AT&T said it is planning to deploy public safety LTE service on 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum quicker than it anticipated, with approximately one-third of the projected buildout to be completed by the end of next March or earlier, according to AT&T Chief Financial Officer John Stephens. During an interview by Colby Synesael of Cowen and Company at the company’s …
AT&T settles for a record $30 million to injured tower technician’s family
With a Philadelphia, Pa. jury trial scheduled to begin today to determine whether AT&T and other defendants were negligent and contributed to a tower technician falling 50 feet to the ground and causing him to sustain severe and permanent injuries, the carrier agreed to a $30 million settlement, the largest recorded payment in the U.S. to an injured wireless infrastructure worker, …
Bet on the Sprint/T-Mobile mega merger wounding towercos
If the proposed T-Mobile and Sprint merger announced Sunday is approved by federal regulators, both companies said that they expect the marriage creating the nation’s second largest carrier would be sometime in July 2019. However, it’s been identified by the carriers that fully combining the companies is another three to four years, possibly longer. Displaying their lack of fundamental industry …
T-Mobile and Sprint agree to merge creating severe competition for rival AT&T
After years of negotiations, T-Mobile and Sprint announced today that they have finally agreed to tie the knot and will merge in an all-stock transaction of 9.75 Sprint shares for each T-Mobile US share. Based upon Friday’s closing share prices this represents a value of approximately $59 billion for Sprint and approximately $146 billion for the combined company. The new company will …
AT&T’s CitySwitch agreement is a clear unveiling of their current tower leasing concerns
In a shot over the bow of the major tower owners signaling that they’re not pleased with their current leasing models and are looking for alternatives, AT&T announced today that the carrier and CitySwitch signed an agreement for building new cell towers to-suit based on future wireless network needs. CitySwitch will begin tower construction plans as early as the second …
Puerto Rico death is second industry tower tech fatality in April
A 28-year-old tower technician died Saturday after he was electrocuted while working on an AT&T LTE installation in Puerto Rico. According to sources knowledgeable of the incident, Josean Matos Rodriquez, employed by FM Technology Group of Dallas, Tex., was working on a residential rooftop when he came into contact with a 13kv power line. Authorities said the incident occurred at 10:50 …
Organizations applaud new rules that curb 5G ‘cash cow’ reviews
The FCC helped clear the way for wireless providers to deploy hundreds of thousands of small antennas for use in 5G services by easing historic and environmental reviews before equipment is installed, and limiting American Indian tribes’ authority over the installations. In a 3-to-2 Republican-led vote for its Wireless Infrastructure Streamlining Report and Order, the FCC said that installing the …
AT&T and Verizon threaten the big three towercos with a new Tillman 200 tower scheme
In a move clearly positioned as a threat to major tower owners to lower their lease rates, AT&T, Verizon and Tillman Infrastructure announced a joint agreement today to build hundreds of cell towers, with the potential for significantly more new site locations in the future. Last year during an investors conference, Bill Hogg, AT&T’s president of technology operations, said that …
Crane accident takes the life of 48-year-old Arkansas industry worker
Update: Nov. 7, 2017 – Services for Clarence “Cory” Hale, 48, of West Fork, Ark. who passed away Nov. 2, will be held Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. at Sisco Funeral Chapel of Springdale, Ark. Visitation will be Nov. 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home. He was born April 9, 1969 to Kenneth Don Hale and Lana …
CommScope’s AT&T antenna orders is first real sign of FirstNet’s deployment
In March, Barclays said that AT&T could start deploying the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) as early as June, but the announcement was one of many short-lived guesstimates. However, according to CommScope, they have received antenna orders from AT&T for FirstNet. In a Nov. 1 earnings call with analysts, Mark A. Olson, EVP & CFO of CommScope Holding Company said, …
Either there’s a shortage of COWs in Puerto Rico or FCC data
In order for Americans to experience a total solar eclipse of the sun on Aug. 21 and record it on their cell phones, carriers rolled out dozens of Cell on Wheels and Cell on Light Trucks for the two-minute event, but can’t seem to provide Puerto Rico with any more than 14 COWs and COLTs, according to FCC data, as …
FirstNet gets passing grades on progress; AT&T stresses the need for one core
House subcommittee on communications and technology members seemed satisfied with the progress of FirstNet and its contractor AT&T during a hearing this morning. Chaired by Rep. Marsha Blackburn, committee members appeared to accept that there should be only one core for the nationwide Public-safety broadband network (NPSBN). Verizon and others have lobbied for additional public safety network cores that would …
Kay Kapoor resigns after six months of heading AT&T’s $15 billion business unit
Confirmed reports are stating that Kay Kapoor, the head of AT&T Global Public Sector, has resigned. The news took many industry observers by surprise since Kapoor, who had led AT&T’s federal business for four years, and the company’s successful efforts to secure the multi-billion-dollar FirstNet public safety network contract, was appointed to her key corporate position in April. AT&T appointed …
Indiana’s FirstNet opt-in hits the 50% mark of states coming on board
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced today his decision to accept the FirstNet and AT&T plan to deliver a wireless broadband network to the state’s public safety community. The move puts Indiana as the 25th state to opt-in to the FirstNet system, bringing advanced tools to help Indiana’s first responders save lives and protect communities. “Indiana’s first responders need fast, accurate information to keep Hoosiers safe,” Gov. …
FCC votes to give $77 million for telecom in PR; Governor’s outages differ from FCC
Update: Oct. 4, 2017 – The FCC unanimously voted today to immediately provide carriers with up to seven-months’ worth of support from the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, which helps lower the cost of deploying service in areas that are costly to serve. Any funds advanced under today’s action can be used to repair telecommunications infrastructure and restore service to customers …
Lack of on-site generators, COWs, contributes to Puerto Rico’s still horrendous cell service
After Hurricane Maria’s catastrophic devastation of Puerto Rico’s cell sites, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai directed his staff last week to reach out to American Tower, SBA Communications and Crown Castle “to see how we can work together to address Puerto Rico’s communications needs,” However, according to over a dozen industry professionals interviewed by Wireless Estimator, the answers are already known …
FCC says wireless carriers remain competitive, but not by building new cell sites
Carriers captured high grades for competitiveness, according to the FCC’s Twentieth Mobile Wireless Competition Report, an annual analysis of whether there is effective rate rivalry with wireless operators Although the 34-page report provides a wealth of additional information to support competitiveness, according to Jonathan Adelstein, President and CEO of the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), anybody who has turned on a …
Puerto Rico’s horrendous cell site outages complicated by generator/fuel theft concerns
Puerto Rico’s cell service is still devastated today with over 91% of its sites out of service, basically the same as yesterday. The horrific outages caused by Hurricane Maria are also being felt in the U.S. Virgin Islands where 60.4% of cell sites are out of service, slightly down from yesterday’s 61.3%. In San Juan, P.R., subscribers saw a poor, …
T-Mobile and Sprint marriage announcement is imminent according to romance reports
In February, Reuters broke the news that Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Mobile U.S. was reportedly planning a renewed bid to acquire rival Sprint after a previous reverse attempt was thwarted by regulators. Joined by CNBC, Reuters is again reporting that the romance has fired up again and a deal could be expected by the end of next month. But it’s not …
Carriers’ cell site outages to the FCC will not match their marketing hype
Commentary Although the nation’s four major carriers are reporting cell site outages in affected areas of Hurricane Irma to the FCC, and the Commission is providing daily compilations for a snapshot in time, such as today’s outages in Florida of 13.4%, carrier public relations officials are beginning to spin their hardened site assets at speeds off the Saffir-Simpson scale. On …
