The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) has reported that the second NATE Regional Meeting held on Tues., June 7 at the Texas Star Golf Course Conference Center in Euless, Tex. was a tremendous success. The meeting focused on key industry safety and health initiatives and offered excellent networking and professional development opportunities for meeting attendees. “This was such a successful …
Veteran tower climber, helping ham radio operators, succumbs after a fall in Arizona
Update: June 12, 2016 – Andrew Milton ‘Milt’ Jensen, 73, who died when he fell from a tower located on Mount Lemmon in Pima County, Ariz. on Thursday while volunteering his services to an amateur radio club, had been climbing professionally for a number of years and had safety training, according to a family member who announced services today that …
FCC shuffle puts Suzanne Tetreault in the deputy bureau chief’s seat
FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Chief Jon Wilkins has announced his intention to appoint Suzanne Tetreault as deputy bureau chief. Tetreault will move from her current position as deputy general counsel in the Office of General Counsel. Tetreault will replace current Deputy Bureau Chief Jean Kiddoo who is joining the FCC’s Incentive Auction Task Force as Deputy Chair for Transition. “Suzanne’s …
Georgia tech’s death underscores the fragility of life on the road
The known dangers to the nation’s road-warrior technicians are numerous, especially when they’re swelled by working aloft, but the recent death of a Conley, Ga. man underscores the fragility of life on the road and has his fellow crew members, family and friends shaking their heads in disbelief. Derreset “Dezzy” Brown, 51, had been working for TowerComm of Raleigh, N.C. …
TowerCo eyes new acquisitions and build-to-suits after its $244 million tower sale to Grain
Company officials at TowerCo have announced the sale of 253 towers and 95 other assets to Grain Infrastructure II, L.P., a private equity firm in Sarasota, Fla., for $244 million. The sale marks the third portfolio of towers and assets sold by TowerCo since 2008 when the company sold 430 towers to SBA Communications for $193.5 million. The sale elevates …
Connect-it Wireless’ grand opening in Florida helps to benefit the Hubble Foundation
When Jim and Faith Schultz co-founded wireless manufacturer and distributor Connect-it Wireless Components in 2003, their storage bay working area was less than 100 square feet. Growth required a move to a 500 sq. ft. building and then to a facility that would allow for future expansion for years to come – a 10,000 sq. ft. building in Jupiter, Fla. …
Alpha Networks acquires Xcell, putting Moskowitz at the helm
Alpha Networks LLC has announced the acquisition of Xcell Inc., a leading tower construction and service business headquartered in Dallas, Tex. and providing services throughout the Southern region of the U.S. for more than a decade. The business will continue to operate under the Xcell name and brand. Alpha Networks has brought in new management, led by industry veteran Michael Moskowitz into the …
Sprint’s anticipated spending for 2016 takes a 40% haircut
Sprint’s announcement that it is going to invest $3 billion in network expansion during fiscal 2016, which started for the carrier on April 1, 2016, is a sharp decline from fiscal 2015’s $5.4 billion which was already down $0.7 billion from 2014. Last year, Sprint indicated it would spend $15 billion over three years on network build-outs, financing some of …
Alliance’s bankruptcy filing leaves contractors and suppliers with no recourse
Cell site project management and construction company Alliance Management Services of Louisville, Ky. posted on their Facebook page last year that “2013 was practice, 2014 was the warm up and 2015 is game time”. But the company’s game plan proved to result in a failed opportunity and Alliance filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization with U.S. Bankruptcy Court or the …
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 …
A Pope and carrier exec quote highlight cell phones and mobile/spiritual networks
The rote quote of the week comes from a British carrier executive who finds that cell site permitting is too tough in the UK, while the Pope quote of the week told teens that life without Jesus is like a smartphone without bars. British carrier Arqiva’s director of M2M, Nicolas Ott, said in an interview, that “In rural areas we …
Acceptance of drones in wireless work could begin with early broadcast ‘repacking’ efforts
In 2013, when Amazon unveiled its daring drone plan to have unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) provide commercial deliveries, Black & Veatch had already been investigating how drones could assist in reducing the number of times climbers would have to ascend a tower. At an FCC-OSHA workshop in 2014, John Johnson, Black & Veatch Vice President, ESH&S, said, “I know that …
Vermont’s legislators asking the Feds to audit $116 million telecom project
Vermont’s lawmakers are asking federal regulators to conduct an audit of a $116 million grant and loan provided to VTel Wireless, stating that the company has passed by many communities with the broadband service it was paid to provide in Vermont. With similar resolutions, the House on Thursday passed H.R.19, and the Senate’s version was referred to the Finance Committee. …
Contractors could benefit from Facebook’s Terragraph replacing fiber with low-cost, fast Wi-Fi
If Facebook’s pilot program in San Jose, Calif. that’s slated to go live later this year successfully offers inexpensive IPv6-only nodes with WiGig chips on lamp posts, utility poles, and other street furniture and structures that will broadcast Internet using unlicensed 60GHz spectrum, it could prove to be a boon for many wireless industry contractors when carriers and internet service …
NATE highlights its successful conference with the release of hundreds of photographs
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) has provided over a half million descriptions of the tremendously successful conference and exhibition in New Orleans, La. last February with its release today of over 550 event photographs. Although NATE’s receptions and other networking events show a great amount of comradeship, the meetings, educational sessions …
Four-tower $75-million deal still on hold as developer grapples with NIMBY group
Update: June 24, 2020 — In a formal announcement on June 24, 2020, Cumulus confirmed that it has closed on the sale of its parcel of land in Bethesda to Toll Brothers. It’s a $74.1 million deal that is expected to generate proceeds of $71.3 million. Residents impacted by the proposed sale of a 75-acre Bethesda, Md. tract that is the home …
Canada’s Structure, Tower & Antenna Council’s inaugural event is a huge success
The inaugural Structure, Tower and Antenna Council (STAC) 2016 Conference & Exposition in Toronto, Ontario kicked off yesterday at the International Plaza Hotel with a keynote address by Bernard Lord, President and CEO of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, and according to attendees and exhibitors at the two-day event, it is proving to be a tremendous success. STAC is the only …
Crown Castle emerges as number one in the U.S. with their TDC 336 tower deal
Crown Castle International Corp.has announced that it acquired Tower Development Corporation (“TDC”) for approximately $461 million in cash. TDC, a portfolio company of Berkshire Partners, owns and operates 336 towers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico with an average tenancy of approximately two tenants per tower. The deal puts Crown Castle as the largest tower owner in the U.S., although …
Wireless industry is now larger than the car manufacturing, hotel, movie and music industries
CTIA released a report today it commissioned by Recon Analytics that found the U.S. wireless industry serves as an integral driver of America’s economy by annually generating more than $194.8 billion of domestic economic value and more than $282.1 billion in U.S. GDP. “The Wireless Industry: Revisiting Spectrum, The Essential Engine of US Economic Growth” report looks at how the industry …
