When Rowlett, Tex. officials found out in March that they had constructed a police communications 325-foot tower on a neighbor’s plot of land and not city property, they fixed the error, as reported by Wireless Estimator, by paying $478,000 additional to buy the adjoining lot. Otherwise, they would have incurred a $400,000 penalty for not having the tower constructed to …
Response time to rescue tower tech was way too long claims caller
Update: June 14, 2017 – According to tower technician Jake Caldwell of Avon, Ind., he had been on the tower and had a mishap with a grinder and cut his arm pretty badly. “Upon hearing my screams, one of my buddies on the ground came up and rescued me. All in all it took seven minutes to get me from tower …
Profitable range of reimbursable repacking costs offered contractors, engineers, suppliers
Full power and Class A Broadcasters that have been reassigned to new channels must submit their reimbursement estimates for their repacking costs by July 12 using a form released Thursday by the FCC. The stations must include engineering, legal, equipment, installation, and other costs reasonably incurred to complete a required channel change. And for those participants in the repacking efforts, …
Repack is kick-started after FCC’s auction results are unveiled
T-Mobile, Dish Network and Comcast were the top bidders in the incentive spectrum auction for 70 MHz of airwaves, according to an FCC announcement that will now jumpstart the nation’s long-awaited repacking efforts. The Commission now commences a 39-month transition period to move broadcast stations to new channel assignments. The first group of stations to move channels is scheduled for …
U.S. adds 449 broadcast stations in first quarter, mostly low power FM
According to newly released statistics by the FCC, the nation saw an addition of 449 broadcast stations, the majority being 246 low power FM stations as of March 31, 2017. Low Power FM (LPFM) radio stations are authorized for noncommercial educational and public safety and transportation broadcasting only and operate with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100 watts (0.1 kilowatts) …
RFS and International Towers partner to provide turnkey repack solutions
Radio Frequency Systems (RFS), a global designer and manufacturer of cable, antenna and tower systems, has announced a partnership with International Towers Incorporated (ITI), a licensed general contractor with over 30 years of experience supporting the national broadcasting industry. Together, the two companies will offer a turnkey equipment and installation solution which will enable broadcasters preparing for the U.S. broadcast …
Public broadcasting stations take a huge hit in Trump’s budget lite
President Donald Trump’s proposed 2018 budget cuts, released late last week, left the wireless industry basically unscathed except for some cuts to rural broadband efforts that are said to be duplicated elsewhere. But the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) took a huge hit on President Trump’s wish list, losing $445 million, which could result in a number of rural stations …
Broadcast repack video is truly a must see for all tower techs
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) released a Broadcast Repack safety video during the NATE UNITE 2017 Keynote Luncheon sponsored by T-Mobile. The timely video is the second to debut as part of Volume 2 of the NATE Climber Connection series and coincides with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently concluding the bidding phase of its historic incentive auction, …
Broadcaster taunts American Tower who could easily pull the plug on its stations
UPDATE: March 10, 2017 – A Jackson Hole, Wyo. Broadcaster most likely doesn’t agree with the cautionary idiom of not biting the hand that feeds you. Radio stations KMTN, KZ95, KJAX and KID broadcast from American Tower’s towers and the stations’ owner was given until March 8 to either pay ATC over $500,000 it owed in back lease payments or negotiate a …
FCC chief appoints a new top cop and other staff leaders
Michael Carowitz, who has been deputy chief of the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, was named by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai as his acting chief of the Enforcement Bureau, which had been headed by Travis LeBlanc. FCC observers expected that LeBlanc would be replaced since Pai has oftentimes complained about the enforcement group’s management. The enforcement bureau is the …
The U.S. ends the year with 1,365 additional broadcast stations
According to the FCC’s latest report, ending Dec. 31, 2016, there were 15 fewer AM broadcast stations in the past year. However, there has been an increase of 1,365 broadcast stations during 2016. FM commercial stations added 45 to their ranks with the nation’s count totaling 6,746, compared to an AM station total of 4,669. (View full details below) Commercial TV …
‘Cocoon’ allows a 24-hour work day on ESB antenna installation
Empire State Realty Trust has announced another innovation at the Empire State Building (ESB) where a new project is underway to install a new auxiliary Master FM Radio antenna on its famed tower. An innovative, protective construction cocoon at the base of ESB’s antenna tower has avoided impact on day-to-day operations of the building. The cocoon extends the once limited …
Arsonist identified who tried to blow up New Mexico towers
Authorities are closer to arresting a suspected arsonist, who attempted to knock out more than a dozen broadcast towers on Sandia Peak in Albuquerque, N.M. earlier this month with many gallon-sized Molotov cocktails. Numerous local and federal government agencies are co-located on the structures or maintain their own towers. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office has identified a suspect and has …
ERI and T-Mobile deal for crews and facilities puts 39-month repack deadline closer to being met
A partnership between Electronics Research, Inc. (ERI) and T-Mobile will give the Indiana antenna manufacturer the ability to ramp up materials and accelerate antenna production capacity by 800% before the end of the year in anticipation of the end of the FCC broadcast incentive auctions. ERI said it will begin production of antennas, and installation crews will be available immediately after …
As new tower is built following Texas plane crash, NTSB releases a report on its findings
After a tower crew on Monday set the base section of a new 815’ guyed tower for KCBD after a single engine plane crashed into and collapsed the former Lubbock Tex. structure on February 4, 2015, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) coincidentally released the findings of their investigation. The NTSB’s factual report said Doctor Mike Rice’s plane’s propeller nose …
Broadcasters will hear about the consequences of the FCC’s incentive auction
Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. will participate in a featured presentation about the incentive auction at the NAB Show Broadcasting Engineering Conference on Tues., April 19, 2016, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. PT at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Shane O’Donoghue, Director of Broadcasting for Empire State Building, will speak on the Consequences of the Incentive Auction for Broadcasters as part …
Four-tower $75-million deal still on hold as developer grapples with NIMBY group
Update: June 24, 2020 — In a formal announcement on June 24, 2020, Cumulus confirmed that it has closed on the sale of its parcel of land in Bethesda to Toll Brothers. It’s a $74.1 million deal that is expected to generate proceeds of $71.3 million. Residents impacted by the proposed sale of a 75-acre Bethesda, Md. tract that is the home …
Successful collapse of 48 VOA towers brings back memories of a decade ago disaster
Controlled Demolition, Inc., a world-renowned demolition company, had another successful implosion Monday when it knocked down, almost domino style, 48 unused Voice of America radio towers in Beaufort County, N.C. Using 10,000 feet of detonating chord, Project Manager Tom Doud told WITN that “It was spot-on picture perfect.” But almost ten years ago another planned demolition went terribly wrong when …
A bright future predicted for wireless work by leading industry experts at NATE UNITE 2016
As three leading industry experts gazed into their crystal balls Tuesday during their NATE UNITE 2016 presentation, “The Future of the Wireless Industry,” their consensus indicated a robust build program that could last for more than a decade. However, Clayton Funk of Media Venture Partners, Christopher Fisher, Cuddy & Feder LLP; and Robert Paige, Vertical Bridge, cautioned National Association of …
Wireless workforce and supplier requirements for 2016 continue to be mostly upbeat
To project whether 2016 will be a banner, bust or somewhere-in-between year for wireless construction, and service and supplier providers, one has to simply search for the devil or angel that’s always in the details. Unfortunately, conflicting details and limited industry information clouds accurate projections. But the industry overall appears to be still creating jobs and there should be a robust …
