The Perry County Tennessee Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) arrested Frank Thomas Aldridge, 48, of Lobelville on Thursday for stealing radio equipment that disrupted local, state and emergency communications. According to a police report, on or about Dec. 12, 2016, Aldridge made forced entry into a communications tower compound off of Crooked Creek Rd. in Lobelville. The tower site is owned by …
FCC Commissioner contends more broadband subsidies may not be the best route
Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been open to the idea of spending $20 billion in broadband funding as part of a $1 trillion infrastructure proposal, as recently reported by Wireless Estimator, but one Republican Federal Communications Commissioner is arguing that the approach has “serious potential drawbacks.” “For the sake of efficiency and soundness, if new government money has to be …
FCC chief takes first step to increase transparency of rulemakings by releasing documents
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai today announced a pilot program designed to dramatically increase the transparency of Commission rulemakings. For the first time, the Chairman is releasing to the public the full text of documents he circulated to his fellow Commissioners for a vote at the FCC’s next Open Meeting on Feb. 23. Traditionally, these documents, and the draft proposals contained …
AT&T sneakily buys FiberTower, a company they once inadvertently helped to cripple
Technology makes strange bedfellows and opportunities, as is the case when AT&T announced on Tuesday that it “entered into an agreement to acquire FiberTower Corporation, and its mmWave spectrum rights.” The one-sentence sale statement was tucked in at the end of an announcement that AT&T was in advanced discussions with power companies to trial Project AirGig, a patented broadband-over-power lines …
Pennsylvania mayor arrested for burying graves during cell site construction
Update: Feb. 19, 2017 – Northumberland County District Attorney Tony Matulewicz dismissed the case against the Mayor of Shamokin, Pa. yesterday of allegedly desecrating graves, citing a lack of evidence. In a statement, Mayor William Milbrand said, “I knew that I did nothing wrong, but I also knew that some members of the Shamokin Police Department were angry at me and they …
Chairman Pai forms broadband deployment committee to close digital divide
At Ajit Pai’s first open meeting as the Federal Communications Commission’s Chairman, he emphasized the need to close the digital divide, and he believes the creation of a broadband deployment advisory committee that will be active for two years will assist in that effort. However, he didn’t discuss how he would proceed on key rules that he opposed under the …
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 …
GCI mourns death of company co-founder and communications pioneer Bob Walp
General Communication Inc. (GCI) has announced the passing of Bob Walp, one of the company’s co-founders and its first president. He was 89 years old. A steadfast advocate of competition in the Alaska telecommunications industry, Walp, along with Ron Duncan, founded GCI in 1979. Initially they operated the company from Bob’s small apartment in Anchorage. After battling regulatory and business obstacles, …
AT&T: Viva Mexico, President Trump, and FirstNet selecting them
Although the almost daily political question in America is Who will pay for the Mexican border wall?, AT&T knows who is paying to assist with its bottom line, Mexico. And it has been a “remarkable success story,” according to AT&T CFO John Stephens. In its quarterly conference call last week, Stephens accented the company’s strong growth in Mexico, stating, “In …
U.S. broadband infrastructure spending consensus is at $20 billion
With President Donald Trump’s “America’s Infrastructure First” policy calling for $1 trillion in new investment to improve the nation’s infrastructure, broadband will play a critical role in connecting the country’s citizens, communities and businesses, and according to an all-star panel brought together by USTelecom that spoke before the National Press Club in Washington yesterday, that need will most likely require …
Goodman Networks expects to file prepackaged bankruptcy next month
Financially troubled Goodman Networks Incorporated of Frisco, Tex. said that it expects to file its prepackaged Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in February in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. Prepackaging its bankruptcy plan allows Goodman to shorten and simplify the bankruptcy process in order to save the company money in legal and accounting fees, as well as …
Landmark study of the huge impact of 5G is released
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. commissioned and released a landmark study, The 5G Economy, examining the potential economic and social impact of 5G around the world. The study was conducted jointly by research firms IHS Markit, PSB and leading economist Professor Dr. David Teece, director of the Tusher Center at the Haas School …
FCC fines Straight Path $100 million for failing to deploy wireless service
The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau today announced a settlement valued in excess of $100 million with Straight Path Communications to resolve an investigation of Straight Path’s failure to deploy wireless services as required under its FCC spectrum licenses. The Enforcement Bureau investigated allegations that Straight Path violated the Commission’s buildout and discontinuance rules in connection with approximately 1,000 licenses …
Grand Opening of Primus West in Phoenix, Arizona
Primus, one of the nation’s largest and leading wireless distributors, announced today the grand opening of Primus West, a second fulfillment center in Phoenix, Ariz., in the Freeport Industrial Center near Interstate 10/Papago Freeway and the 51st Avenue interchange. The new location boasts 100,000 square feet of warehouse space – more than doubling their current distribution capacity – which allows …
New inspection requirements added in Revision H of ANSI/TIA-222
The new ANSI/TIA‐222-H Standard, the “Structural Standard for Antenna Supporting Structures and Antennas and Small Wind Turbine Structures,” the latest revision of the TIA-222 Standard that builds on the changes introduced in the Revision G and enhances and expands them, is expected to be published in the third quarter of 2017. Revision H has loading and design strength provisions revised …
Carriers and towercos plan for enforcement of new tower technician certifications
Nationwide NWSA certifications mark historic milestone for the communication tower workforce The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced the official launch of two industry-wide certification programs, Telecommunications Tower Technician 1 (TTT-1) and Telecommunications Tower Technician 2 (TTT-2), and carriers and tower companies have informed Wireless Estimator that they are assessing when they will require full certification compliance of all technicians …
Coax reel takes off down a highway in the direction of a tower
A number of Wireless Estimator viewers directed us to a YouTube video of a freewheeling reel of what they believe is coaxial cable rolling down Route 40, heading east into Uniontown yesterday morning in Fayette County, Pa. You can view it in real-time, 10 times the speed and slow motion. A cell phone video captures the alarming wrong-way travels of …
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 …
Point-to-point super flyway broadband network may not have enough planes
California-based Airborne Wireless Network (AWN) believes, like Facebook envisions, that it has the answer for being able to assist in providing broadband throughout the world by using aircraft. Whereas Facebook is attempting to use unmanned drones, with its first attempt ending in a return-trip crash, AWN want to use the world’s existing commercial aircraft to create a meshed carrier network. The company …
Wind gusts found Aquila’s Achilles heel in “cell site” solar plane crash
On June 28, 2016, Facebook Connectivity Lab launched its solar powered Aquila aircraft to set the company’s ability to provide broadband coverage to a 60-mile-wide area on the ground in underconnected regions. Three weeks later, Facebook acknowledged that the operation was successful, but the patient died – or was severely injured — when their airplane had a structural wing failure …
