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New FCC Chairman-elect Carr’s vision and Senator Thune’s legislative backing will support tower crews

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

President-elect Donald Trump announced yesterday that he is tapping Brendan Carr of the Federal Communications Commission to chair the agency. With Senator John Thune (R-SD) taking on the role of Senate Majority Leader, both individuals’ relationships and support of the telecommunications industry have garnered increased attention. Known for his consistent support of pro-business policies, Commissioner Carr has been a stalwart …

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Wireless Estimator unveils new Top 100 Tower Companies in the U.S. list with enhanced industry filters

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

To accurately count the top 100 U.S. companies owning ten or more towers, Wireless Estimator has adopted the 1980s Russian proverb popularized by President Ronald Reagan: “Trust, but verify.” Because the FCC’s database and subscription-based FCC programs don’t allow users to compile lists of companies with multiple tower sites, Wireless Estimator dedicates significant time each month to ensuring that its …

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New Valmont Site Pro 1 heavy duty ring mounts ensure antennas stay on the tower

In Featured News, New Product News by Wireless Estimator

By Sharpe Smith, Contributing Editor Recently, more attention has been paid to the interaction between antenna mounts and towers to avoid failures. To ensure that today’s larger, heavier antenna mounts and antennas remain secured to a monopole, Valmont Site Pro 1 has redesigned the connection between the mount and the tower, known as a ring mount. At the NATE Emerging …

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CapEx climbs at big 3 carriers, offering the industry niche opportunities

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

By J. Sharpe Smith, Contributing Editor The major carriers appear to be healthy, generating strong cash flows, paying down debt and buying back stock. But will tower construction and maintenance companies be healthier in the coming year? That might depend on which services each company provides. Opportunities for growth in fiber, fixed wireless access, C-Band (and other spectrum), and private …

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NTSB report supports SBA Communications’ defense in $50 million lawsuit for tower lighting outage

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

Houston helicopter air tour company National Helicopter Solutions promoted on their website, “We promise to deliver safe, professional, and exciting helicopter travel in the skies over the city of Houston and Greater Texas.” Sadly, one such tour on October 20, 2024, piloted by Samantha Grandbouche, broke that promise when the 42-year-old pilot crashed the helicopter into an SBA Communications 1,000-foot …

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Industry questions why a co-worker wasn’t on site when a MasTec tech died after falling from a 500-foot tower

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

UPDATE: November 11, 2024 – Services have been set for James Belecher, the 38-year-old tower technician supervisor who died on a Crown Castle site while working for MasTec Network Solutions. A tower technician is dead today after having fallen from a guyed tower, according to Trinity County Texas Sheriff Woody Wallace. According to a press statement, the Trinity County Sheriff’s …

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Helicopter slams into SBA’s Houston 999-foot radio tower, igniting blaze, collapsing it and killing all aboard

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

UPDATE – October 22, 2024 – SBA Communications has released a press statement to address what it described as “incomplete and/or inaccurate information” circulating in news reports concerning the helicopter crash that occurred in Houston, Texas on Sunday. The accident involved the towerco’s 999-foot guyed tower that collapsed, resulting in four fatalities. According to Wireless Estimator yesterday, a Notice to …

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End of an era: Stainless ceases operations, selling tower documentation and engineering assets

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

After 77 years of shaping the American landscape with more than 50% of the nation’s broadcast towers, in addition to microwave structures and other communications installations, Stainless is closing its doors, according to FDH Infrastructure Services, LLC. FDH, which acquired Stainless’s engineering team, CAD draftspeople, broadcast construction crews, and 7,500 structural drawings in 2015, confirmed the shutdown. Sources indicate that …

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No casualties as hot air balloon collision collapses 645-foot tower at Albuquerque fiesta

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

In 1972, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta began as the highlight of 770 KOB Radio’s 50th anniversary. It broadcast the 13-balloon event’s activities from its two-tower array. The annual event now features 1,000 balloons in the sky, drawing hundreds of thousands of spectators who gather at landing sites all over the city. KOB, a 50,000-watt station, continued to benefit from …

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UScellular pleads its case before the FCC, stating if T-Mobile doesn’t acquire it, the future looks bleak

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

In a pivotal step toward finalizing T-Mobile’s acquisition of U.S. Cellular Corporation’s (UScellular) wireless assets, key representatives, including UScellular CEO Laurent C. Therivel, met with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officials last week in meetings to discuss the transaction’s implications and anticipated benefits. The discussions, aimed at securing FCC consent for the transfer of control of licenses and authorizations, were held …

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Massachusetts cell site contractor faces prison for failing to pay over $1M in payroll taxes

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

Kenneth Marston, 67, a business owner from Kingston, Massachusetts, has pleaded guilty to willfully failing to collect, account for, and pay over payroll taxes owed by his companies, Bowmar Steel Industries Inc. and Teleconstructors Inc., located in Hanson. This plea comes after a multi-year investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation unit, following allegations that Marston deliberately withheld payroll tax payments …

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Country’s second deadliest hurricane still has catastrophic cell service failures as Musk lends a hand

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

According to yesterday’s FCC outage reporting, large areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, particularly in Western North Carolina, remain without cell phone service. In counties like Buncombe, where Asheville is located, approximately 56% of cell sites are still down, mainly due to transport issues and power outages. The situation is even worse in neighboring counties such as Mitchell, where 90% of …

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Southeast is still reeling from Helene’s impact: Lives lost, cell networks down

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

When Hurricane Helene swept through and inundated communities across the Southeast with flooding and destruction, many towns were in crisis mode, struggling to recover without one of the most critical lifelines: cell phone service. According to the FCC, over 2,500 cell sites were still out of service yesterday. Although this marked improvement from the September 28, 2024, outage report of …

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Hurricane Helene wreaks havoc with broadcasters, forcing them off the air

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

As of yesterday, Hurricane Helene has damaged broadcast stations in a five-state area hit by the devastating Category 4 hurricane at landfall that has killed 128 people across six states. In Georgia, there are 2 TV stations out of service. FM radio stations are also off the air, including 1 in Florida. Georgia had an unheard-of number of storm management …

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Vertical Bridge and Verizon seal a $3.3B deal for 6,339 towers, the largest buy in almost a decade

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) and Vertical Bridge today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for Vertical Bridge to obtain the exclusive rights to lease, operate and manage 6,339 wireless communications towers across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. from subsidiaries of Verizon for approximately $3.3 billion, including certain commercial benefits. The transaction is structured as a …

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Unprecedented outage: No hurricane has knocked out more cell sites than Category 4 Helene

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

Hurricane Helene has severely disrupted cell phone communications across the affected regions, particularly in Western North Carolina. The storm caused widespread power outages, flooding, and infrastructure damage, which led to the shutdown of numerous cell towers and fiber optic lines. As a result, large portions of the region were left without any cell service, cutting off communication for many residents. …

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A Phoenix Rising: Catherine Piche soars back to Crown Castle in previous COO role as Kavanaugh retires

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

Crown Castle Inc. has announced the upcoming retirement of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer–Towers, Michael J. Kavanagh, effective October 28, 2024. Kavanagh, who has held various leadership roles during his 14-year tenure, will remain in an advisory capacity through the end of the year. Catherine Piche will take over as EVP and COO–Towers. Piche, who previously served as …

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Cell tower evidence is convincing factor in denying bail for Ryan Routh in attempted Trump assassination

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

Ryan Routh, the would-be assassin who targeted former President Donald Trump, was tracked by authorities using cell tower data. This information revealed that Routh was surveilling the area and plotting the assassination, according to a document in support of detaining Routh until his trial. It convinced a federal judge today that Routh should be held without bail pending trial. The …

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Dish Network pushes for an extended deadline on its 5G rollout

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

In a formal request submitted to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), DISH Network’s Executive Vice President of External and Legislative Affairs, Jeffrey H. Blum, has sought an extension of the company’s deadline to complete its 5G wireless network buildout. This request follows a similar filing by EchoStar Corporation on September 17, approved today, which addresses the need for more time …

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Tower Family Foundation appoints Pete Hagstrom and Steve Ouzts to its endowment committee

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

The Tower Family Foundation announced today that Pete Hagstrom, Vice President of Procurement at Viking Maintenance, Inc., and Steve Ouzts, founder and principal broker at Tower Advisors, LLC, have been appointed to serve on the Foundation’s Endowment Committee. The Tower Family Foundation made the announcement at the 2024 Kentucky Wireless Association Golf Tournament hosted today in Louisville, Kentucky. “The Tower …