Law enforcement officials are not certain if 63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner’s motive for driving his RV to downtown Nashville, Tennessee Christmas morning, allowing himself to be shred to pieces as the vehicle exploded on Second Avenue North was because he believed that 5G technology was killing people. Still, the former IT worker’s alleged belief appears to be their best lead. Douglas Korneski, …
Structures with small cells get a revisit in 2020 update released by Telecommunications Industry Foundation
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Our society has an ever-increasing need for information, video, smart devices, smart infrastructure and all things telecommunications related. The need for these services will continually drive the innovation of the telecommunications industry; the most recent development being the introduction of 5G technologies and the continuing densification of existing networks. As a result of these developments, the …
It’s now officially FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington
Nathan Simington officially became an FCC Commissioner yesterday after he was sworn in by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. The ceremony was a virtual event since the FCC continues to work remotely due to COVID-19 concerns. His five year term was back-dated to July 1, 2019 when Commissioner Michael O’Rielly’s term was scheduled to end. O’Reilly was nominated for another five …
Crown Castle shaves 250 from its employee ranks as part of its ‘long-term goals’
Rumors of layoffs at Crown Castle began in early October when an anonymous poster on layoff.com wrote that the company had laid off 70 people in the West. On November 6, there was a report that an additional 57 layoffs were made on the business’s tower side. Last Thursday, another poster said that hundreds of people were let go, identifying them …
Vertical Bridge’s acquisition of Eco-Site allows them to boast surpassing 20,000 towers
Vertical Bridge REIT, LLC, the largest private owner and operator of communications infrastructure and locations in the United States, today announced the completion of its merger with North Carolina-based Eco-Site, a leading developer of wireless communication, tower sites and infrastructure. The combination increases Vertical Bridge’s owned and master-leased tower portfolio to over 20,000 sites and its entire portfolio to more …
NATE UNITE 2021’s show in Memphis cancelled; Las Vegas is a go in 2022
As an organization founded on the core tenet of safety, the health and well-being of the Association’s members and staff is a top priority. NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, on a daily basis, has been carefully monitoring the evolving landscape surrounding COVID-19 developments in the United States. The NATE Administrative Staff has engaged in extensive planning and devised a …
SURVEY SAYS: NATE documents the many thousands of telecom positions needed
For the last few years, FCC Commissioners, federal agencies, educational institutions, association CEOs, and industry focus groups have said that there is a shortage of approximately 20,000 telecommunications workers that are critically needed to build out 5G and maintain broadband infrastructure. That workforce shortfall total has been employed to obtain millions of dollars of federal grants for training and other …
DISH’s first massive tower deal has Crown Castle providing access to 20,000 towers
DISH Wireless and Crown Castle today announced a long-term agreement through which Crown Castle will lease DISH space on up to 20,000 communication towers. As part of the agreement, DISH will receive certain fiber transport services and also have the option to utilize Crown Castle for pre-construction services. The agreement encompasses leases on towers located nationwide, helping DISH facilitate its …
Iowa Verizon outages weren’t through ‘hacking’ but by fiber slashing
Verizon appears to have repaired a large fiber cut in the Des Moines, Iowa area that impacted hundreds of tower sites, preventing many users from calling 911 yesterday. Verizon disputes an earlier report that it had been “hacked.” Normal cell phone usage was reportedly also affected. Some G-mail accounts were paused. An estimated 350 Verizon tower sites were having network …
One down, 14,999 Dish cell sites to go starting in Q2
Dish Network’s buildout finally kicked off last week, with a soft launch that was a test site near the company’s Littleton, Colorado headquarters. Executive Vice President – Network Deployment, Dave Mayo last week provided a sneak preview of Dish’s first 5G trial site on his LinkedIn page. Mayo joined Dish last June and will be responsible for the carrier’s wireless …
Two tower techs are killed when their man lift in Delaware topples onto electrical lines
UPDATE: November 4, 2020 — Two men, who were killed attempting to install antennas onto a water tower near Bethany Beach in high winds, have been identified. Delaware State Police said 23-year-old Jovan Maldonado and 22-year-old Bryan Maldonado Andino, both from Puerto Rico, were in a Z135 Man Lift working to put antennas for the Velex, Inc. on the Sussex Shores water tower just of the …
Five Alarm Concern: UWM assesses the vulnerability of cell site infrastructure to wildfires
While the FCC attempts to get accurate maps of broadband coverage in the U.S., three University of Wisconsin – Madison researchers have completed the task of identifying for the agency the vulnerability of cell sites throughout America when confronted with wildfires. The study, presented at a meeting of internet network researchers this week found more than 430,000 cell site transceivers …
NATE’s record 185 STAR Initiative participants take advantage of following the gold standard for safety
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association announced the member companies, listed below, who have been formally approved to participate in the STAR Initiative program for the 2020-2021 year. NATE has proudly accepted 185 participating companies in this year’s STAR Initiative which represents a record number of companies since the inception of the program. The STAR Initiative will be entering its …
Wireless Infrastructure Association names three new industry execs for leadership roles
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) named Dr. Rikin Thakker as Chief Technology Officer; Brent Weil as Vice President, Workforce Development; and Jason Nelson as Vice President, Partnerships and Development. These new leaders will expand WIA’s wireless workforce development initiatives and extend WIA’s thought leadership and convening role for businesses in the wireless industry. These positions will play a major role …
NATE says it is a big go for its February show in Memphis as WIA moves its event to August
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) announced this week that it is moving the dates for its Connect (X) 2021 show in Boston from May 25-28 to August 3-6 as a “precautionary measure” during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the NATE UNITE 2021 conference scheduled for February 15–18 in Memphis, Tennessee opened for registration today, the Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association announced this …
T.Steele Construction’s founder passes following Kentucky jobsite accident
UPDATE: October 11, 2020 — Services to celebrate Thomas Steele’s life will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, October 19, 2020 at the Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home, 614 N. Main Street, Davenport, Illinois. Services will be livestreamed by visiting Tom’s obituary at www.hmdfuneralhome.com. Visitation will be Sunday, October 18 from 1 until 4 p.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, …
LBA reaches milestone with 100% technician CBRS certification
Lawrence Behr Associates, Inc., the RF consulting services unit of LBA Group, Inc. (LBA), is ready to provide the FCC required installation certification for Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) deployments across the country. The company’s technical team consisting of both field and office personnel has completed the course work and obtained the Certified Professional Installer (CPI) credentials required to set up and …
FCC chief lauds the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for their denial of a stay of the FCC 6GHz order
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai took to Twitter today with two thumbs up after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied emergency stays sought by AT&T and others of the the FCC’s decision to open the 6GHz ban for unlicensed WiFi. The FCC passed an order in April to open the band which is primarily used by broadcasters, …
DoL gives WIA million$ of reason$ to develop the wireless workforce
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) announced today that the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) awarded it a major contract to perform as the 5G Industry Intermediary to develop the wireless workforce. DoL provided WIA a multi-million-dollar contract as the National Sponsor of the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP). The objective of the funding is to expand the industry’s multi-employer …
Mount Wilson’s towers appear to have been spared as Bobcat Fire becomes contained
American Tower Corp. and InSite Towers’ management, and dozens of broadcasters, breathed out a collective but cautious sigh of relief early this morning as controlled burns around Mount Wilson in California appear to have kept at bay the Bobcat Fire that had made a renewed push to destroy the Mount Wilson Observatory and 29 communications towers. As of 3:00 a.m. …
