T-Mobile has taken the next step in their merger with Sprint by filing their Public Interest Statement with the FCC emphasizing to regulators that the public will benefit from the merger. In making the announcement, CEO John Legere echoed the ever-popular need to be first with 5G, stating, “If we don’t take decisive, positive action, we risk ceding global leadership …
D.C. Judge’s AT&T-Time Warner merger approval could bode well for T-Mobile-Sprint deal
AT&T is expected to complete its $85 billion purchase of Time Warner in eight days or less as the nation sees a major transformation of the pay-TV landscape after D.C. federal judge Richard Leon ruled this afternoon rejecting the U.S. Department of Justice’s efforts to block the merger. Within minutes of today’s announcement, AT&T General Counsel David McAtee applauded the …
‘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 …
FCC’s 2020 repack deadline is questionable following first year’s bleak build
After assessing the progress of the first 12 months of the broadband repack, and the immense pressure put upon the small cadre of contractors that specialize in tall tower broadcast work, the NAB is again championing the need for the FCC to address what the trade group and tower companies believe is an “unrealistic schedule” and the organization is urging …
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 slapped with a $40 million FCC fine for false network coverage ringtones
T-Mobile has agreed to cough up $40 million to the FCC after the agency accused the company of trying to cover up poor rural cell service with false rings. The settlement also requires the carrier to implement a “compliance plan” to address the issues. It was alleged that T-Mobile was using false ringtones to make it seem like someone just isn’t answering …
Sprint and T-Mobile might believe the third time will be a charm
Sprint Corp has resumed talks to merge with T-Mobile US, according to Reuters, The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets who quoted unnamed sources. The third and fourth largest U.S. wireless carriers, with a combined subscriber base of almost 130 million customers, reportedly restarted talks, in part, to reduce operating network costs as well as share expansion costs. Shares …
AT&T’s small cell ‘rat’s nest’ of cables is needlessly messy says former FCC senior exec
Dr. Michael Marcus, a former forceful proponent of new technology at the FCC for 20 years, who is recognized for getting the FCC to adopt rules for the 60 GHz mmWave bands in 1995, has taken AT&T to task for using a photograph of a small cell in Indianapolis in a Feb. 23 presentation to the FCC that he believes …
Foundation launches ‘$1 Per Tower’ campaign and highlights donors
The Tower Family Foundation today recognized the tower owner/vertical solutions provider companies who are the inaugural donors to the organization’s “$1 Per Tower” fundraising campaign. The “$1 Per Tower” effort involves firms who own and manage vertical communications infrastructure sites and commit to donating $1 for every tower the company owns directly to the Tower Family Foundation. The foundation made …
Thanks to the Women of NATE, Nashville confab is off to a running start
Participants who walked the 3.1 mile loop around the Gaylord Opryland resort, had the opportunity to network and enjoy each other’s company, but for some, their time to finish took precedence and it showed with the first three male finishers being Ross Evans, Anthony Castillo and Jim Murdock. The top three female participants were Heather Delz, Jeanne Piercy and Danielle …
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 …
T-Mobile and Sprint call off their oft-rumored marriage plans; towerco stocks love it
T-Mobile announced that it has ceased talks to merge with Sprint, as the companies were unable to find mutually agreeable terms. “The prospect of combining with Sprint has been compelling for a variety of reasons, including the potential to create significant benefits for consumers and value for shareholders. However, we have been clear all along that a deal with anyone …
Either there’s a shortage of COWs in Puerto Rico or FCC data
In order for Americans to experience a total solar eclipse of the sun on Aug. 21 and record it on their cell phones, carriers rolled out dozens of Cell on Wheels and Cell on Light Trucks for the two-minute event, but can’t seem to provide Puerto Rico with any more than 14 COWs and COLTs, according to FCC data, as …
Towercos headed for some stiff competition with formation of Lendlease Towers
When Lendlease recently entered the U.S. tower market in May with its purchase of Parallel Infrastructure’s 450 towers, it is likely that major tower operators viewed the acquisition as a missed opportunity and another competitive thorn in their rosy future, and possibly shrugged off Lendlease Americas CEO Denis Hickey’s statement that he would expand those holdings. True to his promise, …
Lack of on-site generators, COWs, contributes to Puerto Rico’s still horrendous cell service
After Hurricane Maria’s catastrophic devastation of Puerto Rico’s cell sites, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai directed his staff last week to reach out to American Tower, SBA Communications and Crown Castle “to see how we can work together to address Puerto Rico’s communications needs,” However, according to over a dozen industry professionals interviewed by Wireless Estimator, the answers are already known …
FCC says wireless carriers remain competitive, but not by building new cell sites
Carriers captured high grades for competitiveness, according to the FCC’s Twentieth Mobile Wireless Competition Report, an annual analysis of whether there is effective rate rivalry with wireless operators Although the 34-page report provides a wealth of additional information to support competitiveness, according to Jonathan Adelstein, President and CEO of the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), anybody who has turned on a …
T-Mobile and Sprint marriage announcement is imminent according to romance reports
In February, Reuters broke the news that Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Mobile U.S. was reportedly planning a renewed bid to acquire rival Sprint after a previous reverse attempt was thwarted by regulators. Joined by CNBC, Reuters is again reporting that the romance has fired up again and a deal could be expected by the end of next month. But it’s not …
Carriers’ cell site outages to the FCC will not match their marketing hype
Commentary Although the nation’s four major carriers are reporting cell site outages in affected areas of Hurricane Irma to the FCC, and the Commission is providing daily compilations for a snapshot in time, such as today’s outages in Florida of 13.4%, carrier public relations officials are beginning to spin their hardened site assets at speeds off the Saffir-Simpson scale. On …
Sprint turns around with its first profit in three years
Sprint Corporation today reported operating results for the first quarter, including net income for the first time in three years at $206 million and the highest Adjusted EBITDA in nearly 10 years at $2.9 billion. The news saw its stock soar up over 10% in early morning traiding. The company also reported net operating revenues of $8.2 billion, its fourth …
Carrier CEOs chew on Trump’s ear to clear the path and speed up small cell installations
President Donald Trump offered backing for emerging technologies such as next-generation wireless and unmanned aerial vehicles in a meeting yesterday with the heads of telecom giants AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile, and drone companies such as Trumbull Unmanned as well as venture capitalists and health care providers. Wireless makes some strange bedfellows During the meetings in the East Wing, Trump …
