UPDATE: December 14, 2018 – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) has put a hold on FCC nominee Brendan Carr’s confirmation to a five-year term. Last week, the FCC announced that they were indefinitely pausing the release of $4.5 billion through Mobility Fund Phase II. “If the Chairman feels he needs to put the brakes on this program at this stage …
Bush 41 hit a communications tower and ‘hit the silk’, helping to save other lives during WWll
As the nation pays tribute to the 2,335 non-combatant servicemen killed during the Pearl Harbor attack 77 years ago today, it continues to grieve over the death of former President George H.W. Bush who was buried yesterday in Texas after a 70-mile train ride to his presidential library and museum. Bush, who leaves a kinder, gentler political legacy, also leaves …
Towerco stocks on a roller coaster as Canada arrests Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou for extradiction to U.S.
News of the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada sent the Dow plummeting as much as 785 points today before the index staged a huge comeback and was just down 78 points at closing. However, some analysts believe it was also fueled by a looming trade war with China. Meng faces extradition to the United States. Towerco stocks tanked …
FirstNet hits one-third completion mark, AT&T’s network capacity to grow by 50% in 2019
According to AT&T CEO Randolph Stephenson at a UBS Communications Conference yesterday, the carrier is six months ahead of its contracted FirstNet deployment schedule, and the public-safety initiative will result in increasing the capacity of its network by 50% by the end of 2019. “We made a full-court press to pursue the FirstNet bid and win it. And there were …
Mayor and FCC commish could be rumbling if Ninth Circuit gets broadband rule petition
The City of San Jose, Calif. joined by cities and municipalities within the state as well as in Washington state, Nevada, Oregon and Arizona, have filed a petition in the Tenth Circuit to move their petition to review court case over the FCC’s September ruling to deregulate small cell deployment, from Denver to San Francisco’s Ninth Circuit known for interpreting …
A dozen tall towers come with Nexstar Media’s acquisition of Tribune Media for $6.4 billion
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. and Tribune Media Company announced today that they have entered into a merger agreement whereby Nexstar will acquire all outstanding shares of Tribune Media for $46.50 per share in a cash transaction that is valued at $6.4 billion including the assumption of Tribune Media’s outstanding debt. The proposed transaction will combine two leading local media …
CTI Towers’ employees give generously to support tower workers in need
The Tower Family Foundation was the recipient today of a $13,000 donation raised by the employees of CTI Towers. October was designated as “Charity Month” at CTI, where employees were able to donate personal funds to the Cary, N.C. company’s designated charity for 2018. “We are always amazed at the kindness of our employees to assist those in need. They …
Shocking tower collapse video shows an erector just two seconds away from death
Missouri State University (MSU) has released surveillance videos of the horrific 1,891-foot-tall guyed tower collapse that occurred in Fordland, Mo. on April 19, 2018 that killed a 56-year-old owner of a Washington state tall tower erection company. OSHA’s report, stating that both the managing consultant and the tower contractor were both at fault for the collapse, is available here. The …
Contractor and consultant share blame in deadly 1,891-foot tower collapse: OSHA
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a report detailing that an April 2018 tower collapse that killed Steve Lemay, 56, resulted due to design and construction failings by the managing consultant, Tower Consultants, Inc. (TCI) and the contractor, Steven Lemay LLC. The 1891-foot-tall guyed tower in Fordland, Mo. is owned by Missouri State University (MSU) and was …
Fewer contractors entering wireless construction as requirements increase and profits head south
A Wireless Estimator survey recently completed by 263 wireless infrastructure contractors has provided a wealth of information regarding carrier payment terms and other industry concerns that will be detailed in additional reports next month. However, the first evident troubling or possibly beneficial data unveiled is that new contractors are not entering the business as they did four years ago when …
T-Mobile asking for ruling as to the legality of an additional insured certificate
In a Nov. 9, 2018 filing, the Ninth Circuit has asked Washington state’s Supreme Court to consider whether an insurer must cover a carrier’s costs in a lawsuit alleging its subcontractor’s rooftop antenna installation caused damage to an apartment building in the Bronx, N.Y., stating that Washington state law is uncertain on a critical issue in the case. The Ninth …
Allan Tantillo joins Vertical Bridge as VP of New Technologies
Vertical Bridge Holdings, LLC, the largest private owner and operator of communications infrastructure in the United States, announced that Allan Tantillo has joined the company as Vice President of New Technologies. In his new role, Tantillo will focus on identifying and creating opportunities that help clients deploy new wireless technologies utilizing Vertical Bridge’s wide range of assets. “These are exciting …
T-Mobile/Sprint merger would cause substantial harm to nation’s workforce: CWA
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) has again reached out to the FCC, blasting the proposed $26 billion acquisition of Sprint by T-Mobile, alleging that the carriers’ claims that the merger would provide “robust competition to the 5G era” is a red herring and it will likely result in pink slips for 30,000 jobs across the nation. Last August, the …
Tata exits 30,000 American Tower leases for a payment of $320 million
Tata Teleservices is settling with American Tower for $320 million following its early exit from 30,000 tower leases in India after it sold its mobility business to Bharti Airtel. The sale paves the way for the Tata group to close its agreement with Bharti Airtel which required that the conglomerate would need to clear all liabilities from earlier agreements. The telco entered …
Fed’s findings could stymie new OSHA tower rule and lead to adoption of A10.48 Standard
An extensive 266-page report from The Small Business Advocacy Review Panel (SBAR) regarding a possible new OSHA standard that would apply to all work activities performed on cell, broadcast and all other communications towers was released this week with 10 key recommendations (below) for OSHA to consider if they’re going to introduce a new industry safety rule. OSHA is required …
Carriers’ fuzzy Hurricane Michael outage math doesn’t add up
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai last week chided carriers for their slow progress in restoring wireless service in areas close to where Hurricane Michael made landfall. He called it “completely unacceptable.” Yesterday, he complimented broadcasters for their stellar job. “Another familiar aspect is local radio and TV broadcasters were unsung heroes in their first informer roles and in the aftermath,” Pai …
Hurricane Michael mauls cell service in three states after cutting through Georgia
When Hurricane Florence slammed into North Carolina on Sept. 17, it kayoed 718 cell sites, according to the FCC’s Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) which listed the counties that could suffer service interruption in four states. Hurricane Michael, the third-most powerful storm on record to hit the U.S., and the worst in 50 years, has almost doubled the number of …
Whether Dish Network builds 50,000 towers or collocates, contractors will benefit
Although media headlines state that Dish Network is considering building 50,000 towers throughout the nation at a cost of $10 billion to launch a new 5G network, it’s doubtful that they will, but collocations are a strong possibility for towercos. FierceWireless broke the story that Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen said at an investor’s conference that the company could spend up …
Industry’s first-ever influential contractor survey’s deadline is October 10
Make your company’s concerns count As wireless contractors are acutely aware, contractor firms in the industry have experienced trends that have seen payment terms go from 30 days to 60 days, and now are settling in at 90 to 120 days, placing an undue financial burden on contractor companies. It’s not whether these terms could potentially compromise safety and hinder …
Repack cuts commercial UHF broadcast stations to below 1,000
According to newly released statistics by the FCC, the nation saw an addition of 110 broadcast stations added to its ranks during the third quarter, with the total number of commercially licensed UHF stations dipping below 1,000. In addition, there are fewer AM radio stations and far more FM translators and boosters. (VIEW BROADCAST CATEGORY COUNTS BELOW) Translator stations are primarily not new stations, …
