TowerCo has announced a partnership with Union, a fast growing regional wireless provider that serves the states of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Montana, and Idaho. As an industry leader specializing in colocation, TowerCo will market and manage Union’s portfolio of 322 sites to the carriers and broadband service providers to access existing communication infrastructure in key areas for coverage and capacity. At …
D.C. Court puts an end to Children’s Health Defense’s ‘wireless wild west’ OTARD charges
A three-judge panel of the D.C. Federal Appeals Court on Friday rejected a challenge to the FCC’s decision to amend its over-the-the-air reception device (OTARD) rule to remove a commercial use restriction. The justices stated in their opinion that the FCC had “sufficiently explained that its Order ‘does not change the applicability of the Commission’s radio frequency exposure requirements’ and …
USTelecom releases ‘blueprint’ for $65 billion in infrastructure grants
USTelecom | The Broadband Association, a leading association of connectivity providers and technology innovators, today released a new memo to President Biden and Vice President Harris, Cabinet secretaries, NTIA, FCC, Congress, Tribal leaders and state broadband offices with concrete recommendations to make the most of the $65 billion broadband investment in the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA). USTelecom President …
Solar storm knocks 40 SpaceX satellites out of the sky; over 1,900 had no problems
Elon Musk’s SpaceX said it lost up to 40 Starlink satellites that it launched into orbit last week from Florida because of a geomagnetic storm. The aerospace company sent 49 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit on Thursday via a Falcon 9 rocket. About 80% of those satellites were “significantly impacted” by a geomagnetic storm Friday, SpaceX said in a statement Tuesday. SpaceX said …
Hopefully, ‘bloated’ rip and replace funding will exhale adequate dollars for contractors
Last week, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sounded the alarm to Congress that 181 U.S. network operators have initially requested approximately $5.6 billion from the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program to cover the costs of ripping and replacing insecure equipment and services in U.S. networks. The new cost is $3.6 billion over what Congress set aside using the FCC’s …
As the labor pool tightens, contractors are sweetening employment offerings with bonuses
Wireless contractors and other infrastructure companies are offering bonuses to attract new hires and are rewarding employees who refer job seekers from other companies as well as inexperienced candidates that remain with the company for a set period of months. A review of Wireless Estimator help wanted ads found many companies offering from $1,000 to $5,000 sign-on bonuses as a carrot …
AT&T expects a spring or summer start of their one climb strategy that will keep contractors busy
AT&T contractors are expected to be busy in late spring or early summer as AT&T uses single tower climbs to deploy two bands of new mid-band spectrum for 5G, allowing the carrier to simultaneously expand C-band and roll out its recently won 3.45 GHz. It is possible that the upgrade build will involve approximately 25,000 cell towers since AT&T CEO John …
CTI Towers announces the appointment of CFO Tammy Wolfe
CTI Towers is one of the largest private tower companies in the US, and has been a portfolio company of Melody Investment Advisors LP (“Melody”), an alternative asset manager focused on telecommunications infrastructure investments, since 2020. CTI Towers owns and manages approximately 1,150 towers in 47 states. Lessors of CTI Towers assets include top wireless carriers AT&T, DISH, T-Mobile and …
Mo Katibeh, AT&T’s network infrastructure build chief, moves to RingCentral’s cloud
RingCentral, a provider of global enterprise cloud communications, video meetings, collaboration, and contact center solutions, today announced that Mo Katibeh, former Chief Product Officer and Chief Marketing Officer for AT&T Business, will join the company as Chief Operating Officer on January 18, 2022,, reporting to founder, chairman and CEO Vlad Shmunis. Katibeh has managed a portfolio of businesses with $36 …
Congressman Dan Crenshaw and FCC Commissioner Brendan Car visit tower site in Texas
U.S. Congressman Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr recently conducted a site visit to a communications tower located in Huffman, Texas. The tour was facilitated by representatives from NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association and Enertech Holdings Company. Congressman Crenshaw is a member of the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he has championed important communications and …
The 10 biggest wireless infrastructure news stories of 2021 can be distilled down to one
In assessing Wireless Estimator’s Top 10 News stories in 2021, there were dozens to choose from pertaining to safety, fatalities, 5G infrastructure, COVID-19, workforce shortages, and Dish’s ambitious buildout. However, there was one story that dwarfed all others in readership and its ability to shape 2021 and beyond – NATE’s full-court press in exposing and championing its core contractor members’ concerns regarding …
Senate confirms FCC Chair Rosenworcel to a new term, the first woman to lead the agency
The U.S. Senate yesterday confirmed Jessica Rosenworcel in a 68-31 vote as the first appointed female chairperson of the FCC. Rosenworcel had been acting chairperson since January. Tuesday’s action means the FCC narrowly avoided a Republican majority, which could have happened if Rosenworcel’s current term was allowed to expire at the end of the year. “It is a tremendous honor …
24-year-old Nevada tower tech passes after a 140-foot fall in Washington — 2nd fatality in 3 weeks
Wireless Estimator has confirmed that a 24-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada tower technician, whose goal was to excel in his new career, has passed away after falling from a communications tower in Arlington, WA on Saturday afternoon at about 1:30 p.m. Michael Vasquez was a Broken Arrow Communications (Bacom) crew member working on an installation on a Crown Castle monopole when …
Foolish draft petition has a carrier telling NATE to ‘Shut up!’ and the matrix pricing problems will be resolved
Commentary — One carrier’s well-thought-out solution to NATE’s concern regarding untenable contractor matrix pricing that is crippling the nation’s wireless workforce can be capsuled in two words: ‘Shut Up!’ There are no legitimate arguments that matrix or model pricing shouldn’t be used in wireless construction unless it’s a project that requires different disciplines or presents unique labor or material-intensive requirements outside of …
Lindsey Graham is leading the charge to remove Gigi Sohn’s FCC nomination for Commissioner
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is holding a nomination hearing to examine the nomination of FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel (D), but it appears that Republicans have been initially successful in blocking President Joe Biden’s other FCC Commissioner nominee, Gigi Sohn (D), who will not appear with Rosenworcel, according to the committee’s agenda. GOP committee members, Sen. Roger Wicker …
It was anticipated, but now there’s proof that NWSA Certification dramatically reduces safety incidents
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today that due to the collaboration of all sectors of the telecommunications industry, there has been a dramatic three-to-one decrease in tower crew-related safety issues and accidents when NWSA trade certified technicians are present on jobsites. This major safety improvement is the result of countless hours donated by volunteers representing the broadest-ever consortium …
Pelosi’s on again, off again historic infrastructure bill passes with NATE and WIA applauding broadband funding
After months of frustrating attempts to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi finally achieved success with the support of 13 Republican House members on Friday night. The bill, which received 19 GOP votes in the Senate, was dissociated from the broader social spending package known as Build Back Better “Tonight, we took a monumental step forward as a …
Verizon, AT&T delay 5G C-band rollout to address FAA airplane safety concerns
The FAA said it has deep concerns about the potential impact to aviation safety resulting from interference to radar altimeter performance from 5G network operations in the C-band. Radar altimeters are used on planes and helicopters for multiple critical safety functions, including landing when visibility is low, anti-collision warnings and systems that warn pilots when they inadvertently get too low. …
FCC is considering a DJI drone ban that would take a tool out of the contractor’s toolbox and not replace it
The Federal Communications Commission voted Tuesday to boot China Telecom Americas off of U.S. networks, finding that the service provider could not quash concerns that it’s beholden to surveillance requests from the Chinese government. The decision means China Telecom Americas must now discontinue U.S. services within 60 days, ending its authorization for the past 20 years to operate in the …
Biden finally nominates Rosenworcel as permanent FCC Chair and Sohn for a Commission seat
After 10 months of waiting, President Joe Biden today nominated Acting FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel to lead the agency permanently. He also nominated former FCC official Gigi Sohn, a longtime consumer advocate, to the open Democratic seat on the Commission. During the Obama years she was then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s counselor, a role in which she advocated for strong net …
