Dish Network might play the pivotal role in the Department of Justice’s approval of the proposed T-Mobile/Sprint merger after The Wall Street Journal reported that Dish is the lead bidder on the spectrum T-Mobile and Sprint are divesting in their bid of winning regulatory approval for their merger valued at $26.5 billion. Charlie Ergen, who controls Dish, has approximately $10 …
Friday’s ham radio climber’s death is a stark reminder of dangers present this weekend during Field Day
Field Day is ham radio operators’ open house as approximately 40,000 amateur radio operators throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places this weekend to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill, and service to the nation’s communities. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills. It also can be deadly. In 2009, while installing an …
5G’s future could literally be full of hot air…and drones leads Fast Forward Friday articles
Article Media 5G’s Future Could Literally Be Full of Hot Air… And Drones LightReading Verizon competing with telecom company to replace Chico water tower Enterprise-Record New network for first responders raises concern among media The Washington Post FCC Chairman cautions India, says 5G can impact national security Inc42 Senators debut bill to boost broadband map accuracy MeriTalk Maine bill to …
Tower Infrastructure Deployment bill introduced by Representatives Walberg and Clarke
Update: June 14, 2019 – Commenting on the bill he co-sponsored with Congresswoman Yvette Clarke to establish a Telecommunications Workforce Development Advisory Council, Congressman Tim Walberg said in a statement today, “As the telecom industry deploys next generation technologies, there are tens of thousands of good-paying, highly-skilled jobs but nobody to fill them. Developing a skilled workforce needs to be …
TIRAP elects new leadership with American Tower’s Paul Roberts at the helm
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) announced that Paul Roberts, Vice President, Compliance, American Tower Corporation, was elected to serve as Chairperson of WIA’s Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP) Executive Board. A new slate of officers was also elected. Other newly elected officers include: Vice Chairperson, Beau Aero, President and Founder, GME Supply Co.; Chairperson Emeritus, David Sams, Vice President …
New inductees profiled in ‘Tower Climbers Hall of Shame’
Facebook pages provide an uncensored opportunity for stupidity June 5, 2019 – For over a dozen years Wireless Estimator has highlighted some of the most egregious tower climber safety infractions in its Tower Climbers Hall of Shame. Almost daily you could view violations on Facebook. Thankfully, most Facebook group moderators took the high road and now delete troubling photos. But …
Callous disregard for tower lighting regs could result in a $25K-plus fine
A Long Island, NY tower owner is expected to face several fines for violations observed by an FCC investigator of Merdarler Enterprises’ Lake Butler, Fla. tower. The FCC issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) on May 20, 2019 for an obstruction lighting violation claiming that on May 7, 2019 the FCC’s Miami enforcement bureau received information indicating that none of …
InSite’s Weisman elected WIA Chairman; new slate of officers named to WIA Board of Directors
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) has announced that David Weisman, President and Chief Executive Officer, InSite Wireless Group, LLC, was elected to serve as Chairman of WIA’s Board of Directors. A new slate of officers was also elected. Additional officers are: Vice Chairman: Jeffrey A. Stoops; President and Chief Executive Officer; SBA Communications Corporation; Secretary: Jay A. Brown, President and Chief Executive …
May’s total: two toppled broadcast towers due to clipped guy wires
ELK-AM in Elko, Nevada is off the air after its tower collapsed into a parking lot of a restaurant damaging several cars last night. No one was injured. The 198-foot tower, located behind the station, fell after a semi-truck hit a supporting guy wire. It could be several days before the station is back on the air. No injuries were reported. …
American Tower picks up 5,500 African market towers for $1.85 billion
American Tower Corporation today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Eaton Towers Holding Limited, which owns and operates approximately 5,500 communications sites across five African markets. As a result of the transaction, the company also expects to accelerate new build activity across the region due to expanded relationships with multiple key tenants. The total consideration …
Commissioner Starks disses broadband report as ‘fundamentally at odds with reality”
After the FCC revealed its 2019 broadband deployment report yesterday, identifying a healthy accounting that the digital divide has closed by more than 18% from the end of 2016 through 2017, Commissioner Geoffrey Starks called the report “fundamentally at odds with reality,” citing an embarrassing error in the development of the report itself. Starks said the fundamental disconnect between the report …
Services set for tall tower technician Kevin Wright of Indiana who passed away last week
Services have been announced for Kevin D. Wright of Evansville, Indiana, who passed away on May 22, 2019 after falling from a tower in Polk County, Iowa while performing restoration services for KDSM FOX as an employee of Precision Communications, Inc. of Grove, Oklahoma. Kevin was born in Randolph County, Indiana on October 23, 1971, to David H. and Sandra (Arnold) …
‘Catastrophic’ repair ends in death for tower tech who fell 1,000 feet
A 47-year-old tall tower technician died this morning after falling approximately 1,000 feet from the KDSM FOX tower near Alleman in Polk County, Iowa. The worker was employed by Precision Communications, Inc. of Grove, Oklahoma. Wireless Estimator will release the tech’s name after family members have been notified. According to Lt. Heath Osberg of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, two …
300-foot fall is fatal to Arkansas tower technician, father of two
Services will be held Monday morning for tower technician Christopher Hawkins, 34, of Caraway, AR who passed away Thursday after falling from a 300-foot guyed tower in Brookhaven, Miss. Visitation for the father of two children will be at Monette Church of Christ, 702 Drew Ave., Monette, AR at 10 a.m. followed by services at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow at …
Commish’s push for rural broadband was scripted 122 years ago
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, the agency’s point man for encouraging why and how the country should unite in order for the US to become the world’s leader in rolling out 5G, retweeted a 122- year-old article (below) from The Daily Northwestern lamenting phone dependency, a “disease from which friends or those afflicted suffer.” Fast-forward to 2020 and the irony of …
Florida tower approval ends dueling engineers, begins life-saving communications network
Broward County Florida Commissioners yesterday approved a 325-foot communications tower in West Lake Park in Hollywood, a controversial site required to complete a new $59.5 million network awarded to Motorola Systems that is expected to be up and running by year’s end. County officials have been criticized for not moving faster to replace the county’s old and overloaded system that reached …
School cancer concerns routed from RF to PR blunder then carcinogens in H2O and vapor
When four children were diagnosed with cancer at a San Joaquin County, Calif. elementary school earlier this year, parents – rightfully concerned – went for the usual maligned suspect – RF radiation from a cell tower on a school campus. However, after the Ripon School District tested the RF levels at Weston Elementary school three times, and found exposure levels …
Nebraska tower foundation driller’s employee electrocuted in Virginia
A tower foundation drilling company worker died on April 26, 2019, after being electrocuted on a jobsite, according to individuals knowledgeable of the April 22, 2019 incident that occurred in Accomac, Va. Kevlin Finck, 30, of Nebraska, employed by Dietzel Enterises, Inc. of Omaha, was at a construction site when a track-mounted drill rig reportedly had a winch line come …
Telecom tower and infrastructure veteran Dudley Norman passes at 85
Dudley Norman, 85, husband, father, friend and Vice President of Subcarrier Communications, passed away April 25 in Houston, Tex. Norman, a veteran of the US Marine Corp, was a leader in the telecommunications and tower industry. He was responsible for the acquisition of tower sites and the procurement of rooftop management contracts in the Southwest region. Norman possessed decades of …
Sprint and T-Mobile’s urge to merge extended to July 29
According to an SEC filing, T-Mobile and Sprint have extended the deadline for completing their merger to July 29 as they continue to seek the regulatory approvals they need to complete a deal. The previous deadline had been Monday. The No. 3 and No. 4 wireless carriers announced their proposed merger on April 29, 2018. The Department of Justice’s antitrust …
