Two Oklahoma residents received what many consider light sentences after a copper theft that collapsed a 500-foot FM tower and caused more than $500,000 in damage, knocking Payne Media Group’s K95.5 (KITX) off the air in January 2024. Prosecutors said Candice Marie Logan and Matthew Carl Wilson cut a guy-wire at the KITX site near Hugo in the early hours …
Cell tower legal showdown: Developers score wins in two out of three federal siting cases
Three separate rulings in New Hampshire, Virginia, and Florida over the past week have reshaped the legal landscape for wireless infrastructure deployment on the East Coast. From outright victories for developers to partial wins for a local government, the decisions highlight both the legal guardrails of the federal Telecommunications Act (TCA) and the consequences of procedural missteps by municipalities. Rapidan, …
SpaceX blasts Virginia’s $613M broadband plan as wasteful, biased against Starlink
SpaceX has accused the Commonwealth of Virginia of wasting hundreds of millions in federal broadband funds and rigging its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program in favor of high-cost fiber projects at the expense of faster, cheaper, and already available satellite service. In an August 13, 2025 letter to the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), SpaceX …
Array Digital CEO Douglas Chambers joins WIA Board as the new towerco posts strong Q2 results
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) today announced the appointment of Douglas W. Chambers to its Board of Directors. Chambers, formerly U.S. Cellular’s CFO, is now serving as Interim President and CEO of Array Digital Infrastructure, the newly spun-off tower and spectrum-focused company. “WIA is pleased to welcome Doug Chambers to WIA’s Board,” said WIA President and CEO Patrick Halley. “His …
Fallen communication tower, not cell tower, knocks out power to 25,000 in Carol Stream, Illinois
More than 25,000 ComEd customers lost electricity Friday after a communication tower collapsed onto a high-voltage transmission line in Carol Stream, Illinois, knocking out power across several DuPage County communities. The outage began in the afternoon and affected a wide swath of customers in Carol Stream, with ripple effects in Glen Ellyn, Winfield, and Wheaton. Power was restored to nearly …
Christian Hillabrant named CEO of Crown Castle, promising visionary leadership and driving growth
Crown Castle Inc. has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Christian Hillabrant, 59, as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 15, 2025. Hillabrant is also expected to join the Company’s Board at that time. P. Robert Bartolo, Chair of the Crown Castle Board of Directors, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Chris as Crown Castle’s next CEO. Chris is a …
Rural South Dakota 275-foot SBA Communications tower crumples under force of derecho-like storm
Winds exceeding 90 miles per hour swept through Lincoln County, South Dakota, on Monday night, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. The intense storm, described by emergency officials as containing straight-line winds potentially stronger than some tornadoes, uprooted trees, flattened barns, tore the roofs off buildings, and toppled a 275-foot cell tower located off of 29140 County Highway …
Former contractor accused of burglarizing 35+ cell sites in Arizona; Police, eBay, T-Mobile investigating
A Buckeye, Arizona man with a history of criminal charges has been arrested in connection with a multi-jurisdictional investigation into the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cell tower equipment from multiple carriers across Arizona. According to Buckeye police, 38-year-old Jeremiah Elijah Ramage is accused of breaking into more than 35 T-Mobile cell tower equipment sites in cities …
Calvin Sellars, 46, killed in tower fall in Trinity County, Texas; Trace Wireless named in OSHA probe
According to the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office, a tower technician died on July 14, 2025, when he fell from an internet tower at the Whispering Pines golf course near Sebastopol, Texas. In a statement, Sheriff Woody Wallace said that Calvin Wayne Sellars, 46, was working on the tower when he fell to the ground from approximately 50 feet up. Wallace …
Bernard Borghei departs Symphony amid irreconcilable differences, leaves behind a legacy of philanthropy
Bernard Borghei, one of the wireless infrastructure industry’s more visible and well-regarded executives, announced last week that he has stepped down from his role as CEO of Symphony Towers Infrastructure, citing “irreconcilable differences” with the company’s financial sponsor. His resignation, which took effect Friday, ends a 15-month tenure marked by rapid consolidation and aggressive growth. In a candid LinkedIn post, …
Crown Castle’s Missouri cell tower outage tied to theft, not terrorism
Two individuals accused of damaging a Kansas City, Missouri cell tower on Monday have been charged with targeting critical infrastructure — but court documents suggest the alleged theft from a 110-foot monopole site on Prospect Ave., owned by Crown Castle, was driven by theft rather than terrorism. Missouri state law identifies communications networks and facilities as critical infrastructure and includes enhanced penalties …
Massachusetts cell tower objectors’ 80% chance turns 100% wrong as Greenfield monopole gets green light
After months of heated debate, the Greenfield, MA Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) has approved the construction of a 170-foot cell tower by Viridi Wireless on Fairview Street, acting on behalf of AT&T. The decision follows a prolonged review process involving multiple hearings, technical disputes, and community opposition. The approval grants two key requests from the applicant: A variance for …
Media spotlighted DEI rollback—but buried T-Mobile’s contractor rescue deal brokered by the FCC and NATE
As the FCC greenlit T-Mobile’s acquisitions of U.S. Cellular and Metronet on Friday, most headlines centered on T-Mobile’s abrupt halting of DEI programs—a move widely viewed as a strategic concession to win regulatory favor. However, buried beneath the coverage is a much more urgent issue: the survival of wireless contractors, who have been crippled by years of aggressive matrix pricing …
Wisconsin delivers a win to carrier and towerco owners with a tower tax exemption
In a breakthrough shift for the wireless infrastructure industry, Wisconsin has officially enacted legislation that fully exempts telecommunications towers from property taxation, aiming to modernize the state’s tax code in response to an evolving communications landscape. Signed into law by Governor Tony Evers as part of 2025 Wisconsin Act 15, the legislation removes both real and personal property taxes on …
T-Mobile–NATE landmark agreement targets 1099 abuse, matrix pricing and subcontractor reform
A new agreement between NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association and T-Mobile, signed on July 8, promises significant improvements for wireless contractors who have been struggling to maintain a semblance of profitability with current take-it-or-leave-it matrix pricing. Under the framework, T-Mobile will implement site-specific and regionally adjusted pricing, introduce a transparent “Scope to Quote” tool by September 1, and raise …
Tower industry positioned for a potential windfall as BEAD map contracts and fixed wireless gains ground
A new analysis by researchers at New York Law School suggests a significant shift in the federal government’s $42.45 billion broadband deployment program, which could substantially benefit companies that build and maintain communications towers. As the number of BEAD-eligible locations declines and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) shifts to a cost-first grant model, states are expected to increasingly …
T-Mobile to launch T-Satellite: First U.S. satellite-to-phone service with SpaceX’s Starlink
T-Mobile will officially launch its T-Satellite service on July 23, marking a significant shift in how mobile carriers deliver connectivity to remote areas that were previously unreachable by terrestrial towers. Built in partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network, the new system will allow users to send and receive messages from more than 500,000 square miles of U.S. territory that previously …
A crisis unresolved: Man takes his life after jumping from American University’s tower in Washington, D.C.
A harrowing three-day standoff at American University’s campus ended in tragedy this morning when an unidentified man experiencing a mental health crisis jumped from the 321-foot WAMU-FM radio tower in Washington, D.C., police say. Authorities have opened a death investigation and ruled the incident a suicide. D.C. police first received reports around 3 p.m. Tuesday of an individual scaling the …
Microburst, not tornado, toppled KTXS 199-foot broadcast tower in Texas, NWS Confirms
The National Weather Service (NWS) has confirmed that the dramatic collapse of KTXS-TV’s 199-foot broadcast tower during storms on June 8 in Abilene, TX, was caused by a microburst, not a tornado, putting to rest speculation surrounding the severe weather event. According to the official NWS damage survey released Wednesday, the microburst struck northern Abilene at approximately 11:09 p.m. on …
American Tower Florida site might have been targeted in suspected bomb plot over employment fallout
Brevard County, Florida, authorities are investigating a suspected pipe bomb discovered during a search of a suspicious vehicle on Friday near a communications tower in Mims. The incident prompted a road closure and a large response from local agencies. The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office said the situation began when a deputy responded to reports of a suspicious vehicle parked near …
