wireless infrastructure movers and shakers to converge in Fort Worth
NATE UNITE 2017, the National Association of Tower Erectors’ annual conference, to be held Feb. 27 through March 2 in Fort Worth, Tex., is expected to rival a record-setting number of visitors to the event that is clearly regarded as the largest and most comprehensive show in the U.S. for the wireless infrastructure industry. The exhibition is already breaking last …
Industry’s first successful flying COW live test is made by AT&T
By Art Pregler It’s a bird, it’s a plane… it’s a Flying COW. Despite its funny name, we expect our Flying COW will be doing serious, potentially life-saving things for our customers. We’ve used drones to inspect cell sites, measure network strength in sports stadiums, and now we’ve built a Flying COW. A Flying COW – which stands for Cell …
SoftBank spectrum bids and a T-Mobile/Sprint buy are based on suspect sources
SoftBank Group, Inc., Sprint’s parent company, may revive selling the carrier to T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, according to unnamed sources cited by Reuters. The news agency said that SoftBank is reportedly frustrated with Sprint’s growth and is ready to give up control of the company and take a minority interest in T-Mobile. With limited information provided by Reuters’ sources, …
DAS debuts at University of Iowa as ATC’s lawsuit still dawdles in court
U.S. Cellular announced on Wednesday that it has completed its DAS network at the University of Iowa Carver-Hawkeye Arena and Kinnick Stadium, much to the chagrin of American Tower Corp. (ATC) who is suing the university and its Board of Regents after they yanked a 2013 contract that ATC says is still in effect. “The new network system supports a …
FCC could decide whether U.S. Cellular violated incentive auction bidding rule
In announcing on Feb. 16 in a government filing that they had ponied up $327 million in the FCC’s spectrum auction, U.S. Cellular might have violated the agency’s bidding regulations. Publication of their bid amount could be in conflict with the Commission’s rule that applicants cannot be “communicating directly or indirectly any incentive auction applicant’s bids or bidding strategies to …
Mobilitie’s DAS marketing illustrations are labeled as ‘quite deceptive’
Distributed antenna systems provider Mobilitie, whose national focus is to provide Sprint with sites in community rights of way to assist in densifying their network, recently made a presentation to local government telecom officials in Southern California at the States of California and Nevada Chapter of the National Association of Telecommunications and Advisors (SCAN NATOA). Mobilitie, in its presentation, provided …
FCC Chief: As reported in 1929, radio is not in its death throes
In addressing the North American Broadcasters Association in Washington yesterday, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said that in spite of a caustic commentator’s prediction in 1929 that “In two years, at the present rate of advertising exploitation which the radio is suffering, it will be as dead as a Democrat,” it is still alive and doing quite well. He noted that …
CITCA, DTS team up to co-market industry training opportunities
The Communication Industry Training and Certification Academy (CITCA) and Dover Telecommunication Services (DTS) have formed an alliance that will allow both companies to market each other’s training at discounted rates. CITCA offers a complete line of college-based tower erection and safety training programs and services directly related to the communications and wind turbine industries, with training provided at the client …
New Jersey cell tower tax ruling could have a wide-ranging impact
The nation’s most profitable toll road, exceeding over $1 billion annually in revenue, will be slightly less profitable following a New Jersey tax court decision handed down last Friday that will require it to pay city taxes on a cell tower on its property in Elizabeth. The ruling could also have other municipalities assess whether towers located on turnpike property …
WUSF-TV is one of the first casualties of incentive auction
After 50 years of broadcasting, WUSF-TV has announced that it will go off the air later this year, now that the University of South Florida has sold its public broadcast license for more than $18.75 million during the FCC’s incentive auction. According to university officials, the price was far below what they anticipated receiving. Last week, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai …
Commissioner O’Rielly tackles questionable waste in backup network funding
The adage, any publicity is good publicity, may have backfired on the Arlington, Virginia Public Schools (APS) after an article in ARLnow.com was read by FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly and he dashed off a letter to the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC) that could possibly kayo funding for APS’s backup fiber network because he believes that “ratepayer dollars are being …
FCC gavels in $19.6 billion in auction, CTIA is already lobbying for another one
Bidding in the clock phase of the FCC’s incentive auction ended last week with wireless companies and others ponying up $19,632,506,746 for 70 MHz of new broadband spectrum, and although it was lower than a number of analysts’ projections, it was still the second largest auction ever. The U.S. Treasury will get approximately $7.6 billion and trade group CTIA is …
New tower construction regulations could be on the way if the CWA gets its way
New OSHA regulations directed at the wireless construction industry that were expected to be proposed in 2017 appeared to get a stay of execution when it seemed that the new administration will put a freeze on new regulations – especially since President Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 30 that for every new regulation, agencies would have to toss …
Pence’s $260 million tower deal legacy for Indiana is terminated
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb announced today that the Indiana Finance Authority has terminated contract discussions with Agile Networks which struck a tentative deal last September with the state to lease its communications towers while Vice President Mike Pence was Governor. As reported at that time by Wireless Estimator, Agile and Pence said that negotiations had been finalized for an agreement …
FCC head handcuffs his Enforcement Bureau chief in issuing settlements
Newly minted FCC Chairman Ajit Pai instituted a process reform measure yesterday that will handcuff his Enforcement Bureau chief so that Commissioners will become more fully involved in the agency’s enforcement activities. One of the ways in which the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau resolves an investigation is by entering into a consent decree, in which the party being investigated agrees to comply with certain …
Tower technician is seriously injured when a staged monopole section collapses on him
Update: February 10, 2017 – According to a tower technician who visited the hospital yesterday evening where Tobi Koons is being treated for his injuries, Koons is still in serious condition and is expected to be in ICU for at least a week. Two tower technicians who are friends with Koons, informed Wireless Estimator that he is employed by Mission 1 Communications of …
WIA presses for small cells on pole facilities with its detailed primer
Attaching small wireless antennas and associated equipment – such as distributed antenna system (DAS) remote units, remote radio units and self-contained small cells – on existing poles or structures significantly improves the coverage and capacity of mobile networks, according to a new white paper titled “Small Cells on Pole Facilities: A Primer on How Utility Poles, Street Lights and Traffic …
