Deeply concerned about the unsustainable state of wireless contracting, company executives provided 328 optional comments in Wireless Estimator’s extensive survey that was unveiled today. Armed with anonymity, it’s not possible to verify the accuracy of their statements. But it’s clear that their comments, in most cases, were well-thought-out summaries of the difficulties they are facing as carrier capex cuts, extended …
National Wireless Safety Alliance announces Board of Governors leadership appointments
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) has announced that Jim Coleman, National Tower Safety Manager at AT&T, and Paul Roberts, Vice President of Compliance at American Tower Corporation, have been appointed to serve as Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively, of the organization’s Board of Governors. NWSA also announced that J. John Barker, Partner of Barker MacEntee PLLC, Richard Cullum, Director of …
Mobile infrastructure industry pioneers honored at WIA Hall of Fame ceremony
Five titans of technology were honored last night in Washington by the Wireless Infrastructure Association during its inaugural Mobile Infrastructure Industry Hall of Fame ceremony. The ceremony honored trailblazers who have shaped the wireless infrastructure landscape. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai delivered opening remarks. The five inductees were Neville R. Ray, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of T-Mobile; Steven E. Bernstein, founder …
Industry’s first-ever influential contractor survey’s deadline is October 10
Make your company’s concerns count As wireless contractors are acutely aware, contractor firms in the industry have experienced trends that have seen payment terms go from 30 days to 60 days, and now are settling in at 90 to 120 days, placing an undue financial burden on contractor companies. It’s not whether these terms could potentially compromise safety and hinder …
FCC chief takes off his tie to be tied off to appreciate the disciplines and exhausting work of a tower tech
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai today experienced climbing a communications tower during a site visit near De Beque, Colo. The tour was facilitated by representatives from the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE), SBA Communications and EasTex Tower, LLC. The visit was a part of Chairman Pai’s road trip across Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado to highlight how …
Verizon’s ‘Bubba’ remark angering community is first in dozens of Fast-Forward Friday articles
Fast-Forward Friday is Wireless Estimator’s latest news offering that provides an overview of relevant industry news stories presented during the week by other media that were not covered by our staff, along with a link to the article to go upstream and read it in its entirety. After all, the articles’ authors did all the heavy lifting, and capsuling their content and …
Nation takes a deep dive into contractor obstacles threatening 5G with industry supported survey
Wireless contractors have recently raised the distinct possibility that due to what they identify as ‘onerous’ payment terms and other issues created by carriers and tower owners, the industry could see a shakeout, and all of the recent successful legislative moves to speed up the implementation of 5G in America could be stymied as cash flow problems keep contractors from …
Crown’s Q2 is all good news; ATC and SBA show some weaknesses
The nation’s big three publicly traded tower companies have released second quarter earnings this month and spent time with analysts on their calls, highlighting marked improvement in some areas and offering encouragement of what they believe will be increased revenues as 5G is rolled out. There were also some less than encouraging summaries within their reports, but the Street shrugged them …
Monopole paint job gets too up close and personal with 132 cars
Some contractors that have been painting towers for years might have painted something other than the intended structure due to an unexpected gust of wind or a wand or other spray rig malfunction, but an Iowa contractor last month tallied 132 reasons why you shouldn’t trust Mother Nature. A crew from TeleWinCom Inc. painted an SBA Communications monopole off of …
Vertical Bridge’s collection chances increase with iHeartMedia bankruptcy court action
Vertical Bridge, one of bankrupt iHeartMedia’s largest unsecured creditors, might have a better chance at securing its past due lease revenues following a filing from iHeartMedia’s unsecured creditors to a Texas bankruptcy judge on Monday that could affect the media giant’s creditors’ Chapter 11 recoveries. The committee of unsecured creditors want to prosecute and settle claims based upon allegations that many …
Towerco financial support of wireless workers accelerates with a ‘buck a tower’ sponsors
The Tower Family Foundation (TTF), a 501c-3 non-profit, today recognized the updated support of tower owner/vertical solutions provider companies who are donors to the organization’s “$1 Per Tower” fundraising campaign with towercos Cellcom, Performance Development Group, Ltd. and Vogue Towers joining the inaugural list of donor firms participating in the capital campaign. The “$1 Per Tower” effort involves firms who …
Settlement of $4.25 million to a first responder’s family after telecom tower collapse
The family of a Nutter Fort, W. Virg. firefighter was awarded a $4.25 million settlement agreed to by the Harrison County Court System yesterday. The resolved lawsuit and details from the defendant’s bankruptcy also bring into question whether better vetting of a contractor could have prevented his death. Michael Garrett was responding to a tower collapse on Feb. 1, 2014 when the …
TIRAP elects new leadership group with SBA’s Sams at the helm
The Executive Board of the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP) announced today that David Sams, Vice President of Risk Management with SBA Communications, was elected Chairperson of the group. Paul Roberts, Vice President of Compliance for American Tower Corp., was elected Vice-Chairperson, and Beau Aero, President and Founder of GME Supply, was elected Secretary. Former Chairman Scott Kisting was …
‘Un-towerco’ says there will be some pain with a T-Mobile/Sprint merger
If the marriage of Sprint and T-Mobile is approved by regulators, the majority opinion of towerco executives at Connect (X) in Charlotte, N.C. last week was that business would still be robust. Jay Brown, President and CEO of Crown Castle, said during the View From the Top presentation, “It will almost be irrelevant how many carriers we have.” He said …
SBA’s Ciarfella joins National Wireless Safety Alliance Board of Directors
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today that Mark Ciarfella, Executive Vice President – U.S. Operations at SBA Communications Corporation, has been appointed to serve on the organization’s Board of Directors. The NWSA leadership made the announcement from the Wireless Infrastructure Association’s 2018 Connectivity Expo which is taking place this week in Charlotte, N.C. The NWSA, headquartered in Fairfax, …
Bet on the Sprint/T-Mobile mega merger wounding towercos
If the proposed T-Mobile and Sprint merger announced Sunday is approved by federal regulators, both companies said that they expect the marriage creating the nation’s second largest carrier would be sometime in July 2019. However, it’s been identified by the carriers that fully combining the companies is another three to four years, possibly longer. Displaying their lack of fundamental industry …
T-Mobile and Sprint agree to merge creating severe competition for rival AT&T
After years of negotiations, T-Mobile and Sprint announced today that they have finally agreed to tie the knot and will merge in an all-stock transaction of 9.75 Sprint shares for each T-Mobile US share. Based upon Friday’s closing share prices this represents a value of approximately $59 billion for Sprint and approximately $146 billion for the combined company. The new company will …
American Tower and SBA paint a rosy picture for 2018
American Tower Corp (ATC) and SBA Communications (SBA) informed analysts during their earnings calls this week that higher build levels and increased carrier capex are expected in 2018, supporting above average industry growth. “First, we anticipate that our core U.S. tower market will enjoy strong tenant demand in 2018 and beyond,” said ATC CEO James Taiclet, Jr. yesterday. “Based on …
SBA Communications sets deeper tower roots in El Salvador
Millicom International Cellular S.A. (“Millicom”) has announced that its subsidiary Telemovil El Salvador S.A. de C.V. (“Tigo El Salvador”) has agreed to sell up to 800 wireless communications towers to a subsidiary of SBA Communications Corporation (“SBA”) in El Salvador. As a result of the transaction, Tigo El Salvador will receive approximately $145 million in cash. Additionally, the two companies …
AT&T and Verizon threaten the big three towercos with a new Tillman 200 tower scheme
In a move clearly positioned as a threat to major tower owners to lower their lease rates, AT&T, Verizon and Tillman Infrastructure announced a joint agreement today to build hundreds of cell towers, with the potential for significantly more new site locations in the future. Last year during an investors conference, Bill Hogg, AT&T’s president of technology operations, said that …
