American Tower Corp.’s demand letter to contractors stating that if they assist in the building of a macro tower site within one-half mile of one of their existing towers that they will no longer be able to do any work for ATC, and possibly be excluded from working for other carriers on an ATC site, has raised the ire of Verizon …
American Tower to competition’s contractors: Our way or the highway
To lower carrier lease rates, AT&T, Verizon and Tillman Infrastructure last year announced a joint agreement to build hundreds of cell towers, some for new macro builds, others for “build-to-relo”. The major towercos quickly and cavalierly dismissed their efforts as non-hazardous to their business model’s health. But last week American Tower Corp. let it be known that they are concerned and …
Settlement of $4.25 million to a first responder’s family after telecom tower collapse
The family of a Nutter Fort, W. Virg. firefighter was awarded a $4.25 million settlement agreed to by the Harrison County Court System yesterday. The resolved lawsuit and details from the defendant’s bankruptcy also bring into question whether better vetting of a contractor could have prevented his death. Michael Garrett was responding to a tower collapse on Feb. 1, 2014 when the …
Canadian who skated on toppling 1,100 foot tower is now charged with murder
A 75-year-old Canadian man who was found guilty of collapsing an 1,100-foot Bell Canada guyed tower in Ottawa in 1987 and had his conviction stayed by Canada’s Supreme Court, is expected to plead not guilty today to a more serious charge – murder. Last Thursday, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) arrested James “Jimmy” Wise and charged him with first-degree murder in …
From the Bronx to Boston, Crown’s employees made a meaningful difference
More than 1,700 Crown Castle employees participated in a day of service earlier this month, contributing more than 7,036 hours of planting, building, painting and cleaning up the nation’s parks. On May 9, Crown hosted the day of service as part of its Connected by Good community parks initiative. Doubling its efforts from last year, Crown identified 22 parks in …
Crop duster pilot killed as he topples 1,040-foot Oklahoma tower
Update: May 31, 2018 -Andrew Deterding, 57, of Pond Creek, Okla., owner of Andy Deterding Ag Aviation, who was flying an S2R-T34 Thrush plane on Wednesday when the aircraft struck a radio tower guy wire, has been identified as the deceased pilot. A post on his Facebook page, written by one of his children, states Deterding’s memories and stories will live on through “every …
Kicking osprey nest off of tower riles neighbors, but not environmental police
A homeowner living off of Center Hill Rd. in Plymouth, Mass. contacted the Massachusetts Environmental Police (EP) on May 17, informing them that she was watching ospreys nesting near the top of a nearby cell tower when “I saw men in harnesses come up the tower and, whey they got to the top of the platform, kick the nests off.” …
‘Un-towerco’ says there will be some pain with a T-Mobile/Sprint merger
If the marriage of Sprint and T-Mobile is approved by regulators, the majority opinion of towerco executives at Connect (X) in Charlotte, N.C. last week was that business would still be robust. Jay Brown, President and CEO of Crown Castle, said during the View From the Top presentation, “It will almost be irrelevant how many carriers we have.” He said …
Geek guy Pai enthusiastically wants America to win the 5G race
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, a self-described lover of geeking out infrastructure issues, three weeks ago scaled a utility pole in Gainesville, Fla., to get an up-close and personal view of how difficult it is to string aerial fiber. He also spent time with representatives of MillerCo, a Gulfport, Miss. nationwide wireless contractor, to learn about the exacting requirements of site …
Dish’s foray into 5G is already a soothing shot in the arm for nation’s towercos
Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen said that his company will be building a full-blown 5G wireless network that will cost $10 billion in an interview Wednesday at the Wireless Infrastructure Association’s Connect (X) conference in Charlotte, N.C. by former FCC Commissioner Rob McDowell. Ergen pointed out that current wireless networks are designed for approximately 300 million smart phone users in …
AT&T settles for a record $30 million to injured tower technician’s family
With a Philadelphia, Pa. jury trial scheduled to begin today to determine whether AT&T and other defendants were negligent and contributed to a tower technician falling 50 feet to the ground and causing him to sustain severe and permanent injuries, the carrier agreed to a $30 million settlement, the largest recorded payment in the U.S. to an injured wireless infrastructure worker, …
SBA’s Ciarfella joins National Wireless Safety Alliance Board of Directors
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today that Mark Ciarfella, Executive Vice President – U.S. Operations at SBA Communications Corporation, has been appointed to serve on the organization’s Board of Directors. The NWSA leadership made the announcement from the Wireless Infrastructure Association’s 2018 Connectivity Expo which is taking place this week in Charlotte, N.C. The NWSA, headquartered in Fairfax, …
FCC’s 2020 repack deadline is questionable following first year’s bleak build
After assessing the progress of the first 12 months of the broadband repack, and the immense pressure put upon the small cadre of contractors that specialize in tall tower broadcast work, the NAB is again championing the need for the FCC to address what the trade group and tower companies believe is an “unrealistic schedule” and the organization is urging …
PerfectVision and Trylon team up to ensure successful wireless rollouts
PerfectVision Manufacturing, a leading manufacturer of satellite, broadband, and wireless products, and Trylon, an end-to-end wireless infrastructure developer and tower manufacturer, have entered into a partnership agreement for a long-term joint manufacturing and distribution relationship to support the growing demands of the industry. The alliance will drive continued improvement in the quality and cost of products in the wireless marketplace by aligning …
FCC Commissioner Carr gets an enlightening Cook’s tour of tower site work
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr today conducted a site visit to a communications tower located in Noblesville, Ind. The tour was facilitated by representatives from NATE, Crown Castle and Heartland Solutions Corporation. During his time spent on site, Carr visited with technicians and staff from NATE member companies Heartland Solutions and Crown Castle to discuss the work that is conducted on …
Crown Castle monopole destroyed in early morning Philly fire
Crown Castle is investigating the circumstances that caused a multi-tenant monopole to catch fire early this morning in Philadelphia. Firefighters were called to the cell site kocated just of the Schuylkill Expressway between Montgomery Dr. and Roosevelt Blvd. at about 5:15 a.m. after numerous drivers called in the fire that had swept through the center of the pole, igniting transmission …
Bet on the Sprint/T-Mobile mega merger wounding towercos
If the proposed T-Mobile and Sprint merger announced Sunday is approved by federal regulators, both companies said that they expect the marriage creating the nation’s second largest carrier would be sometime in July 2019. However, it’s been identified by the carriers that fully combining the companies is another three to four years, possibly longer. Displaying their lack of fundamental industry …
T-Mobile and Sprint agree to merge creating severe competition for rival AT&T
After years of negotiations, T-Mobile and Sprint announced today that they have finally agreed to tie the knot and will merge in an all-stock transaction of 9.75 Sprint shares for each T-Mobile US share. Based upon Friday’s closing share prices this represents a value of approximately $59 billion for Sprint and approximately $146 billion for the combined company. The new company will …
India tower deal drops American Tower to the world’s third largest towerco
India’s Bharti Infratel Ltd has agreed to merge with Indus Towers, in a deal that creates the world’s second largest telecom tower company, a title that American Tower formerly held. The new company with more than 163,000 towers has an estimated equity value of $14.6 billion Indus Towers’s tower total lags considerably behind the world’s largest tower owner, China Tower …
AT&T’s CitySwitch agreement is a clear unveiling of their current tower leasing concerns
In a shot over the bow of the major tower owners signaling that they’re not pleased with their current leasing models and are looking for alternatives, AT&T announced today that the carrier and CitySwitch signed an agreement for building new cell towers to-suit based on future wireless network needs. CitySwitch will begin tower construction plans as early as the second …
