New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, representing the five New York City pension funds, has successfully secured agreements with leading telecommunications infrastructure firms—SBA Communications Corporation (SBA), American Tower Corporation (American Tower), and Crown Castle—to improve their reporting on worker safety at communication tower sites. Lander emphasized the difficult conditions faced by tower workers, noting, “From dizzying heights to challenging …
Crown Castle’s $325 million cabinet door opening lease lawsuit against Dish is closed by a Denver jury’s verdict
A jury last Thursday found Crown Castle USA Inc. failed to prove Dish Wireless Inc. violated the parties’ 30-year master lease agreement (MLA) by taking up three extra feet of space on cell tower sites without paying an additional rent of approximately $8 million per year. Crown Castle said Dish owed $200 more monthly rent for approximately 3,339 sites. With …
Crown Castle snags Steven Moskowitz as its CEO, the second former American Tower executive onboarded for growth
Crown Castle Inc., a leading communications tower company, announced a significant leadership change that is effective today. Steven J. Moskowitz will take on the roles of President and Chief Executive Officer and join the company’s Board of Directors. This appointment concludes an extensive search led by the CEO Search Committee and the Board and facilitated by global executive search firm …
WTB grants exemption to Vertical Bridge and Drake Services for quarterly inspection requirements
The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday granted Vertical Bridge REIT, LLC, and Drake Services, Inc., an exemption from the mandatory quarterly inspections of antenna structure lighting systems stipulated under existing regulations (see below). The exemption specifically pertains to the requirements under 47 CFR § 17.47(b), which mandates owners of antenna structures to conduct …
Former T-Mobile tech president Neville Ray elected to American Tower’s board of directors
American Tower Corporation announced that its Board of Directors had elected Neville R. Ray as a director. Ray most recently served as T-Mobile’s President of Technology until 2023. He joined T-Mobile (then VoiceStream) in April 2000, and from December 2010 to November 2019, served as its Chief Technology Officer. Prior to that, Ray served as Network Vice President for Pacific …
New ADA lawsuit tells American Tower, T-Mobile and AT&T to relocate their tower or reconfigure their network with beamforming antennas
After American Tower, AT&T, and T-Mobile did not respond by February 1, 2024, to Duluth, Minnesota resident Marcia Haller’s request to mitigate RF levels that continued to make her ill at her home (as detailed on February 29, 2024, by Wireless Estimator), and caused 51 strokes, her attorneys, being paid by the Children’s Health Defense’s Electromagnetic Radiator & Wireless program, filed …
Deputies bust dad on his bring your son to work day at tower site; multi-site copper thief gets probation
Two North Carolina men, a father and son team, are facing criminal charges after being accused of stealing transmission lines from a cell site tower in eastern Richmond County for their copper value. According to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) press statement released on March 4, 2024, deputies responded to a call about the cutting and theft of copper …
Having to sleep in a Faraday cage, Minnesota couple threatens ATC, T-Mobile and AT&T with a lawsuit
In 2008, Marcia and Jason Haller moved into their newly constructed home with an oversized free-standing garage in a peaceful setting in a rural area just north of Duluth, Minnesota. Within months, Minnesota Tower, Inc. erected a 295-foot guyed tower on leased land approximately 1,300 feet from Haller’s home, which was approved for construction by the FCC in 2007. Although …
Former American Tower CFO Bradley Singer will now guide his former arch-competitor, Crown Castle
When American Tower Corporation (ATC) CFO Bradley Singer left the Boston-based company in 2008 for his new role as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Discovery Communications, LLC, he reflected upon his eight years at the company, stating,” I am gratified with what we have achieved together, and I believe that American Tower’s strategic and financial position and talented …
Crown Castle CEO Jay Brown announces retirement amid activist investor pressure to resign
Communications infrastructure provider Crown Castle Inc. is undergoing a significant leadership change as CEO Jay Brown has decided to retire, effective January 16, 2024. The announcement comes amidst pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, which has been advocating for leadership changes and strategic improvements at the company. Brown’s departure follows a series of scathing critiques from Elliott, known for its …
Tom Stoner, American Tower Corp. co-founder with Steve Dodge passes
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 …
