An American Tower Corp. (ATC) 150-foot monopole collapsed Wednesday when a Hurricane Ida-spawned tornado tore through Upper Dublin Township in Pennsylvania. Although the structure was designed and constructed in 2008 with a basic wind speed of 90 mph as required EIA/TIA-222 Rev. G, the structure was no match for the EF-2 tornado that touched down in the township with winds …
AT&T claims an above average restoration percentage as carriers bring sites back up in Louisiana
Through the dedicated resources of the men and women on the front lines providing logistics and services, cell site outages in Hurricane Ida-affected parishes in Louisiana have been reduced to 28.5%, from Tuesday’s 38.1%, according to the FCC’s September 1, 2021 daily communications report. Within a day, hard-hit Assumption Parish went from an outage of 94.7% to 42.1%, with Terrebonne …
Carriers spin their outages as 38% of Louisiana’s cell sites remain crippled
The FCC reported yesterday evening that Hurricane Ida is still taking its toll on communications, although outages are down from Monday’s report. Louisiana was the hardest hit state with 38% of its sites down in the affected parishes yesterday. Although outages were previously at 52%, Assumption and Terrebonne Parishes are still at or near 100%. There were only 3 damaged cell …
Louisiana’s tallest tower collapse adds to Ida broadcasting outages
A 1,999-foot tower owned by iHeart Media and broadcasting its FM station KVDU collapsed in Vacherie, LA after Hurricane Ida trounced the state with high winds. Only the bottom 160-feet remain standing. No injuries were reported by iHeart. Cumulus Media also shares the tower with WZRH-FM. The structure is located in St. James Parish where the FCC’s most recent report …
Congressman’s tower tour highlights positive impact traditional infrastructure funding has on West Virginia
U.S. Congressman David McKinley, P.E. (WV-I) today conducted a site visit to a communications tower located in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The tour was facilitated by representatives from NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association and SBA Communications. The site visit was held at a SBA-owned self-support cell tower site that is located in Congressman McKinley’s Congressional District. Congressman McKinley is a …
Ida cripples mobile service in Louisiana, taking out over half of the state’s affected cell sites
The FCC reported yesterday evening that Hurricane Ida, roaring ashore in Louisiana on Sunday as a Category 4 storm with a peak gust of 172 mph, just short of the strongest measured wind from a hurricane in the U.S., has taken 28.1% of the cell sites in the affected area out of service. However, that number includes counties in Alabama …
Authorities disable signal-jamming devices in California; FCC could fine resident $112,500
Morgan Hill, CA police said the Santa Clara County Emergency Communications Department reported a signal was “disrupting, impeding and interfering” with public safety calls, requiring an investigation. Authorities noticed interference at a communication tower for the last six months. However, in the last week, it had gotten worse, with residents reporting disruptions to Wi-Fi, satellite, and cell phone service. Investigators …
AT&T’s says its network was walloped by Hurricane Ida
Many people in Southeast Louisiana with AT&T have no phone service after Hurricane Ida tore through the area Sunday, losing about 40% of its network. Verizon said the company was “still actively assessing the situation on the ground as it is safe to do so.” Although they are seeing sites out of service in the heaviest hit areas, overlapping sites …
It’s possible the infrastructure bill will require tower techs and other workers to receive huge pay increases
Since the text of the infrastructure bill was released earlier this month, industry media have been surgically dissecting the limited details in the $1.2 trillion act that provides $65 billion for the nation’s broadband development. What is known is that $42.45 billion will be funneled to states to fund projects each state approves independently, if their telecommunications provider can offer speeds …
Pittsburgh announces $10 million agreement with Crown Castle for fiber network for 131 city facilities
Mayor William Peduto has announced an agreement with Crown Castle to provide the first unified fiber connectivity network for city facilities as part of the NetPGH initiative. Crown Castle will help connect all 131 city facilities on a single network, including EMS stations, fire stations, recreation and healthy active living centers, and critical public safety infrastructure. Connecting all city facilities to …
The unvarnished Tennessee truth: Trained tower techs will save lives
The nation’s tower techs take pride in their work and their ability to safely rescue a fellow worker if the occasion ever arises. Most techs will spend their career never having to perform an emergency rescue on a tower, but when it’s necessary, it’s nice to know that the men and women working alongside you have you covered. Such was the case …
Catherine Piche to lead Crown Castle’s tower division as its EVP and COO
Crown Castle International Corp. has announced that Catherine Piche has been appointed to succeed Robert C. Ackerman as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer–Towers, effective September 1, 2021. Ackerman plans to retire following a 50-year career that included 23 years in various senior leadership roles at Crown Castle, and he has agreed to remain with Crown Castle in an …
Congruex adds Oregon-based A&M Communications to its portfolio of companies
Congruex, a national end-to-end provider of design, engineering, construction, and maintenance services to broadband providers, today announced the acquisition of A&M Communications. The acquisition further cements Congruex’s leading position as one of the nation’s largest telecom engineering and construction firms. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Headquartered in Boring, Oregon, A&M Communications is an end-to-end provider of wireless …
QualTek’s BACOM acquisition adds 200 new employees for its 5G build to complement its 5,000-plus workforce
QualTek, LLC, a leading turnkey provider of infrastructure services to the North American 5G wireless, telecom, and renewable energy sectors, announced that it has acquired Broken Arrow Communications Inc. (BACOM). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico with more than 200 employees and serving customers in 11 states in the Western U.S., BACOM provides a …
DigitalBridge acquires a controlling stake in nation’s largest independent tower owner, Vertical Bridge
DigitalBridge Group. Inc. today announced that funds affiliated with DigitalBridge Investment Management, the Company’s investment management platform, have reached a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Vertical Bridge Holdings, LLC (Vertical Bridge), the largest private owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure in the United States. As the operator of the largest independent tower platform in the U.S., …
SBA’s Stoops believes Q2 was the start of a multi-year increase in U.S. wireless carrier capex
SBA Communications Corp. on Monday reported its second quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations. The company’s shares have increased 21% since the beginning of the year. This morning SBAC was trading at $348.62, inching towards its 52-week high of $350.63. The Boca Raton, FL-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $293.5 million, or $2.64 …
Senate puts it in writing: Fiber will not keep wireless from benefitting from $65 Billion broadband bill
A group of senators finalized the legislative text totaling 2,702 pages last night for the long-awaited infrastructure deal, bringing the Senate a step close to passing the administration’s bill that would provide $65 Billion for the nation’s broadband development. Industry lobbyists were relieved when their core concern was struck from the legislation being considered that would have favored high-speed fiber development …
Dish wants contractors to ‘accept or reject’ unprofitable blue plate special colo pricing
Dish Wireless’s urgency to build out their 5G mobile network has been long-seen by many wireless contractors as their sought after savior that would allow them to move a segment of their workforce to more profitable work than the depressed market pricing they are being offered by many carriers or their turfing vendors. However, the expected supply and demand shift …
California study shows that small cells actually increase home values
Joint Venture Silicon Valley unveiled their latest study last week regarding the Economic Impacts to Residential Real Estate from Small Wireless Facilities. The study focused on whether objective evidence in real estate sales records shows residential real estate valuation impacts from small wireless facilities or “small cells”. It concluded that small cell facilities do not have an appreciable effect on …
Rullex and Ansco get into legal fray over $113K of downtime and troubleshooting
A project management and construction company is suing another management and contracting firm that is managing AT&T site builds for allegedly failing to pay invoices submitted for downtime and troubleshooting. According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on June 21, Rullex Co., Inc., is suing Georgia-based Ansco & Associates LLC for not …
