The Communications Workers of America’s (CWA) Tower Climbers Union published the results of a survey designed by tower technicians Thursday with critical findings showing that their members’ safety is being compromised. The press release announcing the study said more than 65% of technicians have been on a job site where someone has been injured and 4% where someone has been killed, a horrific life-shattering …
Every day the industry appreciates tower technicians, but on May 3 it’s a special occasion
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association unveiled a commemoration declaring today, Wednesday, May 3, 2023, 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 …
NextEdge, NATE, and Clark County School District team up to educate Las Vegas teens on careers in wireless
Clark County School District’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department, in partnership with NextEdge and NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, is thrilled to announce a new program aimed at introducing Las Vegas teens and their families to exciting careers in wireless telecommunications. The STEM Saturday event, part of the Las Vegas Science & Technology Festival, will take place on Saturday, April 29, 2023 from 11am-1pm at …
NATE debuts video highlighting fixed wireless deployments throughout America
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association this week announced the release of a video on Fixed Wireless Deployments. The video, the first to debut in Volume 6 of the Association’s popular #ClimberConnection series, premiered at the 2023 South Wireless Summit in Nashville, Tennessee. The video highlights the importance of Fixed Wireless Deployments to the nation’s goals of closing the digital divide. NATE has …
Eastman, Hester and Pleibel’s compassion and industry insight will help guide the Tower Family Foundation
The Tower Family Foundation announced today three leadership appointments to serve the non-profit organization. Jon Eastman, President of VIKOR, Dr. Bridgette Hester, Adjunct Professor and Researcher, and Chris Pleibel, Vice President at PerfectVision Manufacturing, have been appointed to serve on the Tower Family Foundation Advisory Committee. In their roles as members of the committee, Eastman, Hester, and Pleibel will be …
NATE UNITE 2023 breaks all-time attendee, exhibitor, and sponsor records
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association announced today that the recent NATE UNITE 2023 Conference in Orlando, Florida ascended to record-setting heights. The Association said that 2,843 individuals registered to attend NATE UNITE 2023. The total eclipses the organization’s all-time conference registered attendee total in its 28-year history, exceeding the previous attendance record from last year’s NATE UNITE 2022 in …
Win $100 by guessing the number of attendees at NATE UNITE 2023’s record-breaking Orlando show
Step back Las Vegas and make room for Orlando as the host of NATE – The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association’s largest attended conference in the association’s 28-year history. The event ended last Thursday. In 2022, a record was set with 2,619 registrants, eclipsing Raleigh’s record of 2,146. However, this year, according to an early tally that will not be finalized until Tuesday morning, O-Town …
Astronaut Massimino mesmerizes attendees at NATE UNITE 2023, but insists ground level is his preferred height
Fifty-four years ago, six-year-old Michael Massimino was riveted to his TV as millions of Americans were, as they watched the blurry black-and-white images of a man walking on the moon. On Tuesday, approximately 1,500 industry professionals were also transfixed with admiration, this time on that now-grown man who had lifted off in 2002 and 2009 to service the Hubble Space …
Civil engineering major Emily Wiebe receives NATE’s Ernie Jones memorial scholarship
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association today announced that Emily Wiebe, a junior Civil Engineering major from Mequon, Wisconsin, has been named as the 2023 recipient of the Ernie Jones Memorial Civil Engineering Scholarship at the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana. The official announcement was made at the NATE Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, February 22 during the annual NATE …
Pat Moore is presented with the prestigious Bill Carlson Lifetime Achievement Award, 10 others are honored
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association on Wednesday 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 2023 Awards Luncheon sponsored by DISH in Orlando, Florida: Bill Carlson Lifetime Service Award Pat Moore (Broadcast Construction Services, LLC) Pat Moore, a Navy Vietnam Veteran, has been …
SAC Wireless is the first company to equip all of its tower crews with powered rope ascenders
SAC Wireless, a Nokia Company and leading provider of communication network infrastructure, announced today at NATE UNITE 2023 a nationwide partnership with Ronin Revolution Corp., a developer of power rope ascenders and rescue equipment. The wireless industry’s continued 5G rollout and federal commitment to infrastructure projects have increased the need for skilled technicians to deploy sophisticated communication technology on a …
Victor Drouin is NATE’s new chairman, with leadership support of Randy Scott and Kevin Dougherty
NATE – The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association announced today that Board of Directors’ members Victor Drouin, Randy Scott 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 2023 Conference and Trade Show in Orlando, Florida. Victor Drouin, …
NATE UNITE 2023’s keynote speaker is undeniably unafraid of working at heights
Tower techs, rightfully so, are proud of the heights that they’ve climbed, some being able to put a desirable hash mark on their helmet if they’ve reached the coveted 1,900-foot level. NATE UNITE 2023’s keynote speaker, Mike Massimino, would have a considerably different marking for his helmet, representing he climbed – with an assist from a space shuttle orbiter — …
Wireless industry urges states to allow maximum flexibility in selecting broadband technologies
Today, leading organizations representing the wireless industry sent letters to broadband offices in all US states and territories, urging them to allow for maximum flexibility in choosing the right mix of broadband technologies to meet their policy goals with Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funds. Under the BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), states and territories are required to …
Light years ahead of previously cobbled data, FCC’s new broadband maps will still require severe scrutiny
The FCC has unveiled the pre-production draft of its new broadband maps. These maps provide the best picture of where broadband is unavailable across the country. The maps will only get better from here, according to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The FCC’s older maps collected data at the census block level, meaning that the whole block would show up as served on their …
With powered ascenders more prevalent in the industry, NATE unveils its 2022 white paper guide
NATE: The communications Infrastructure Contractors Association today officially released the 2022 Guide for Powered Ascender Use on Antenna Supporting Structures White Paper. This 10-page document is intended to address the use of Powered Ascenders in conjunction with a fixed synthetic rope for personnel ascending, descending and work positioning on telecommunications structures. There is not a recognized standard in the United …
$160,000 Harwood grant to develop free electrical safety awareness training for telecom workers
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 …
