The Tower Family Foundation has announced that Board of Directors’ members Kenny Blakeslee, Patrick Murphy, and Mark Muzzana were appointed by their peers to serve on the non-profit organization’s Executive Committee for the 2026 term. Kenny Blakeslee, Founder and CEO of Apex Site Solutions in Elk Gove, California, was appointed to serve as President of the Board of Directors; Patrick …
Turnkey telecom TriStruX shuts down — subcontractors and vendors owed substantial sums
Multiple vendors at last month’s NATE UNITE 2026 gathering said the same thing: TriStruX’s wireless division was behind on substantial payments and running out of runway. With mounting debt owed to subcontractors and suppliers nationwide, many expected the Clifton, New Jersey–based company to shut down. Less than two weeks later, it did so with a tombstone message on its website. …
Nearly $65B, 158,500 towers, and a shrinking workforce: What WIA’s 2025 ‘By the Numbers’ reveals
The Wireless Infrastructure Association’s fourth annual By the Numbers report documents a sector investing heavily in 5G, AI, and fixed wireless — but with a workforce that contracted by more than 26,000 jobs in a single year, raising serious questions about the pipeline of workers needed to build what comes next. The Wireless Infrastructure Association released its 2025 Wireless Infrastructure …
Pay the towercos, crews and vendors first: Think tank tells FCC to hold EchoStar’s $40 billion until everyone is paid
The Bull Moose Project has filed with the FCC, arguing that approving EchoStar’s spectrum sales without an escrow to pay unpaid contractors, vendors and tower companies would betray American workers, and poison every future wireless buildout. The conservative think tank has entered the fight over EchoStar’s $40-plus billion spectrum selloff, telling the FCC it should not approve the deals until …
The DISH default crisis: How EchoStar’s spectrum exit could endanger the wireless tower ecosystem
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) commissioned The Brattle Group to assess the economic fallout from DISH’s contract defaults — and the findings warn of rent hikes up to 10.7%, slower 5G and 6G deployment, and destabilized smaller tower companies, with consequences that ultimately reach every American wireless subscriber. In late 2025, DISH Wireless LLC declared its long-term master lease agreements …
Teltronic Towers leaders join tech CEOs at White House AI summit on reducing power costs
Jeff Tinio and Ray Williams of NATE member company Teltronic Towers were invited to attend President Donald Trump’s Data Center and Artificial Intelligence event at the White House last week, highlighting the growing role communications infrastructure companies play in supporting the rapid expansion of AI and cloud computing. According to Deloitte’s 2024 Telecommunications Industry Outlook, the rapid growth of artificial …
A 6,000 macro tower build could kick off the next U.S. rural infrastructure cycle
Building roughly 6,000 new macro towers—about 1,200 per year—would equal five to six years of typical U.S. tower construction and could extend 5G coverage to roughly 99% of Americans, according to T-Mobile CTO John Saw. The buildout would close most remaining rural coverage gaps but would not end macro tower construction, which would likely continue at a slower pace as …
OSHA waits until the eleventh hour to cite Trace Wireless after a 50‑foot fall killed their tower tech
Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration enforcement records recently published show the agency cited internet service provider Trace Wireless, LLC, with three “Serious” safety violations connected to the July 14, 2025, tower fatality that killed 46‑year‑old Calvin Wayne Sellars in Trinity County, Texas. The citations were issued January 14, 2026, and carried a total proposed penalty of $14,895 ($4,965 each). …
Carriers made promises to the FCC, but contractors are still waiting to be made whole
For the first time in recent memory, contractors working on America’s wireless infrastructure have commitments from AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. These agreements address pricing, payment terms, audit practices, and the use of unlicensed crews that industry leaders say have long suppressed wages and undercut legitimate businesses. Although they are not binding, the agreements, secured over fourteen months by NATE: The …
Beyond wall thickness: What ANDREW will explain at NATE UNITE 2026 for optimal performance
One of the more technical discussions scheduled for NATE UNITE 2026 will focus on a structural detail that is often simplified in telecom construction: the relationship between wall thickness, material grade, and real-world performance. During the session “Beyond the Wall: Understanding Material Grades for Optimal Performance” on Monday, February 23, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in rooms 204-206, ANDREW …
Industry veteran Bernard Borghei launches Connected Infra Group with $1 billion backing from TPG Peppertree
Bernard Borghei, one of the wireless infrastructure industry’s most recognized executives, is back with a new platform — and this time he comes armed with serious capital. TPG Peppertree has committed up to $1 billion to Connected Infra Group, a South Florida-based telecom and technology infrastructure company founded by Borghei focused on owning, operating, and managing telecommunications real estate assets, …
Vertical Bridge, the 4th largest towerco, secures $1.94B in tower financing, approaching SBA’s $2.07B record
Although Vertical Bridge’s $1.94 billion may be the largest single-tranche tower securitization in the industry, SBA Communications raised $2.07 billion on the same day in October 2024 through two separate series, making it the industry’s largest single-closing total. Vertical Bridge, the nation’s largest privately held cell tower company, closed its $1.94 billion asset-backed securitization on February 13, 2026, backed …
Crown Castle to cut tower and corporate workforce by 20% as DISH fallout accelerates restructuring
Crown Castle’s first earnings report since outlining its transition to a “pure-play” tower operator delivered a sharp reset for employees and investors alike: the company said it will reduce its tower and corporate workforce by approximately 20%, tying the move to both its post-fiber operating model and the sudden loss of expected activity tied to DISH Wireless following the carrier’s …
Participation invited as Midwest Wireless Summit sets sail for its inaugural launch in Kansas City this August
A new regional gathering aimed at strengthening collaboration across the communications infrastructure ecosystem is preparing for its debut this summer, as organizers advance plans for the inaugural Midwest Wireless Summit, scheduled for August 17 through 19, 2026, in Kansas City. MO. Registration, sponsorships, accommodations, and panel discussions are available here. The event is being developed by members of the Midwest …
Net-90 terms surface as Verizon falls short on multiple commitments to the FCC and infrastructure contractors
Commentary — When Verizon submitted a letter to the Federal Communications Commission on May 15, 2025, it appeared—on paper—to mark a meaningful shift in how the nation’s largest wireless carrier would treat the contractors responsible for building and maintaining its network. Among the most significant commitments outlined in that filing was Verizon’s agreement to move to 30-day payment terms, a …
Verizon’s 4Q momentum supports ongoing tower and fiber work, with continued pressure on margins
Verizon’s fourth-quarter earnings, released Friday, delivered more than a financial beat—they offered several signals that matter directly to macro tower owners and the contractors who build, upgrade, and maintain Verizon’s network. Strong subscriber momentum, continued fiber expansion, and steady capital spending point to sustained field activity in 2026, even as the carrier maintains pressure on efficiency and cost control. The …
What AT&T’s 4Q results likely mean for macro tower owners and infrastructure contractors
AT&T’s fourth-quarter results and conference call yesterday were marketed as a fiber-and-convergence story. Still, the call also contained several macro-tower tells: continued wireless network modernization, spectrum deployment, and a multi-year service-revenue growth outlook that can’t be delivered without sustained macro performance. CEO John Stankey framed AT&T’s strategy as a durable blend of fiber and wireless, calling the convergence model “a …
Tower company executives urge FCC Chairman Carr to require escrow funds to cover Dish’s infrastructure debts
Executives from the nation’s largest tower companies and wireless infrastructure trade association met with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr earlier this month to press for conditions on EchoStar’s multibillion-dollar spectrum transactions, according to an FCC ex parte filing submitted by the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA). A January 12, 2026 termination notice sent by DISH Wireless to tower site lessors, asserting that …
Fern’s ice loading strains power and backhaul, towers remain upright under design standards
A January 26, 2026, Communications Status Report issued by the Federal Communications Commission provides a nationwide snapshot of how communications networks performed as Winter Storm Fern moved across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. The report is based on carrier submissions through the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS), which the FCC activated and expanded as freezing rain and ice spread into additional …
Transmission line theft at SC site under investigation as authorities probe damage to one or more towers
The Florence County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) is seeking public assistance in an investigation involving the theft of copper-bearing transmission line from a communications site at 2423 Walker-Swinton Road in Florence County, SC, where authorities say two individuals damaged and removed coaxial cable used to transmit radio signals to antennas. The site contains two guyed communications towers—one standing 620 feet tall …
