The Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP) and the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) announced today that 12 companies have signed agreements to be Participating Employers in the nation’s only telecommunications apprenticeship program. This pledge from private businesses will accelerate the fulfillment of TIRAP’s goal to address the skills gap in the telecommunications industry by adopting an apprenticeship model, which is …
NATE, WIA – everyone else – welcomes Rosenworcel’s return engagement to the FCC
President Donald Trump said he would nominate Jessica Rosenworcel to fill a Democratic seat on the FCC. The expected nomination was applauded throughout the nation. Rosenworcel served as a commissioner until the end of 2016 when lawmakers failed to take up her renomination under former President Barack Obama, handing Republicans a 2-1 majority on the five-seat commission which has allowed …
Orange is the new knack – for selling tower siting sizzle and not the steak
After a 10-year effort to improve public safety communications in Douglas County and Highlands Ranch, Colo., erection of a 150-foot public safety radio tower began yesterday morning after sales and use tax funding became available and a private developer said it would assist in providing a location for an artistic structure – a monopole with two side-mounted omni antennas gingerly …
Steven Marshall elected Chairman of Wireless Infrastructure Association
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) today announced that Steven Marshall, Executive Vice President and President of the U.S. Tower Division at American Tower Corp., was elected to serve as Chairman of the WIA’s Board of Directors. Marshall has served on the WIA Board of Directors since 2010 and brings a depth of industry experience and business leadership to WIA. He …
Crown sues Hempstead, N.Y. over consultant’s delay tactics and high fees for DAS nodes
National DAS-provider and tower owner Crown Castle has brought suit against the Town of Hempstead, N.Y., alleging that the Town unlawfully delegated its review authority to a third-party consultant for 14 initial applications for authorization to install, operate and maintain DAS facilities in the Town’s public rights of way. Crown, in its complaint, said that the consultant, Center for Municipal …
Calculating the job risk online, cell tower technicians are ‘doomed’ – but it’s unlikely
A study that has been kicking around since it was published by researchers at Oxford University in 2013, has gained a second life in the last few months after two online entrepreneurs made it easy to find out how susceptible 702 occupations were to being replaced by machines. The university report by Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A. Osborne was created …
Sioux Falls Tower’s corporate office groundbreaking assists with its continued growth
Employees and associates gathered to celebrate the ground breaking for the new corporate office for Sioux Falls Tower and Communications on Tuesday in Sioux Falls, S.D. President & CEO, Craig Snyder, kicked off the ceremony by talking about their humble beginnings and Sioux Falls Tower’s successes within the past 30 plus years. “Faith and perseverance have been common themes that …
CCA slams AT&T again, this time asking FCC to reject FiberTower spectrum buy
The Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) believes that AT&T will not allow their carrier members to remain competitive if the FCC allows AT&T to acquire bankrupt FiberTower’s 650 terminated licenses. In a filing with the FCC Wednesday, CCA said that instead of the planned acquisition, the FCC should recover and re-auction the unconstructed spectrum in the 39 GHz band, and potentially …
WIA launches new industry education and training programs
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) today announced the creation of the Telecommunications Education Center (TEC), a new program and online portal that aims to provide the wireless telecommunications industry with a series of education and training courses with the goal of building a stronger and more diverse workforce. TEC (www.tec-online.org) aims to improve safety and quality, reduce costs of wireless …
USA Telecom Insurance Services takes active role in supporting TIRAP
USA Telecom Insurance Services (USATIS) has become the National Marketing Partner for Apprenticeship Outreach for the Telecommunication Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP). USATIS will be joining the National Sponsor, the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), in the role of expanding this widely-beneficial credentialed apprenticeship program across the wireless industry. TIRAP is a joint venture of telecommunications companies, industry associations, and the …
Single structure towerco wins siting suit in Oklahoma Supreme Court
The owner of a successful Oklahoma tower and lighting maintenance company saw an opportunity to provide homeowners in a severely underserved area east of Muskogee with cell service – in some homes non-existent – and constructed a 250-foot self-supporting tower that a major carrier was interested in co-locating on in 2010. But as soon as it was built, homeowner Ken …
Mobilitie allowed everyone to be always streaming as Always Dreaming wins
Spectators and visitors at the highest-attended sporting event in the U.S. generated the most voice and data traffic in the history of Churchill Downs this past weekend, and the record-setting volume was transmitted without a hitch due to Mobilitie’s beefed-up wireless voice and data system at the venue. More than 263,000 spectators at the Kentucky Derby, where Always Dreaming came …
FCC vote kicks off battle over regulation of the nation’s internet
In a 2-1 vote, the FCC today moved forward with a process that could lift Title II broadband classification, the legal footing for the commission’s 2015 net neutrality rules. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai stressed that Thursday’s vote is just “the beginning of the process.” In prepared remarks, he stated that the commission would “follow the facts and law where they …
FCC chief chides AT&T for 911 outage that could have been prevented
Ajit Pai said today that AT&T’s 911 outage in March could have been prevented if the carrier had implemented network reliability best practices. On March 8, 12,539 Americans who were AT&T customers tried to call 911. But they couldn’t reach emergency services because of a nationwide outage of AT&T’s VoLTE 911 network. When they placed that call, they heard fast …
Verizon wins with its superior $3.1 billion offer for Straight Path
Update: May 11, 2017 -Straight Path Communications Inc. announced this morning that it will sign today a definitive merger agreement under which Verizon Communications Inc. will acquire Straight Path for $184.00 per share, reflecting an enterprise value of approximately $3.1 billion, in an all-stock transaction. Concurrently therewith, Verizon will pay on behalf of Straight Path a termination fee of $38 …
Comcast and Charter jointly explore a speedy entry into wireless market
Comcast and Charter, both regional cable operators, have announced an agreement to explore potential opportunities for operational cooperation in their respective wireless businesses to accelerate and enhance each company’s ability to participate in the national wireless marketplace.The agreement also forbids each company from making wireless mergers and acquisitions without the other’s consent for one year. The companies, which have each separately …
Lendlease, a global developer, acquires Parallel Infrastructure and its tower portfolio
Lendlease, one of the world’s largest development, property, infrastructure, and construction firms, has announce that it has acquired the Parallel Infrastructure portfolio of telecommunications towers and development positions across the United States, from Florida East Coast Industries. Going forward Lendlease will utilize its integrated business model to further create development opportunities focused on telecommunication infrastructure across the region. Denis Hickey, …
Portal to check cell tower RF exposure in India is a poor PR patchwork
In early April, a ruling from India’s Supreme Court shut down a BSNL cell tower after Harish Chand Tiwari, who works in Gwalior, complained that for the past 14 years he was exposed to radiation from a the tower illegally installed on a neighbor’s rooftop that was 165-feet from his employer’s home. And under pressure from the major tower owners …
CCA and NATE partner to offer key industry tracks at their conferences
The Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) and the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today announced a partnership, designed to bring new, exciting content to attendees of both CCA’s 2017 Annual Convention, taking place October 25-27 in Fort Worth, and NATE UNITE 2018, February 19-22 in Nashville. NATE will develop and sponsor a conference track at CCA’s event highlighting infrastructure innovators and opportunities, …
One tower installation error adds up to a half million dollar add on
For 13 years Wireless Estimator has been covering the wireless siting community and is always in search of the man bites dog story rather than a mundane municipal siting protest. Today, we found one in Rowlett, Tex. where a city tower was built on their neighbor’s adjoining property. But instead of moving the tower, equipment shelter and generator to the …
