Bay Communications III LLC of Mansfield, Massachusetts wants to erect a 120-foot monopole on 182 Camden Street in Rockland, Maine and has had to resort to asking a federal court to find the city and its planning board in contempt of court for failing to follow through on a negotiated settlement reached in a November 12, 2020 U.S. District Court …
Illinois county’s ‘storage facility’ zoning language leads to AT&T lawsuit
AT&T filed a complaint in the Southern District of Illinois against the Monroe County, Illinois’ Board of Zoning Appeals and Board of Commissioners for their alleged “unlawful denial of a wireless communications facility siting request” in violation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as well as state and local laws. The carrier claims that the Act “preempts State and local decisions that …
Mediacom accuses West Des Moines of making secret $50 million fiber deal with Google
West Des Moines, Iowa approved a $50 million project to build a fiber network under the city and then secretly worked out a deal to give Google Fiber exclusive access to the conduit network, according to a lawsuit filed by MCC Iowa LLC, a subsidiary of Mediacom Communications Corporation. The complaint against the city and the West Des Moines City …
Google accused of search monopoly in landmark antitrust lawsuit brought by the DOJ
The Justice Department today filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google that says the most popular search website abused its dominance over smaller competitors. Justice Department attorneys and Republican led States Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indian, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Montana accuse Google of illegally using its monopoly power to suppress competition and hurt consumers through exclusionary deals like the one …
FCC chief lauds the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for their denial of a stay of the FCC 6GHz order
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai took to Twitter today with two thumbs up after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied emergency stays sought by AT&T and others of the the FCC’s decision to open the 6GHz ban for unlicensed WiFi. The FCC passed an order in April to open the band which is primarily used by broadcasters, …
FCC fines Sandwich Isles and its founder $50 million for fraud
The Federal Communications Commission has fined Sandwich Isles Communications, Waimana Enterprises, and Albert S.N. Hee of Hawaii $49,598,488 for violations of Universal Service Fund program rules that resulted in millions of dollars in improper payments. The agency issued the Notice of Apparent Liability in 2016. However, the fine might be more emblematic than enforceable against Hee, 67, who appears to …
After five-year legal battle, Berkeley must end extra radiation warning requirement
A federal judge ruled last week that Berkeley, California cannot require cell phone retailers to warn customers about the possible radiation dangers from holding phones close to their bodies, a conclusion that was largely based upon the FCC’s assessment that the warnings are unneeded and would be injurious to business. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen wrote in an 18-page order …
Family of man killed in Missouri TV tower collapse sues structure’s owner and design engineer
The family of the owner of a tall tower erection company killed when a 1,891-foot TV tower collapsed near Fordland, Missouri in 2018 has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Missouri State University Board of Governors (MSU) and South Carolina-based Tower Consultants, Inc. (TCI) who contracted with MSU to retrofit their structure as part of the FCC’s repacking effort. Steve Lemay, …
Feds want dangerous Florida contractor to be kept off streets while awaiting retrial
Prosecutors informed a Virginia federal judge Tuesday that a former government fiber optic design and installation firm contractor also providing cell site services is a danger to his Florida community and should remain in jail. They said the defendant in a $16 million fraud case has a “proven record of violence, threats, obstruction,” and failed to abide by previous court …
Site developer sues over towers of Madison County rejection
In the 1995 movie Bridges of Madison County, Merrill Streep and Clint Eastwood fell in love at the Roseman covered bridge in rural Winterset, Iowa. A quarter-century later, AT&T and FirstNet wanted to erect a 300-foot guyed tower four miles away in an agricultural area that required cell phone coverage. However, Madison County’s board of adjustment on August 4 wasn’t …
Judge rules that a Massachusetts city was correct in denying ExteNet’s poles over power concerns
In a ruling yesterday, US District Court Judge Allison Burroughs dismissed a lawsuit by ExteNet Systems against the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts and its Pole and Conduit Commission over the commission’s decision to reject five of the ExteNet’s proposed small cell wireless installations in the city because its applications did not specify how the company would power the wireless devices …
Sprint and T-Mobile settle Manhattan $2 million townhouse damage claim in a New York minute
Justice is said to be blind but no one ever said it was fast, especially in the COVID-19 era where lawsuits are causing the wheels of justice to move at glacial speeds. So a lawsuit that was filed by homeowners in June against Sprint and T-Mobile alleging that they installed 5G antennas on a Manhattan penthouse that caused damage to …
Court will ask two to untangle why crew lead wasn’t paid overtime
A Park Hill, Oklahoma crew leader has filed a lawsuit stating that a staffing firm stiffed him because his employer refused to pay for overtime work and would not reimburse him for expenses he incurred while building 4G installations for AT&T. Michael Dobbs, who filed his lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma last Thursday, …
Delay denied in Windstream’s false ad campaign trial against Charter
New York Southern District Bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Drain refused yesterday to delay the start of a bench trial over what he can order Charter Communications to pay for false advertising over rival Windstream Holdings’ Chapter 11 filing last year. Today, Judge Drain is scheduled to hear Counts Vl and VII of Windstream’s complaint. In those counts, Windstream is seeking …
T-Mobile wacked with a $14 million contract lawsuit over stolen franchise agreement
In a lawsuit filed Friday, a former Illinois T-Mobile franchise owner who will be released from a federal prison halfway house on June 10 after serving almost two years on a tax evasion conviction, is alleging that his former business partner and a T-Mobile account manager cost him $14 million because they stole business contracts that T-Mobile should have known …
Judge’s T-Mobile merger okay expected to boost construction spending
A federal judge today ruled in favor of T-Mobile’s takeover of Sprint in a deal that would combine the nation’s third- and fourth-largest wireless carriers and create a new telecommunications giant to take on rivals AT&T and Verizon. United States District Court Judge Victor Marrero’s decision in Manhattan, was announced regarding the lawsuit filed in June by attorneys general from …
DOJ says States thwarting T-Mobile deal disrupts U.S. merger policy as T-Mobile asks court to move forward
State officials will “wreak havoc” on companies’ ability to merge if they disagree with federal regulators and block deals on their own as 10 states are trying to do with the T-Mobile/Sprint marriage, the chief antitrust official of the Justice Department said during a speech to the Media Institute in Washington D.C. yesterday. Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim’s surprising swipe at …
T-Mobile axing its projects led a baker’s dozen top news stories during 2019
The top stories in 2019, according to Wireless Estimator readership analytics, followed previous years’ subject matter favorites based upon the site’s in depth and exclusive articles as well as its comprehensive coverage of industry fatalities. T-Mobile’s unexpected new build cancellations in August came in first with 41,362 views. However, a Crosby product recall in November for certain 7/8” shackles surprised …
No reason given after an expected slam dunk Mississippi site approval gets denied
Verizon Wireless was barred from erecting a sorely-needed cell tower in the southern part of Jackson, Mississippi, after a single resident raised concerns about RF dangers and the aesthetic value of a 150-foot monopole, according to a lawsuit filed by Verizon against the Jackson City Council for violating the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (TCA). In the complaint, Verizon said that …
Court documents state luxury hotel’s AT&T coverage should be excellent even with one bar
The Court of Appeals of the Second District of Texas at Fort Worth has upheld the ditching of an injunction caused by a wireless leasing dispute that blocked the owner of the historic Fort Worth Sinclair building’s rooftop renovation that included a bar for the reconverted office building that will open next month as a luxury Marriott Art Deco hotel. …
