Crown Castle Fiber accused Illinois utility Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) last month of breaking FCC rules by charging excessive pole attachment fees and denying the company access to hundreds of poles. ComEd filed a motion to dismiss both charges, arguing that the FCC lacks jurisdiction over Crown Castle’s complaints because the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has “preempted Commission jurisdiction over all …
Education will be harmed after contentious vote that opened up 2.5 GHz band: FCC Democrats
In a controversial 3-2 vote yesterday, the FCC agreed to free up the 2.5 GHz band of wireless spectrum for 5G services. Known as the Educational Broadband Service, the band had been used for educational purposes since the 1960s by educational institutions and nonprofits supporting education. The unused and underused mid-band spectrum will now go on the auction block. The only …
Billion dollar question: Will any entity pay $713,000 per site to the nation’s last carrier with towers?
In 2014, U.S. Cellular struck a deal with Vertical Bridge Holdings to sell 595 non-core towers for $159 million, approximately $267,000 per site. On June 17 in a note to investors, Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery said if the regional carrier unloaded their strategic portfolio of 4,207 towers in 22 states the possible asking price might be $3 billion, averaging …
Income and race seen holding back California’s broadband adoption rates
In California, income and race are key factors contributing to low broadband adoption rates, according to a study released this month by the California Public Utilities Commission. Their analysis found that income is the most critical factor affecting adoption where only 52.9% of households in census tracts where the median annual household income levels are less than $20,000 have in-home …
Former FCC adviser and fiber CEO gets five years for $270 million investor scam
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Elizabeth Ann Pierce, the former chief executive officer of Quintillion, a telecommunications company in Alaska, and the former head of the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC), was sentenced last week in Manhattan federal court to 60 months in prison for defrauding investors in New …
NRECA claims pole attachment rates not a barrier to rural broadband deployment
Broadband deployment in rural America is not impeded by pole attachment rates, according to a report released by Brian O’Hara, regulatory director, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), in a white paper, “Pole Attachment Policies and Issues.” O’Hara’s research indicates that most communications companies will not provide broadband to all of rural America even when the pole attachment rental rates are …
FCC names winners who spent $2.7 billion in millimeter wave auctions
The FCC has released the names of companies (see full list of Auction 101 and Auction 102 below) that won licenses in the recently completed auction of spectrum suitable for 5G deployments in the 24 GHz and 28 GHz millimeter wave bands. In the $2.7 billion raised, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Windstream, Starry and U.S. Cellular were the big winners. Each …
T-Mobile/Sprint merger heading towards the finish line with open arms from the FCC
Today, T-Mobile US, Inc. and Sprint Corporation committed to the Federal Communications Commission that they would take a series of significant steps if the companies’ merger application is approved. That move caused Chairman Ajit Pai to recommend to his colleagues that the FCC approve the proposed $26 billion deal. Commissioner Brendan Carr agreed, stating: “Approving this combination will help the …
Commish’s push for rural broadband was scripted 122 years ago
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, the agency’s point man for encouraging why and how the country should unite in order for the US to become the world’s leader in rolling out 5G, retweeted a 122- year-old article (below) from The Daily Northwestern lamenting phone dependency, a “disease from which friends or those afflicted suffer.” Fast-forward to 2020 and the irony of …
Nation’s site component selections expand with Connect-It Wireless joining the Valmont Site Pro 1 family
Site Pro 1, an industry-leading manufacturer and distributor of wireless site components and safety products, announced today that it has acquired the operational assets of Connect-It Wireless, distributor of wireless site components in the United States. Connect-It Wireless will operate under the Valmont Site Pro 1 brand. Connect-It Wireless, founded in 2003, quickly became one of the industry’s key providers …
Amazon’s satellite-delivered broadband foray boosted by Musk’s pink-slipped engineers
After GeekWire published their exclusive report on Thursday that Amazon is joining the race to provide broadband internet access around the globe with thousands of low Earth orbit satellites, Amazon started posting almost 80 jobs for Project Kuiper on its website that will require employment in Bellevue, Wash., a stone’s throw away from Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s headquarters in Redmond. However, …
FCC to unveil breakthrough technology to replace billion-dollar spectrum bids
The nation’s media was quick to note last week that FCC Commissioners, normally incessantly microblogging their Twitter followers with FCC information and what they believe are cultural consciousness must-reads on every imaginable subject, haven’t tweeted once since last Tuesday. An exclusive report this morning by Emmet T. Witllinger of POLITICO’s Morning Tech uncovered why. The federal agency has been feverishly working on …
Congressman Loebsack tours Crown Castle monopole site in Iowa
U.S. Congressman Dave Loebsack (D-IA) today conducted a site visit to a communications tower located in Le Claire, Iowa. The tour was facilitated by representatives from the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE), the Association’s Wireless Industry Network (WIN) and Crown Castle. The site visit was held at a Crown Castle-owned monopole cell tower site that is conveniently located in …
Free Press: FCC broadband gains overstated leads Fast Forward Friday news
Article Media Free Press: FCC broadband gains overstated B+C Huawei sues U.S. as ‘last resort’ to fight government ban UPI Was a cell tower illegally built in an Atlanta neighborhood AJC South Korea delays commercial 5G service over phone and carrier issues VB AT&T expects to hit second FirstNet buildout Milestone by year-end Missiona Critical Interoperability debate dominates carrier-selection panel …
T-Mobile accusations rebutted as city leaders’ group joins anti-merger movement
T-Mobile has informed the FCC that the Rural Wireless Association (RWA) has been falsely accusing the carrier of falsifying its 4G coverage maps and is not following the procedures the FCC adopted for challenging areas ineligible for Mobility Fund Phase ll funding. In correspondence to the FCC, T-Mobile said that the RWA “did not follow the rules for submitting a challenge …
Windstream’s distress funding, reorganization keeps Uniti from closing its doors
UPDATE: February 28, 2019 – Uniti Group Inc. was expected to release its fourth quarter and year end 2018 results after the close of trading today, but announced that it is postponing them to no later than March 18, 2019 so that it can continue to assess the impact of the bankruptcy petition by Windstream Holdings, Inc. February 27, 2019 …
Women of NATE leaders featured in the latest FCC podcast
With the broadcast repack in full swing and the race to 5G heating up, tower work is essential to getting those efforts across the finish line. Demand for tower crews is sky high—whether it’s working a 50-foot cell tower or a 2,000-foot broadcast tower. And it’s easy to take for granted when our cell phones and televisions work, but it’s …
Former broadband advisory head and Quintillion CEO, pleads guilty to bilking investors of $250 million
Elizabeth Ann Pierce, the former CEO of telecommunications company Quintillion based in Anchorage, Alaska, and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s pick to head the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, pled guilty Monday in Manhattan federal court to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme to use forged guaranteed revenue contracts fraudulently to induce investors to pony up more …
American Broadband Initiative report identifies 24 million without access, 80% in rural communities
Expanding America’s broadband connectivity is critical to the nation’s economy, and a top priority for President Trump and the Department of Commerce. Yesterday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) joined with their partners in government to announce the publication of the American Broadband Initiative (ABI), a comprehensive effort to stimulate increased private sector investment in broadband. “NTIA is proud to share …
AT&T lays out its strategy for 5G for America’s 15 million businesses
Businesses are leading the 5G revolution, and AT&T is going to give its business customers a full 5G toolbox. They state that they are the first carrier to publicly lay out what they’re making available to help businesses get the most out of this technology. America’s 15 million businesses increasingly look to technology to drive outcomes, but their needs range drastically …
