After the preliminary findings of a $25 million National Toxicology Program (NTP) cell phone radiofrequency radiation study on rats were released last Thursday, conversationalists at Memorial Day picnics, whose endless knowledge base is fragilely built on headlines, most likely had their fellow guests wondering if they should hold their phone at arm’s length while texting their children at the other …
Company offering cell, drone and other jammers is fined $35 million
Although it might not be able to collect it, the Federal Communications Commission issued a $34.9 million fine forfeiture order yesterday against C.T.S. Technology, a Chinese electronics manufacturer and online retailer, for marketing and selling signal jamming devices to U.S. consumers. So-called “jammers” are radio frequency transmitters that intentionally block, jam, or interfere with wireless communications, such as cellphone calls, …
Kentucky fall claims the life of a West Virginia tower technician
Update: May 25, 2016 – The tower technician who died yesterday had been working on a project installing a 310-foot self-supporting tower for Appalachian Wireless. The Federal Communications Commission’s database identifies a construction completion date of May 25, 2016. Appalachian Wireless has built a number of towers recently. In March, they built one in Mud Creek, Ky. and in April, …
PCIA is history, as trade group changes to Wireless Infrastructure Association – WIA
At the PCIA show this morning, in a move to better represent its growing membership, PCIA – The Wireless Infrastructure Association, announced the 67-year-old national trade association has changed its name to the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA). Jonathan Adelstein, President and CEO of WIA, made the announcement during his opening remarks at the annual Wireless Infrastructure Show, which brings together …
Georgia tech’s death underscores the fragility of life on the road
The known dangers to the nation’s road-warrior technicians are numerous, especially when they’re swelled by working aloft, but the recent death of a Conley, Ga. man underscores the fragility of life on the road and has his fellow crew members, family and friends shaking their heads in disbelief. Derreset “Dezzy” Brown, 51, had been working for TowerComm of Raleigh, N.C. …
OSHA is readying new RF, fall protection and hoist standards
Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had known that fall protection in the wireless construction industry has either been used improperly or inconsistently due to the high fatality rate of tower climbers, after analyzing the responses to their 38 questions on tower safety published last April, the agency has decided that it will be moving forward with revising their standards …
From Whoop! to knots, task force moves forward with tower tech certification development
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) convened 35 industry leading subject matter experts this week to continue the assessment and certification development process for the Telecommunications Tower Technician I (TTTI) and Telecommunications Tower Technician II (TTTII) programs. The intensive NWSA task force meetings occurred over a three-day period and were hosted by AT&T at the AT&T Center for Learning in …
Two tower technicians are killed in two separate incidents
UPDATE: May 23, 2016 – Burial services were held yesterday for Thomas Edward Taylor, 37, of Purvis, Miss. who passed away when he was electrocuted on a jobsite in Wadesboro, N.C. on Monday, May 16, 2016. He is survived by two brothers, David Busha of Lamar County, and Chance Taylor of Tupelo, his mother, Bertha Taylor of Lamar County; his fiancé, Susie …
Lack of industry stand-downs doesn’t mean safety has been kicked to the curb
It will be a while before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) identifies how successful this year’s national safety stand-down was, but from an overview of wireless construction company participants, it received a weak effort. However, that’s not to say that the wireless industry isn’t concerned about worker safety, especially preventing falls which accounted for 337 of the 874 …
TowerCo eyes new acquisitions and build-to-suits after its $244 million tower sale to Grain
Company officials at TowerCo have announced the sale of 253 towers and 95 other assets to Grain Infrastructure II, L.P., a private equity firm in Sarasota, Fla., for $244 million. The sale marks the third portfolio of towers and assets sold by TowerCo since 2008 when the company sold 430 towers to SBA Communications for $193.5 million. The sale elevates …
OSHA issues workplace injury reporting rule alongside a chorus of concerns
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a final rule on Wednesday designed to modernize injury data collection to better inform workers, employers, the public and OSHA about workplace hazards. A number of trade groups and professionals believe that it will create more harm than the intended benefits OSHA anticipates it will provide. OSHA currently requires many employers …
Code officer says he was fired for exposing planners plotting to deny cell tower
Many site acquisition professionals will state that oftentimes, in violation of open government requirements, some planning officials will privately discuss contentious applications for a new cell tower and formulate how they can handle community concerns. Those comments are mostly anecdotal, but a Benton, Maine code enforcement officer said he witnessed three planning board members and a State Senator who resides …
Frontier Communications technician dies while the company is swathed in complaints
A Frontier Communications worker was working on overhead communications lines when he reportedly fell off a 15-foot-high ladder yesterday, according to Azle, Tex. authorities. The 64-year-old man was found lying on the ground on West Main Street around 12:45 p.m. and had suffered a severe head injury. It is not known whether the service representative was part of a team …
Connect-it Wireless’ grand opening in Florida helps to benefit the Hubble Foundation
When Jim and Faith Schultz co-founded wireless manufacturer and distributor Connect-it Wireless Components in 2003, their storage bay working area was less than 100 square feet. Growth required a move to a 500 sq. ft. building and then to a facility that would allow for future expansion for years to come – a 10,000 sq. ft. building in Jupiter, Fla. …
Sprint’s anticipated spending for 2016 takes a 40% haircut
Sprint’s announcement that it is going to invest $3 billion in network expansion during fiscal 2016, which started for the carrier on April 1, 2016, is a sharp decline from fiscal 2015’s $5.4 billion which was already down $0.7 billion from 2014. Last year, Sprint indicated it would spend $15 billion over three years on network build-outs, financing some of …
Alliance’s bankruptcy filing leaves contractors and suppliers with no recourse
Cell site project management and construction company Alliance Management Services of Louisville, Ky. posted on their Facebook page last year that “2013 was practice, 2014 was the warm up and 2015 is game time”. But the company’s game plan proved to result in a failed opportunity and Alliance filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization with U.S. Bankruptcy Court or the …
Blue Sky gets additional funding as Vertical Bridge gets an additional 275 towers
Peppertree Capital Management has increased its funding commitment to Blue Sky Towers from $80 million to $120 million as towerco Vertical Bridge and General Communication, Inc. also announced today that they have signed an agreement to acquire 275 sites from GCI’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Alaska Wireless Network (AWN). “We are very proud of our accomplishments to date and consider ourselves fortunate to …
Participating in the stand-down? Let us give your company a plug
This week’s national safety stand-down to prevent falls in construction’s goal is to reach 5 million workers. If OSHA meets that goal, they will have touched more than half of the construction workers in the country. That count will double last year’s 2.5 million workers. Anyone who wants to prevent falls in the workplace can participate in the stand-down. In …
An engineer’s report has officials on edge over a possible tower failure
UPDATE: May 4, 2016 – Paulding, Ohio village officials have determined that a 400′ guyed tower is not a danger to the community after reviewing a second engineer’s report, and have opened Fairground Rd. As suspected, the reported overloads were due to the fact that the newer ANSI/TIA-222-G standard includes more stringent ice requirements, compared to the 222-F standard which was …
Eyes are on Sprint as T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon provide favorable capex reports
Although subscriber growth is a good indicator of a carrier’s favorable outlook by analysts, capex is the tailwind of wireless infrastructure providers, and this week’s news deflated the sails of a number of analysts who have speculated that carriers would cut their capex in early 2016. In his typical over the top presentation with a 360-degree camera, T-Mobile CEO John …
