The FBI and local authorities are investigating the felling of three AM broadcast towers owned by Truth Broadcasting Co. in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, each one on a different day within less than three weeks. The first collapse witnessed by a nearby homeowner, Cliff Orgnon, occurred on December 21, 2022. After the three towers were destroyed, WSJS went off the air. …
Fighting Mother Nature for 44 years, two tall towers in South Dakota finally succumb
The massive winter storm that moved through the Plains Wednesday morning knocked down a 1,700-foot TV tower and an 800-foot broadcast tower in northeastern South Dakota just outside the boundaries of Garden City. The 1,700-foot guyed tower, constructed in 1978, is owned by Nextar and was the home for CBS affiliate KDLO-TV and KDLO-FM When the tower fell just before …
With 50% of Florida’s cell sites out, ‘deadliest hurricane’ prediction has loved ones on edge
“This could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida’s history,” President Joe Biden said at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington on Thursday regarding Hurricane Ian. “The numbers are still unclear, but we’re hearing early reports of what may be a substantial loss of life,” Biden said. Although there have been 21 confirmed deaths reported, the deadliest hurricane on …
Stainless marks a storied 75 years of pioneering leadership in the broadcast industry
FDH Infrastructure Services, LLC (FDH), a leader in engineering investigations of critical structures and developer of global technology solutions, is proudly commemorating the 75th anniversary of Stainless, its broadcast division. Officially incorporated on July 24, 1947, Stainless has been pioneering innovations in tower design, fabrication, erection, modifications, safety, and reliability – holding the longest and most distinguished history in the …
Tornado takes out an ATC 150-foot monopole as Ida winds its path of destruction through the northeast
An American Tower Corp. (ATC) 150-foot monopole collapsed Wednesday when a Hurricane Ida-spawned tornado tore through Upper Dublin Township in Pennsylvania. Although the structure was designed and constructed in 2008 with a basic wind speed of 90 mph as required EIA/TIA-222 Rev. G, the structure was no match for the EF-2 tornado that touched down in the township with winds …
Dielectric enables near-field FAA waiver-free drone measurements to validate TV antenna performance
Dielectric has launched a new engineering service that enables drone operators to fully and accurately characterize antenna azimuth and elevation performance without special waivers from the FAA. The service has been successfully beta-tested and is now in production at several broadcast tower sites. The new service is a response to a common dilemma facing drone operators: To fully characterize an …
Update: 8/31/20: Laura thrashes Louisiana’s broadcasters and mobile networks
UPDATE – August 31, 2020 – Louisiana’s cell sites that were out of service continued to improve since yesterday, with 5.5% of the cell sites out of service in the affected parishes. However, hard-hit Cameron Parish still had 72% of its cell sites out. LOUISIANA AFFECTED PARISHES Date Cell Sites Served Cell Sites Out Percent Out Cell Sites Out Due to …
Vertical Bridge acquires last big broadcast tower portfolio for $213 million: Cumulus Media
In February, Cumulus Media said that the company was considering selling its tower portfolio of 250 sites across 32 states to increase its liquidity and pay down debt. On Friday, the deal was inked with Vertical Bridge picking up the assets for $213 million. Previously, CFO John Abbot said that he believes that the multiples being paid as the tower industry …
Prestigious ANSI accreditation accorded NWSA and its proud Tower Technician 1 & 2 cert holders
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced it has been awarded accreditation by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), a wholly owned subsidiary of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), for its Telecommunications Tower Technician 1 and Telecommunications Tower Technician 2 programs. ANAB’s decision to accredit these programs came after thorough analysis of test data and rigorous audits of NWSA’s …
Emergency lights are on at Willis Tower as broadcasters work on restoring signals
Chicago’s Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower, saw some glimmering lights early this morning after crews from ComEd activated the building’s emergency lighting system, which will allow them to turn back on power for the entire 110-floor building. The skyscraper had been closed for several days after torrential rain last weekend and Monday caused massive flooding throughout Chicago, …
High winds blamed for Texas tall tower collapse, but corossion appears to be the culprit
A 988-foot TV broadcast tower collapsed in Robstown, Texas yesterday morning as a result of a rusted guy wire that detached near its anchor. No tower techs or station personnel were on site when the structure failed. A transmitter building was slighting damaged on one corner after the guyed tower fell at approximately 8:30 a.m. The tower is owned by …
DISH’s ‘badass’ tower climber Martha Ramos leads Fast-Forward Friday news
Meet Martha: DISH’s ‘badass’ tower climber When Martha Ramos climbed her first cellular tower, it wasn’t so much being up high that made her nervous, it was learning to let go. “If you’re working on equipment on a tower, you have to have both of your hands free,” said Ramos, a tower climber for DISH. “You hook yourself to a …
Swiss army knife of helicopters’ antenna pick is a must see NATE Climber Connection video
Crank up the bass, sit back and enjoy an epic video ride alongside pilots of the Erickson Air-Crane, the Swiss army knife of helicopters as it lifts a repack antenna to the top of a broadcast tower in Jacksonville, Florida, courtesy of NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association. The breath-taking video focused on the topic of Helicopter Lifts as the first …
Last big broadcast tower portfolio sale being considered by Cumulus to reduce debt
As part of its post-bankruptcy strategy, Cumulus Media is considering selling its tower assets, CEO Mary Berner said during their Q4 earnings conference call on Friday. Discussing non-core assets that they want to sell to buoy their balance sheet, Berner they are “considering strategic alternatives regarding our tower portfolio, which consists of over 250 owned tower sites across 32 states, …
Ice is unkind to Nebraska 1,500-foot tower, causing it to collapse in Beaver Crossing
Service has been restored to the majority of Channel 10/11 viewers in Nebraska who lost signal when a KOLN tower collapsed early Saturday morning, but some over-the-air viewers may still be unable to receive their signal. The main KOLN tower in rural Beaver Crossing, collapsed during a severe ice storm. There were no injuries when the 1,500-foot guyed tower fell …
Bill proposes over $1 billion to develop 5G alternatives to Huawei
A bipartisan group of leading national security Senators introduced a bill to encourage and support U.S. innovation in the race for 5G, providing over $1 billion to invest in Western-based alternatives to Chinese equipment providers Huawei and ZTE. Heavily subsidized by the Chinese government, Huawei is poised to become the leading commercial provider of 5G, with far-reaching effects for U.S. economic …
Scripps pays $1,130,000 to FCC to settle tower lighting issues
Scripps Broadcasting Holdings LLC has agreed to pay a $1,130,000 penalty to settle an FCC investigation into malfunctioning TV tower lights used to alert nearby airplanes. The settlement order adopted by the FCC concludes an agency investigation that began after a small plane crashed into a TV tower near Kaplan, Louisiana in 2018. The tower was operated by a subsidiary …
Six drones capture picture-perfect Virginia 540-foot guyed tower drop
Typically shaky cell-phone videos of communication tower demolitions were bested by six drones Saturday morning when a crew from Electronics Research Inc. (ERI) felled a 540-foot guyed tower in Norfolk, Virg. Once the guy wires were cut, the bottom third of the tower built in the mid-1970s hit the ground and the rest fell within a radius of 200 feet. …
As Apollo courts Tegna, InSite takes on role of managing Tegna’s towers
Last week, InSite Wireless Group, one of the largest privately-owned tower and wireless infrastructure companies in the U.S., announced the expansion of its broadcast tower portfolio by entering into a management agreement with Tegna Inc., a TV broadcast group, to provide operational support as well as marketing services for Tegna’s wholly owned broadcast towers. However, at the time, it’s not known if …
The Wall Street party for tower owners may be ending leads Fast-Forward Friday articles
Article Media For tower owners, the Wall Street party may be ending Light Reading FCC set hearing for St. Louis AMs allegedly controlled by convicted felon Inside Radio How Eco-Site plans to benefit from the rush to build 5G infrastructure The News & Observer FCC proposes new rules to govern communications at multiple tenant buildings The National Law Review “This …
