After a number of Sirius XM customers complained to the satellite radio company last year that they were losing their radio signal in some urban markets, Sirius did some drive-by tests and said they found the guilty party, T-Mobile. The company said T-Mobile was interrupting its service to the point that it was “alarmingly severe, extensive and frequent,” but T-Mobile …
Ski area communications plan delayed by AT&T and others says lawsuit counterclaim
American Tower Corporation has filed counterclaims against Aspen Skiiing in regards to a $21 million project to improve service for four ski areas in Colorado. Aspen Skiing filed a lawsuit in July against American to break the contract the businesses had entered into in 2014. According to an article in the Aspen Daily News, American Tower in a March letter …
Deceased tower techs’ signatures were forged to falsely state they were W-9 contractors
A U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Administrative Law Judge has found that a Louisiana tower erector’s owners, during a hearing to vacate a $7,000 Serious OSHA fine received following the death of two of the company’s workers in 2013, purposely misled the court, fraudulently altered documents and were deceitful in a number of representations, and he denied their …
SBA Communications’ ‘improper accounting’ whistleblower act charge is denied by court
A U.S. District Court judge has denied a former SBA Communications employee the right to sue under the Florida Whistleblower Act (FWA) since the alleged request for her to create false assets was not a company policy, but the court will hear her remaining three discrimination complaints filed in Palm Beach County, Fla. On October 7, 2014, former SBA employee …
Lawsuit win sees contractor’s claim doubled and ownership of 32 towers up for grabs
A court decision requiring the owners of tower consolidator Horizon Towers of Marblehead, Mass. to have 32 of their towers “liquidated and distributed or otherwise used to satisfy the creditors of debtor Eastern Towers, Inc.,” also awarded Timberline Construction of Canton double its owed $264,774 for new site builds due to an unfair or deceptive act. The open market will …
April Fools’ news caught many off guard including site’s server
April Fools’ Day is the Super Bowl Sunday for internet pranks, and since it’s not common for wireless infrastructure media to join in, Wireless Estimator thought it might be something that could work. It did. In fact, so much so, that after a news bulletin was sent out to over 27,000 subscribers yesterday with bogus, but believable article headlines, the …
American Tower takes AT&T to court and wins a $132 million judgment
American Tower Corporation stood behind a New Jersey construction manager who used a creative approach to comply with an AT&T program manager’s directive on a new monopole cell site’s location, while suffering with hurt feelings, and was awarded $132 million by a Sloatsburg, Tex. jury today. In a statement issued by the Boston-based tower owner following the verdict, the company said, …
Goodman Networks lays off 340 as construction managers’ lawsuit advances
Following a layoff of workers in December, Goodman Networks, a family-owned end-to-end wireless network deployment firm, let go an additional 340 employees on March 10, 2015, according to information reviewed by Wireless Estimator. It is not known, however, whether the downsizing was necessary due to a cutback in AT&T’s capex since a company spokesperson said Monday that Goodman Networks will …
Competitive spirit can be cutthroat in leasehold ground wars of towercos
Although the nation’s major tower owners present a public face of spirited friendly competition and collective initiatives to ensure worker safety, when it comes to protecting their interests it can be a no holds barred battle between them to keep their most valuable assets, their long-term leases. One clash got so nasty that the counter-complainant wanted a leasehold aggregator’s executives …
Five years later, SCOTUS settles T-Mobile’s siting dispute with Georgia city
The United States Supreme Court gave a wake-up call to municipalities today as to how government agencies must inform wireless carriers, tower owners and the siting community at large when they reject a tower construction request. In its 6-3 ruling the Justices said that local governments like Roswell, Ga., that is at the center of the case must provide a …
After two years of sparring, KSMQ settles tower collapse claim
When KSMQ-TV’s tower collapsed on Sept. 5, 2012 in Austin, Minn. during a severe wind and rain storm, the public television station turned to their insurance carrier to assist them in covering their anticipated cost of $620,000 to replace their 444-foot tall guyed tower. Then The Hanover Insurance Group threw them a curve ball, stating that they weren’t going to …
