T-Mobile Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray most likely knew that there was no possibility of the carrier sporting high data usage numbers at Super Bowl 51 Sunday, and used the same game play that it did last year. Ray tried to exploit his opponents’ slow speed during the most watched sporting event in America with T-Mobile’s download and upload speeds of …
NATE releases an updated detailed resource for tower site drone usage
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today released the 2nd Edition of the NATE Unmanned Aerial Systems Operations Around Vertical Communications Infrastructure resource document available to all interested parties at no charge. The newest edition of this valuable safety resource is a by-product of collaboration between the NATE Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Committee and other prominent representatives from the commercial …
Up to 50 gazillion terabytes of data could be used at Super Bowl 51
The Patriots and Falcons will match up in Houston Sunday at NRG Stadium, and the nation’s wireless carriers are kicking off their public relations campaigns this week to show how they’ll be capable of handling whatever their subscribers throw their way. But unlike today’s odds where New England is installed as a three-point favorite over the Falcons, the odds of …
AT&T’s end run around municipalities might have put Mobilitie out of the game
DAS-provider Mobilitie LLC’s petition to the FCC for a declaratory ruling to promote broadband in the U.S. by prohibiting excessive charges for access to public rights of way was championed by AT&T, at least in Ohio, where the carrier last month lobbied for and successfully sneaked in an amendment inside a bill regulating puppy mill providers. The questionable legislative procedure …
It’s a one-woman show against Mobilitie’s rights of way crusade
Mobilitie might have met the one woman in America who has the best chance with the FCC to have the agency bridle, what she describes as, the distributed antenna system (DAS) provider’s desire to “run roughshod over local communities” as it attempts to reduce rights of way fees that they say will impede future 5G growth. But Mobilitie has the …
Commuters use NYC’s new subway cell coverage to castigate the MTA for delays
Almost all underground subway stations in New York City had cell phone coverage from the nation’s top four carriers on Monday, a year ahead of service, according to state and city officials. In addition, Wi-Fi has been installed a full two years ahead of schedule. Commuters welcomed the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) early delivery that was made possible by Governor Andrew …
AT&T to roll out giant eyeballs and drum sets to support inauguration
The nation’s wireless carriers are ready for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 in Washington D. C. with increased network capacity with AT&T providing what might be the best coverage in the District – or at least it appears that way as the nation’s second largest carrier promotes its innovative and largest temporary network it has ever provided. Two …
Checkered contractor loses lawsuit after two tower tech deaths
Based upon substantial evidence to support their findings, a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has kayoed a wireless contractor’s final attempt to vacate the company’s serious violations of OSHA’s General Duty Clause and $7,000 in fines they received following an accident that killed two of their employees on May 28, 2013. Both men, employees …
Drones helped Verizon’s network to stay afloat following Matthew
Verizon is using drones to help with cell site inspections from the air in North Carolina and South Carolina to survey areas impacted by severe flooding from Hurricane Matthew. The quadcopter used for the inspections is an unmanned aerial system (UAS) operated by Measure UAS Inc., to inspect cell sites in difficult to reach locations and share vital information on any damaged equipment. …
AT&T and Verizon lead nation in 2015 capex, but tightened it in 2016
According to recent data from the Progressive Policy Institute, AT&T and Verizon outspent every other non-financial company in the nation in domestic capital expenditures in 2015. AT&T totaled $18.7 billion versus Verizon’s $16.5 billion. Noticeably absent from the bottom of the top 25 list were T-Mobile and Sprint, with Freeport-McMoRan at $3.4 billion, just behind General Electric at $3.5 billion. …
FiberLight required to pay $17M to company that brokered Verizon network deals
A California U.S. District Court judge has awarded Telecom Asset Management (TAM) $17 million in commissions after a three day bench trial that it said it was due after securing approximately $420 million worth of Verizon contracts for telecom network provider FiberLight. Judge Susan Illston awarded TAM the money after settlement discussions failed last month. TAM claimed that beginning in …
Civil lawsuit filed against Verizon as the culprit for tower collapses
A Massachusetts tower owner says Verizon acted without due caution in adding equipment to their tower, causing it to collapse in 2014, and they are suing the carrier for $477,000. In reply to the complaint, Verizon said that the damages were caused by “an act of God, and were not in reason preventable by human foresight, strength or care.” North …
American Tower’s chief says pressures to lower their tenant rates aren’t working
During American Tower Corporation’s second quarter earnings analysts’ call yesterday, President and CEO James Taiclet fielded questions regarding whether the company might need to reduce its carriers’ tenancy rates. Taiclet said, no. Answering Barclays analyst Amir Rozwadowski’s question regarding concerns about future lease escalator rates, with some carriers expressing “some consternation about how the compounding growth outlook of that cost …
The sky doesn’t appear to be ready to fall upon tower company stocks anytime soon
Almost four months ago, a well-respected telecom financial analyst downgraded the public tower companies, later citing that she believed that a couple of the major carriers may be trying to bypass the major towercos – or at least presenting that posture so that they could control rising rent escalators. In a March 4 statement, Wells Fargo senior analyst Jennifer Fritzsche …
FCC’s new sweeping Spectrum Frontier rules will open up 11 GHz of spectrum
The FCC today adopted new rules for wireless broadband operations in frequencies above 24 GHz, making the United States the first country in the world to make this spectrum available for next generation wireless services. Building on the successful, flexible approach to spectrum policy that enabled the explosion of 4G (LTE), these rules set a strong foundation for the rapid …
Frontier Communications technician dies while the company is swathed in complaints
A Frontier Communications worker was working on overhead communications lines when he reportedly fell off a 15-foot-high ladder yesterday, according to Azle, Tex. authorities. The 64-year-old man was found lying on the ground on West Main Street around 12:45 p.m. and had suffered a severe head injury. It is not known whether the service representative was part of a team …
Eyes are on Sprint as T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon provide favorable capex reports
Although subscriber growth is a good indicator of a carrier’s favorable outlook by analysts, capex is the tailwind of wireless infrastructure providers, and this week’s news deflated the sails of a number of analysts who have speculated that carriers would cut their capex in early 2016. In his typical over the top presentation with a 360-degree camera, T-Mobile CEO John …
Carriers agree upon network resiliency framework for disasters and emergencies
Carriers today said they’re in agreement on how to facilitate information-sharing in an effort to improve network resiliency before, during and after natural disasters and emergencies. House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone and CTIA the Wireless Association released the “Wireless Network Resiliency Cooperative Framework” with the backing of AT&T Inc., Sprint Corp., T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon …
Verizon cell site opponent is convicted and opts for 18 months in jail
City council meetings regarding cell tower siting approvals can be rather contentious, but an Astoria, Ore. hearing on a request by Verizon Wireless last June to move an aging communications tower ended up with a man attempting to make a citizen’s arrest of the mayor, and then he was arrested, and yesterday was convicted for refusing to leave City Hall. …
FCC auction has kicked off with NAB and NATE still ticked off
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) auction to buy spectrum from television stations, repack the spectrum, and then sell it to wireless providers, kicked off yesterday with broadcasters having to make a commitment as to whether and how they would participate. But a 39-month post auction deadline is seen as too compressed by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). And the …
