Colony Capital, Inc. announced the relocation of its corporate headquarters from Los Angeles, California to Boca Raton, Florida, effective as of January 1, 2021. In addition, Colony announced the appointment of select corporate officers to new roles as part of its ongoing digital transformation. Digital Colony, the company’s digital infrastructure investment management business has been based in Boca Raton for …
Sadly, 2020’s top stories were fatalities and structural failures
What were the most-read stories published by Wireless Estimator this year? It’s not surprising to learn that any media with a large audience of contractors, tower owners, tower techs, engineers, safety professionals, and vendors would find that two topics – fatalities and structural failures — dominate the list. According to Google Analytics, the most viewed article in 2020 was the …
Guy wire cutting crime spree topples one Texas tower, destabilized a 1,000-footer
A tall tower crew is on site in Wichita Falls, Texas, stabilizing a 1,050-foot TV broadcast tower owned by Nexstar Media Group, Inc., off 4500 Seymour highway. It is one of two towers that had guy wires cut early Friday morning, with a 450-foot structure giving way to actions of those that authorities have stated committed a “serious felony”. The …
Tower tech succumbs from 260-foot fall while endeavoring to bring broadband to the Spokane tribe
UPDATE: December 17, 2020 – James Shumate’s obituary and services information have been added below. December 16, 2020 — A 24-year-old tower technician was killed Saturday, December 12, 2020 when he fell from a tower near Fruitland, Washington. According to individuals knowledgeable of the incident, James Everette Shumate of Houston, Texas was at approximately 260 feet on the structure while …
American Tower is undaunted by Dish’s 20,000 tower deal with Crown, they’ll wait for their turn
When questioned as to whether Crown Castle will become the main beneficiary of Dish Network’s entry into the carrier space during a UBS Global TMT conference call earlier this month, American Tower CFO and Treasurer Rod Smith said that history might be the best prophet to identify if his company will profit. Smith said he thought it was “great” that …
Structures with small cells get a revisit in 2020 update released by Telecommunications Industry Foundation
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Our society has an ever-increasing need for information, video, smart devices, smart infrastructure and all things telecommunications related. The need for these services will continually drive the innovation of the telecommunications industry; the most recent development being the introduction of 5G technologies and the continuing densification of existing networks. As a result of these developments, the …
2021 isn’t going to be a banner year for Sprint decoms, contractors to see surge in 2022: Sievert
During a UBS investor webcast last week, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said that the carrier is taking down Sprint’s network on an “isolated basis,” but decommissioning work – the bread and butter of wireless contractors – is mostly a 2021 and 2022 endeavor. Sievert informed UBS moderator John Hodulik that T-Mobile likely will begin its serious shutdown efforts of the …
Tower Family Foundation eclipses $1 million milestone of support to tower workers and families
The Tower Family Foundation announced today that the organization has surpassed the $1 million of giving milestone. Since its inception only six years ago, the Tower Family Foundation has awarded a total of $1,017,250 in donations and scholarships to eligible tower workers and their families, officially exceeding the $1 million threshold of philanthropy. The Tower Family Foundation is a 501(c)(3) …
Off the time card, former tower tech is arrested for multiple transmission line decoms
A 32-year-old tower tech was arrested last week for allegedly breaking into three North Carolina cell tower sites on September, 14, 15 and 22 in Wake Forest and Creedmoor, and stealing copper, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release. The Sheriff’s Office charged Kenneth David Voncannon VII of Durham with injury of real property, injuring wires of …
Crown Castle shaves 250 from its employee ranks as part of its ‘long-term goals’
Rumors of layoffs at Crown Castle began in early October when an anonymous poster on layoff.com wrote that the company had laid off 70 people in the West. On November 6, there was a report that an additional 57 layoffs were made on the business’s tower side. Last Thursday, another poster said that hundreds of people were let go, identifying them …
Vertical Bridge’s acquisition of Eco-Site allows them to boast surpassing 20,000 towers
Vertical Bridge REIT, LLC, the largest private owner and operator of communications infrastructure and locations in the United States, today announced the completion of its merger with North Carolina-based Eco-Site, a leading developer of wireless communication, tower sites and infrastructure. The combination increases Vertical Bridge’s owned and master-leased tower portfolio to over 20,000 sites and its entire portfolio to more …
SURVEY SAYS: NATE documents the many thousands of telecom positions needed
For the last few years, FCC Commissioners, federal agencies, educational institutions, association CEOs, and industry focus groups have said that there is a shortage of approximately 20,000 telecommunications workers that are critically needed to build out 5G and maintain broadband infrastructure. That workforce shortfall total has been employed to obtain millions of dollars of federal grants for training and other …
DISH’s first massive tower deal has Crown Castle providing access to 20,000 towers
DISH Wireless and Crown Castle today announced a long-term agreement through which Crown Castle will lease DISH space on up to 20,000 communication towers. As part of the agreement, DISH will receive certain fiber transport services and also have the option to utilize Crown Castle for pre-construction services. The agreement encompasses leases on towers located nationwide, helping DISH facilitate its …
What a difference a quarter makes as Colony Capital’s stock doubles in price through its digital design
Colony Capital Inc. (CLNY) had another good day in the market on Tuesday as shares jumped 6.67% to close at $4.00, doubling the stock price since CEO Marc Ganzi informed analysts during his August Q2 call that “Colony today trades slightly under $2.00. I’d encourage you guys to look at your history books, think about this management team, think about …
One down, 14,999 Dish cell sites to go starting in Q2
Dish Network’s buildout finally kicked off last week, with a soft launch that was a test site near the company’s Littleton, Colorado headquarters. Executive Vice President – Network Deployment, Dave Mayo last week provided a sneak preview of Dish’s first 5G trial site on his LinkedIn page. Mayo joined Dish last June and will be responsible for the carrier’s wireless …
American Tower picks up InSite Wireless Group’s American and Canadian assets for $3.5 billion
American Tower Corporation this morning announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire InSite Wireless Group, LLC (InSite), which owns, operates and manages approximately 3,000 communications sites, primarily in the U.S. and Canada. The portfolio includes more than 1,400 owned towers in the U.S., over 200 owned towers in Canada and approximately 70 distributed antenna system (DAS) …
Two tower techs are killed when their man lift in Delaware topples onto electrical lines
UPDATE: November 4, 2020 — Two men, who were killed attempting to install antennas onto a water tower near Bethany Beach in high winds, have been identified. Delaware State Police said 23-year-old Jovan Maldonado and 22-year-old Bryan Maldonado Andino, both from Puerto Rico, were in a Z135 Man Lift working to put antennas for the Velex, Inc. on the Sussex Shores water tower just of the …
Five Alarm Concern: UWM assesses the vulnerability of cell site infrastructure to wildfires
While the FCC attempts to get accurate maps of broadband coverage in the U.S., three University of Wisconsin – Madison researchers have completed the task of identifying for the agency the vulnerability of cell sites throughout America when confronted with wildfires. The study, presented at a meeting of internet network researchers this week found more than 430,000 cell site transceivers …
Alabama accident takes the life of a Texas broadcast tall tower tech
A broadcast tower technician employed by San Antonio, Texas-based Broadcast Construction Solutions died yesterday shortly before noon in Elsanor, Alabama while performing retrofitting services on a 1,500-foot guyed tower owned by Deerfield Media that broadcasts WJTC TV. Wireless Estimator has confirmed that the deceased broadcast worker is Sirous Snider, 33, of Burleson, Texas, a well-respected and popular poster on Facebook. …
Wireless Infrastructure Association names three new industry execs for leadership roles
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) named Dr. Rikin Thakker as Chief Technology Officer; Brent Weil as Vice President, Workforce Development; and Jason Nelson as Vice President, Partnerships and Development. These new leaders will expand WIA’s wireless workforce development initiatives and extend WIA’s thought leadership and convening role for businesses in the wireless industry. These positions will play a major role …
