The inaugural Structure, Tower and Antenna Council (STAC) 2016 Conference & Exposition in Toronto, Ontario kicked off yesterday at the International Plaza Hotel with a keynote address by Bernard Lord, President and CEO of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, and according to attendees and exhibitors at the two-day event, it is proving to be a tremendous success. STAC is the only …
Crown Castle emerges as number one in the U.S. with their TDC 336 tower deal
Crown Castle International Corp.has announced that it acquired Tower Development Corporation (“TDC”) for approximately $461 million in cash. TDC, a portfolio company of Berkshire Partners, owns and operates 336 towers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico with an average tenancy of approximately two tenants per tower. The deal puts Crown Castle as the largest tower owner in the U.S., although …
Wireless industry is now larger than the car manufacturing, hotel, movie and music industries
CTIA released a report today it commissioned by Recon Analytics that found the U.S. wireless industry serves as an integral driver of America’s economy by annually generating more than $194.8 billion of domestic economic value and more than $282.1 billion in U.S. GDP. “The Wireless Industry: Revisiting Spectrum, The Essential Engine of US Economic Growth” report looks at how the industry …
FAA to consider report on drones typically used by carriers and contractors
The final Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Aviation Rule-Making Committee (ARC) report was released to the public yesterday and will assist the telecommunications industry if the group’s recommendations on drones are accepted by the FAA. The Senate is seeking to create regulations for larger drones that could do commercial deliveries. The FAA Administrator, DOT Secretary, White House and Congress staffers have been briefed on the …
For ATC India it’s 56,000 towers and corporate responsibility projects
American Tower Corporation received approval from the Indian government yesterday to buy a 51% interest in Viom Networks, an independent mobile tower company in India, for $880 million. Establishing its presence in India in 2007, ATC India has approximately 14,000 towers in the country, but with the Viom deal it will take control of an additional 42,000 towers, putting its …
Co-worker assists in tower tech’s rescue in Maryland
Update: April 7, 2016 – “The employee in distress informed the other crew members that he was in need of assistance and the other crew members immediately began the process to assist him off of the facility,” Steven Weber of Network Building + Consulting (NB+C) said in a statement to The Enterprise. The worker was taken to MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital, …
Successful collapse of 48 VOA towers brings back memories of a decade ago disaster
Controlled Demolition, Inc., a world-renowned demolition company, had another successful implosion Monday when it knocked down, almost domino style, 48 unused Voice of America radio towers in Beaufort County, N.C. Using 10,000 feet of detonating chord, Project Manager Tom Doud told WITN that “It was spot-on picture perfect.” But almost ten years ago another planned demolition went terribly wrong when …
One company fined for not getting a small cell permit, another for not permitting inspectors
A cell site developer was fined $5,000 last month for constructing what appears to be a small cell without a permit, according to a citation document issued by the City of Baltimore, Md., and a Philadelphia, Pa. broadcaster was given an $89,200 fine for not allowing FCC agents on site to perform an inspection, and for being on a different …
Guyed tower collapses on White House lawn hurling lighting debris into President’s office
Washington’s federal buildings are still on lock down after a communications tower collapsed on the south lawn of the White House at about 8:12 a.m., according to Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason who witnessed the guyed tower “teeter for about a minute, buckle and then twist like a drunken dreidel before it smashed to the ground.” Capitol Police and Secret …
Botched Georgia base jump takes the life of a Hawaii man
According to authorities, one BASE jumper has died and two of his associates have been arrested following a jump from a television tower in Metcalf, Ga. Lieutenant Tim Watkins of the Thomas County Sheriff’s Office said that emergency personnel were dispatched to Friendship Church Rd. at the site of the tower around 3:30 a.m. yesterday morning. The Sheriff’s Office said …
New TIA TR-14 industry standard’s forward has a fitting tribute to Ernest “Ernie” Jones
The record-setting number of industry experts attending the Telecommunications Industry Association TR-14 meeting in Las Vegas, Nev. on March 29, 2016 couldn’t help but notice an empty chair that would have been filled by their long-time, leader, associate and good friend, Ernest “Ernie” Jones who passed away on Oct. 21, 2015 in a tragic incident while on a tower as he …
FCC auction has kicked off with NAB and NATE still ticked off
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) auction to buy spectrum from television stations, repack the spectrum, and then sell it to wireless providers, kicked off yesterday with broadcasters having to make a commitment as to whether and how they would participate. But a 39-month post auction deadline is seen as too compressed by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). And the …
Ohio cell tower climber’s death wasn’t industry related
A 20-year-old man who fell 70-feet from a cell tower in Oxford, Ohio on Thursday and died, was not an industry-related fatality, according to Miami University Police Chief John McCandless, who said it was a sophomore majoring in university studies from Seoul, Korea, and Beijing, China Although a number of industry workers contacted Wireless Estimator on Friday, stating that they …
Over $13,000 in fatality citations vacated after Virginia’s OSH ignores a filing deadline
UPDATE: March 24, 2016 – Summit Tower Construction co-owner Allan Hadfield said today that although he welcomed the dismissal by a Waynesboro, Virginia Judge of six Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) citations based upon a judicial filing technicality, following a 2013 fatality, he and his attorneys were prepared to show that his employee’s death was caused by an equipment …
New site projections see a modest increase in 2016 for the tower industry
In RBC Capital Markets’ latest network and site leasing update, analysts Jonathan Atkin, Bryan Hyun and Bora Lee are projecting a modest improvement in leasing in the second half of 2016 from 2015 with Verizon and T-Mobile remaining the most active carriers. Their report said that AT&T’s site additions should remain below the 1,000 mark at approximately 600. They expect …
Employee sets up shell companies to defraud his company with fictitious Georgia cell tower builds
Execs’ eyes were glued to $700 million in contracts A 57-year-old Anderson, S.C. man stole upwards of $450,000 from his cell site developer employer as well as the hearts and money of women throughout the country through the use of elaborate schemes using fictitious front companies, resumes and statements that he was a former high-ranking military veteran. The District of …
Tower tech survey plays a vital role in developing future certification requirements
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today that it is conducting a Job Task Analysis (JTA) of telecommunication tower technicians to ensure that NWSA’s technician exams reflect today’s work environment, regulations, and technology. The JTA survey is a required part of the process to ensure the NWSA’s programs achieve ANSI ISO 17024 accreditation, which is the premier accreditation for personnel …
Popular analyst’s tower sector downgrade will be tested in coming weeks
Commentary It almost appears that journalists have keyboard reader software on Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche’s computer since as soon as she writes something – even a knee-jerk observation – it instantly appears in the media as unchallenged sacred telecom guidance. So it was no surprise when Fritzsche downgraded the tower sector on Friday that it would be picked up …
American Tower’s CEO isn’t struggling after not receiving a raise in many years
James D. Taiclet, Jr., Chairman of the Board and CEO of American Tower Corp. (ATC), hasn’t received a raise again with his $1.1 million salary for 2016, but it is likely he is not complaining since his compensation committee takes care of him with handsome perks – and perhaps, rightfully so. Although his salary hasn’t increased in at least three years, …
Tower tech training program assists ex-offenders in putting their lives back together
Last month’s inaugural class of eight graduates of the Wireless Field Engineer Training Program, a collaboration between the Safer Foundation, a Chicago, Ill. non-profit organization helping criminals with records to become employed, and a Chicago cell site development contractor, MTM Technologies, are fully charged for their new career, according to an article in the Chicago Tribune. Although MTM’s managing director, …
