NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association announced that it has been selected by the U.S. Department of Labor – OSHA to receive a $160,000 Susan Harwood Targeted Topic Training Grant for the 2022-2023 program year. The Susan Harwood Training Grant Program awards grants to nonprofit organizations competitively. Awards are issued annually based on Congressional appropriation. The new curriculum to be …
NATE, American Tower Corporation and MILLERCO Host U.S. Senator Roger Wicker
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association and member companies American Tower Corporation and MILLERCO hosted U.S. Senator Roger Wicker on a communications tower site visit in Gulfport, Mississippi yesterday. Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes also attended the event. During the site visit, Senator Wicker and Mayor Hewes toured the communications tower compound with event participants to learn about all the on-site …
Offering no standards guidance, CWA says safety bulletin ‘threat’ has the tone of an ‘irate boss’
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) Tower Climbers Union has jumped on the carabiner bandwagon of concern regarding a recent NATE advisory bulletin on July 20, 2022, that stated, “Carabiners are NOT intended for rigging applications involving material handling and overhead lifting,” after a LinkedIn article said that the ANSI A10.48 standard allows carabiners to be used if they are “specifically classified by the manufacturer …
Use of a carabiner for load lifting provided varied responses but client requirements still reign
NATE’s July 20, 2022 industry advisory bulletin that carabiners are not intended for rigging applications involving material handling and overhead lifting saw a slew of Facebook comments in the past six days that had some posters defending the use of carabiners for those purposes that are largely prohibited by major tower owners whose structures tower techs are erecting or providing …
Tribute to tower technicians in a new NATE video is a well-deserved acknowledgement of their importance
Tower technicians are undeniably the indispensable linchpins that keep America’s communications networks operating. Without them, everything falls apart, and NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association has released a new, animated whiteboard video that details the truly prominent role they perform in building out and maintaining the country’s wireless networks – from 1G to 5G and beyond. The tribute to the …
‘Fall’ is a 2,000-foot tower thriller dropping in a movie theatre near you
Airplanes, trains, buses and even chainsaws have been unwitting protagonists in horror and thriller movies. An abandoned communications tower has finally reached stardom. Thrillers typically highlight the failures of governments, institutions, and society as a whole. On August 12, Fall, a Lionsgate-distributed feature-length film will most likely not expose the callousness of the owner of a radio tower that abandoned the 2,000-foot …
Biden favoring fiber in $42 billion broadband funding could kick other technologies and contractors to the curb
The Biden administration formally started its $42.45 billion initiative on Friday to bring reliable and affordable high-speed broadband internet to everyone in the U.S. by the end of the 2020s. “In the 21st century, you simply cannot participate in the economy if you don’t have access to reliable, affordable high-speed internet,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who is overseeing the distribution …
They do every day, but especially tomorrow tower techs should walk and climb proudly
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association unveiled a commemoration declaring Wednesday, May 4, 2022 as Tower Technician Appreciation Day. For the sixth consecutive year, a day has been set aside by NATE and the industry to pay tribute to the important work that communications infrastructure technicians conduct daily to enable a connected world. NATE encourages member companies and industry stakeholders …
NATE and OSHA encourage participating in a national safety stand-down next week to prevent construction falls
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association is urging its members and all wireless industry companies and stakeholders to actively participate in next week’s OSHA National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction. NATE and OSHA are requesting that employers set aside time throughout this week to facilitate safety meetings and activities in order to have an open discussion with their …
Nationwide strike of contractors averted after carriers and towercos agree to meaningful concessions
An organized work stoppage action by U.S. wireless contractors that could have exceeded the breadth of economic damage caused by the steel workers strike of 1919, that shut down the nation’s steel industry, was averted yesterday after carriers and tower owners offered concessions to offset untenable matrix pricing being offered for 5G installations. The call to action for a national …
Jason Miller selected to represent NATE on FCC’s Precision Ag Connectivity Working Group
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced appointments of Working Group members to serve on the Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States (Precision Ag Task Force). Jason Miller of Tillman Infrastructure has been appointed to serve on the Precision Ag Task Force Working Group on Examining Current and Future …
Senate Committee clears bill gathering expert advice on 6G
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association commended the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation for voting to advance S. 3014, the Next Generation Telecommunications Act. NATE endorsed the bipartisan Act which was introduced by Senators Cortez Masto (D-NV), Wicker (R-MS), Schumer (D-NY), and Thune (R-SD). This legislation would establish a bipartisan, multi-agency, private sector telecommunications council to advise Congress …
NATE UNITE 2022 bucks the trend of decreased show attendance with 2,619 registrants
For the ninth consecutive year, NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association saw an increase in their annual convention’s attendance at their Las Vegas, NV show last month with 2619 attendees, an increase of over 8% over 2020’s in-person Raleigh, NC event. NATE’s attendance percentage was considerably higher than many shows that recently saw huge drops in visitors such as the …
Key execs believe certified tower technicians will lead the nation’s continuous build programs
Attendees at NATE UNITE 2022 were provided an executive level overview of how field personnel will be taking control of their future as the wireless workforce becomes increasingly dependent upon new skillsets that will be required of technicians. The session, which also identified why companies are motivated to assist in their success, was presented by Mark Ciarfella, EVP, Domestic Operations, …
Win $100 by guessing the number of attendees at NATE UNITE 2022’s record-breaking show
Step back Raleigh, North Carolina and make room for Las Vegas, Nevada as the host of NATE – The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association’s largest attended conference in the association’s 27-year history. The event ended Thursday. In 2020, a record was set with 2,416 registrants. However, this year, according to an early tally that will not be finalized until next Monday, the LED Capital of the …
Dish courts contractors for its wireless build at NATE UNITE 2022
Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen complimented attendees at the NATE UNITE 2022 conference last week for assisting in ensuring that his company’s upcoming 5G stand-alone network will cover 20% of Americans with 5G by a federally mandated June deadline. Recalling the NATE 2020 conference in Raleigh, NC, Ergen said, “We hadn’t built a tower yet, and two years later we’ve …
NATE honors key industry leaders during its 2022 NATE UNITE conference
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association today honored a distinguished group of leaders for their contributions to the organization and industry. The following honorees were presented their awards at the NATE UNITE 2022 Awards Luncheon sponsored by DISH in Las Vegas, Nevada: Bill Carlson Lifetime Service Award Jim Tracy, CEO of Legacy Telecommunications, LLC, was honored as the recipient of …
A ‘better together’ philosophy has Entertech rebranding as Ontivity
At the NATE UNITE Show in Las Vegas this week, Enertech Holdings, a national-scale wireless infrastructure services provider, announced in a launch video shown at the ‘Vertical Freedom’ film premiere, its decision to rebrand as Ontivity. In what may be the trade show’s first ever exhibitor wardrobe change, the company’s booth branded as Enertech Holdings on the opening day of …
NATE climbs to a new record-high number of company memberships
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association announced today that it has established a new all-time record of 1,100 member companies, eclipsing the organization’s previous mark of 1,087 members. The Association made the announcement live from the NATE UNITE 2022 Conference taking place this week in Las Vegas, Nevada. “There is a lot of buzz surrounding this week’s NATE UNITE 2022 …
Jimmy Miller will maintain the helm at NATE assisted by Victor Drouin and Kevin Dougherty
NATE announced today that Board of Directors’ members Jimmy Miller, Victor Drouin and Kevin Dougherty were elected by their peers to serve on the Association’s Executive Committee for the upcoming year. The Association made the announcement on the first day of the NATE UNITE 2022 Conference and Trade Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jimmy Miller, President and CEO of MILLERCO …
