Memorial services are being planned for Thomas “Tom” Stoner, 88, who died on October 19, 2023. The well-respected serial entrepreneur and philanthropist built Stoner Broadcasting and played a vital role in creating American Radio Systems (ARS) in 1993 with the late Steve Dodge. ARS began with 16 stations in seven markets. They took the opportunity afforded by the passage of …
American Tower names Steven Vondran to succeed Thomas Bartlett as President and CEO
American Tower Corporation has announced that Tom Bartlett will retire as President, Chief Executive Officer, and director of the Board of Directors, effective February 1, 2024. The company said in a statement that its Board of Directors, having undertaken a deliberate and thorough succession planning process over the last several years, has named Steve Vondran to succeed Bartlett as President …
Karmen Rajamani joins WIA as VP of Government Affairs, bringing a wealth of towerco experience
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) today announced that Karmen Rajamani has been hired as Vice President, Government Affairs, effective September 5, 2023. Rajamani joins WIA from Crown Castle where she was Vice President of Government Affairs working with state and local governments to drive tower, fiber, and small cell deployments nationwide. At WIA, while supporting all advocacy efforts, she will …
Cell tower fires did not cause Maui’s communications outages, power was the problem
According to Hawaii Governor Josh Green, residents will be allowed to return to the devastated town of Lahaina in Maui today, stating, “They will see destruction like they have never seen in their lives.” Authorities said that most of the flames were contained. Currently, the death toll is estimated at 55 but is expected to rise as the interior of …
DigitalBridge is betting a quarter billion dollars on its competitors becoming more profitable
On Monday, during its second-quarter earnings call, SBA Communications cited a slowdown in U.S. carrier activity, similar to previous announcements by American Tower Corp. and Crown Castle, whose Q2 activity had declined a whopping 50%. DigitalBridge Group, whose tower arm Vertical Bridge has 11,000 owned and master-leased towers, will release its quarterly report on Friday and takes no comfort in …
Collecting $3 million from an ISP will be a tough road to hoe for American Tower and Crown Castle with its $386k
American Tower Corp. (ATC) has filed a lawsuit against a wireless and satellite internet, phone, and DISH television provider, alleging it stopped paying rent payments on 60 of its structures on November 24, 2021. ATC says it is due $2,891,885 plus attorneys’ fees and other costs from TPT SpeedConnect, LLC. SpeedConnect advertises that it is proud of the role it …
Ugandan carrier claims American Tower is discriminatory, but Kenyan official says ATC brings diversity and the internet
Smile, a carrier in Uganda is sneering at American Tower Corporation (ATC), asserting to the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) that ATC illegally disconnected the power to its network and the company has been quoted in numerous media outlets stating that since 2018 ATC has been using discriminatory pricing practices, as well as unfair and illegal power billing practices. An ATC …
Dish meets its 70% buildout deadline with assistance of three major towerco partners
Dish Wireless announced yesterday that as of June 14, the carrier is offering 5G broadband service to over 70 percent of the U.S. population, giving more than 240 million Americans access to its technology. This marks a significant milestone for Dish and the U.S. telecom industry, as Dish designed, built, and deployed a first-of-its-kind 5G network in three years. Dish …
Aggravated over aggregator Everest’s ‘multi-million dollar scheme’, Vertical Bridge files a lawsuit
Vertical Bridge REIT, LLC has filed a lawsuit against competitor Everest Infrastructure Partners (EIP), alleging that it ran an unfair “multi-million dollar scheme to unlawfully improve its market share” at Vertical Bridge’s expense through trade secret misappropriation, interfering with existing contractual relations and false advertising. Vertical Bridge, the tower arm of Digital Bridge, requests that EIP provide an accounting of …
Driver is electrocuted while unloading aerial lift for California cell site project
According to authorities, a 37-year-old Fresno, CA, equipment rental delivery driver was electrocuted Wednesday while offloading an aerial lift in Parlier, CA, that would be utilized by a tower crew performing services on a nearby cell tower. Officials say that Jaun Abriz was employed by H&E Equipment Services and struck an electrical wire at about 9:00 a.m. Those responding to …
Either Mother Nature or a deficient design caused a New York American Tower monopole to collapse
UPDATE: February 3, 2023 – An American Tower representative has informed Wireless Estimator that the Fred A. Nudd monopole that collapsed in Depew, NY, during a winter blizzard was not subject to the litigation with Nudd and would have been out of scope for any remedial work required to ensure that it complied with design standards. This site was part of …
Tower crew removing a bald eagle’s nest draws the ire of residents and a federal investigation
A federal investigation is in the works after residents contacted wildlife officials after they watched a tower crew remove a bald eagle’s nest from a cell tower on Thursday in Mount Pleasant, SC. A local wildlife photographer, Cacky Rivers, informed News 2 that she had been in touch with federal and state agencies who reported to the scene. According to …
‘Bunch of garbage’ NOTAMs are back on FAA’s server as flights head back to normal
Tower owners know how critical it is to immediately file a Notice to Air Missions or NOTAM if their FAA obstruction lighting fails so that pilots become aware of the outage. So does the FAA. That’s why the agency canceled all outbound flights on Wednesday when the NOTAM database crashed, crippling air travel across the country after over 9,000 flights …
Hybrid cable is severed from its rigging, causing the death of a Fort Worth tower technician
Clarification: An earlier version of this article said that a hybrid cable being raised fell on a technician causing, fatal injuries. According to the technician’s employer, the cable had been secured to the tower with a cable manufacturer-installed hoisting grip that failed. An update is available here. A 32-year-old Fort Worth, TX tower tech died on December 15, 2022, when …
$19 million ‘disguised’ loan and breach of ageement by American Tower is alleged in $794 million lawsuit
Terra Towers Corporation (Terra), TBS Management, S.A. (Terra TBS), and DT Holdings, Inc. (DTH) filed a lawsuit against American Tower International (ATI) in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court on December 12, 2022, alleging ATI breached a $794 million acquisition and development deal in Latin America known as Project Codu, referring to “Center of da Universe” because of its size and shape. …
Financially strapped landlord sues American Tower in a hail Mary attempt to shore up lost rents and profits
A Baltimore City, Maryland building owner is suing American Tower’s Global Tower Holdings for allegedly not maintaining a cell site on the property’s rooftop and causing damages above $75,000. Olcan lll Properties, LLC states in their complaint that they had provided an easement since January 1, 2021, to Global Tower on the property located at 4437 Belair Road for “a …
Ruth Dowling will ably take over Ed DiSanto’s executive roles at American Tower
American Tower Corporation announced changes to its senior management team. Ed DiSanto intends to step down from his position as Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel, and Secretary, effective January 1, 2023. Ruth Dowling, who has been with American Tower for over ten years, will succeed DiSanto in those roles. To assist in the transition of responsibilities, DiSanto …
Verizon signs lease deal with American Tower to boost 5G deployment
American Tower Corporation and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) announced today that they have signed a new overarching lease agreement, facilitating Verizon’s on-going 5G network deployment across American Tower’s extensive U.S. portfolio of communications sites, with over 11,000 of them on Verizon towers that American Tower acquired the rights in 2015 to lease and operate through 2045. The agreement …
NATE, American Tower Corporation and MILLERCO Host U.S. Senator Roger Wicker
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association and member companies American Tower Corporation and MILLERCO hosted U.S. Senator Roger Wicker on a communications tower site visit in Gulfport, Mississippi yesterday. Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes also attended the event. During the site visit, Senator Wicker and Mayor Hewes toured the communications tower compound with event participants to learn about all the on-site …
Indiana court nixes Norfolk Southern’s claim that it was due profit sharing revenues from towerco
An Indiana court found that Global Tower LLC did not owe Norfolk Southern Railway Co. a percentage of its revenue from a tower on land owned by the railroad in Peru, Indiana. United States District Judge Robert Miller, Jr. granted Global’s summary judgment motion Tuesday, finding that the tower operator never agreed to take on the previous deal between Norfolk …
