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Recent News
Shocking 5G study: Tower techs and nearby residents are a minimum of 8.7% smarter than general public
CTIA President and CEO Meredith Attwell Baker is being heralded throughout the world for her courage in funding a multi-million-dollar, multi-nation study of 5G and in the process, the peer-reviewed report found that it actually increased the IQ of individuals...
Verizon joins AT&T in hiking its employees’ pandemic pay, but doesn’t disclose increase
Verizon announced today that it’s immediately implementing a significantly enhanced compensation plan for the company’s employees who must deploy outside their homes to meet critical customer needs. These mission-critical employees are unable to work remotely as they fulfill and repair...
Even if you don’t climb, safety sleeve testing report is a must read
The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association today officially released the NATE Safety Sleeve Testing Final Report. This in-depth, 62-page white paper describes the overall scope, methodology and results from the NATE sponsored Safety Sleeve Testing events that were performed at...
Radiation guidelines panel finds 5G safe while tin-hatters embrace MD’s YouTube nonsense
A panel of international experts has identified that 5G does not pose a health risk, after updating its radiation exposure guidelines. The organization responsible for assessing health risks, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), has updated its...
DOL releases coronavirus response act notice to be posted by employers
The Federal poster regarding employee rights in reference to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) that takes effect on April 1, 2020, has been released by the Department of Labor. The (Non-Federal Employee) family leave poster is available...
CWA captures an additional 20% COVID-19 pay boost for AT&T field technicians and other workers
Following negotiations with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union, AT&T announced that it will pay a 20% bonus above its regular hourly base pay rate to all of its union employees starting yesterday and until further notice due...
Connect (X) still weighing its best options for the May 18-21 Miami Beach show
UPDATE: March 27, 2020 – The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), updated the status of their May 18 through 21, 2020 Connect (X) 2020 show to their exhibitors, attendees and sponsors on their web site Wednesday, as the planned dates for Connect...
NATE’s legal eagles address ever-changing COVID-19 regulations impacting employers/workers
A live NATE webinar this morning presented by attorneys Edwin Foulke, Jr. and Howard Mavity, partners in the Atlanta office of Fisher & Phillips LLP, enabled almost 200 registrants to obtain the latest information regarding the serious issues facing...
WIA report says CBRS spectrum will play a pivotal role across many industries
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) published a new report: “The CBRS Opportunity: New Spectrum, Stakeholders, Networks and Devices.” Written by members of WIA’s Innovation and Technology Council, the paper highlights the benefits, impact, and opportunities for commercial-use shared spectrum...
DHS steps in with letters to assist contractors as ‘essential’ workers maintaining wireless infrastructure
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued two letters valid through May 28, 2020, to help wireless contractors maintain access to critical infrastructure. The letters are from John O’Connor, Director of the National Communications Coordination Branch of...
Sprint merger ready to roll despite COVID-19 fears says T-Mobile CEO John Legere
In a message to investors today, T-Mobile announced that it is financially prepared to close the merger with Sprint and the COVID-19 crisis will not delay the deal. The carrier said that 16 banks are involved in the merger...
Fall protection succumbs to the need for virus protection as Washington State-based Gravitec closes
Since the initial reports of the COVID-19 outbreak, Washington State-based fall protection training company Gravitec had been coordinating their efforts and strategies to protect their clients, students and employees to sustain their operations, but yesterday evening North America’s largest...
Flash Technology launches Vanguard High Product Series with infrared / night vision compatibility
Flash Technology, a global leader in aids-to-navigation solutions, announces the launch of the Vanguard High FTS 270 LED lighting system. The system is appropriate for broadcast towers, skyscrapers, smokestacks, bridges and other applications requiring high intensity obstruction lights. Engineered...
Satellite messaging to a normal cell phone is now a reality, says Lynk
Lynk today announced that it has successfully connected a satellite in low-Earth orbit to an ordinary mobile phone on Earth. The technical breakthrough enabled Lynk to send the world’s first ever text message from space to a mobile phone....
IWCE reschedules it’s expo to August, WIA’s May show is still a go
In a there’s light at the end of the tunnel announcement, the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) announced that IWCE 2020 will take place on August 24-28, 2020 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada. ETA’s Education Forum...
Coronavirus takes its first contractor toll in the repack lane, FCC extends deadline
In what appears to be the first instance of COVID-19 directly halting a tower erection and antenna installation’s company’s obligation to perform contracted services for its broadcast client, the FCC said today that they are aware of and accept...
Contractors cautioned: Don’t underreact in protecting wireless field workforces against COVID-19
By Michael Devers and Jim Tracy The wireless communication industry we work in is as dynamic and fast-paced as it is critical. Over the past week, we’ve been witness to history as the dynamic, fast-paced, and extraordinary development of...
Primus and Site Pro 1 mitigate virus concerns as LBA provides free COVID-19 safety training
Primus and Site Pro 1 are eliminating non-essential visits to their locations and our reemphasizing the need for best practices for sanitation policies including frequent hand washing to minimize exposure to COVID-19. Both organizations are allowing all employees who...
Uniti offloads three-quarters of its towers for $190 million, Phoenix picks up 197 towers in separate deal
Fiber and tower owner Uniti has announced that it is selling 486 of its 672 towers located across 32 states to an unnamed buyer for $190 million, 30 times annualized tower cash flow. During a Q4 analysts call last...
American Tower’s Taiclet to leave the tower space and go back to his roots in aerospace
American Tower Corporation today announced that Jim Taiclet, President, Chief Executive Officer and executive Chairman of the Board, will be leaving the company to become President and CEO of Lockheed Martin, where he currently serves on the company’s Board of...
Wireless contractor’s bookkeeper says she’s not guilty of pilfering $3.6 million to buy properties
A 47-year-old Osburn, Idaho woman accused of stealing millions of dollars from a Rathdrum, Idaho wireless construction company pleaded not guilty Wednesday in U.S. Magistrate Court in Coeur d’Alene. Trina M. Welch pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of...
DISH’s ‘badass’ tower climber Martha Ramos leads Fast-Forward Friday news
Meet Martha: DISH’s ‘badass’ tower climber When Martha Ramos climbed her first cellular tower, it wasn’t so much being up high that made her nervous, it was learning to let go. “If you’re working on equipment on a tower,...
Tower techs still road warriors as COVID-19 cancels industry’s shows and non-essential travel
Last week, most wireless infrastructure companies were supporting a mostly “business as usual” mentality regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, but they’re now reassessing their preventative plans daily as the industry finds itself struggling to keep abreast of the almost hourly...
Weekend decision shutters IWCE’s 2020 Las Vegas conference due to COVID 19 concerns
The International Wireless Communications Expo’s IWCE 2020 conference scheduled to take place March 30 – April 3 in Las Vegas has been cancelled due to concerns about attendees traveling and networking at a conference with the inherent possibly of being exposed...
Plea deal cuts $97,000 due wireless contractor that was embezzled by bookkeeper
If you are looking for a bookkeeper for your wireless construction company, there’s an Indianapolis, Ind. woman that is able to fulfill that role. But if you ask her previous employer’s owner, John Hammel of Tower Service and Manufacturing,...
Tennessee tornado trashes tower training complex, but ComStar rebounds in 24 hours
The tornado that tore through East Nashville, Tennessee Tuesday morning shredded one of the nation’s largest tower technician training facilities to pieces, but through the support of many individuals and companies, ComStar LLC was back up and running in...
Fuentez, Haldane, Nicks and Siegel to join National Wireless Safety Alliance Board of Governors
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today that Paul Fuentez, Central Region Director of Environmental, Health and Safety at Ericsson, Andy Haldane, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Tower Engineering Professionals (TEP), Joe Nicks, Director of Safety for...
NATE provides the industry with their free sUAS Operations Best Practices Advisory drone resource
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association today officially released the NATE sUAS Operations Best Practices Advisory resource. This in-depth, 38-page document becomes the latest in a line of commercial drone-related resources that NATE’s UAS Committee and its cadre of...
Drouin, Coleman, Lekutis to lead Tower Family Foundation as it aids wireless workers, their families
The Tower Family Foundation announced today the non-profit organization’s Executive Board Member leadership team for 2020. Victor Drouin, President of Green Mountain Communications, Inc. in Pembroke, New Hampshire, was elected to serve as the new President of the Tower...
New York tower tech who died last year in New Jersey reportedly didn’t have climber training
Pushing the six-month window of opportunity to issue fines against a New York company who lost a tower tech in New Jersey on June 28, 2019, Marlton New Jersey’s OSHA office issued five serious citations against Rise & Rise...
NATE’s convention attendance total soars above last year’s count
For the eighth year in a row, NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association saw an increase in their annual convention’s attendance at their Raleigh, North Carolina show last month with an enviable surge of 18% over 2019, with a...
Crown Castle monopole site is the latest victim of a Memphis cell tower arsonist
A 145-foot Crown Castle monopole site had equipment damaged by fire on February 17, 2020 in Memphis, Tennessee, and Memphis fire officials are stating that it appears to have been intentionally set, causing approximately $75,000 in damage at the...
Swiss army knife of helicopters’ antenna pick is a must see NATE Climber Connection video
Crank up the bass, sit back and enjoy an epic video ride alongside pilots of the Erickson Air-Crane, the Swiss army knife of helicopters as it lifts a repack antenna to the top of a broadcast tower in Jacksonville, Florida,...
Avetta takes contractors’ heat, says it will complete BROWZ integration by September, add employees
Compliance company Avetta’s representatives were on the hot seat during a NATE UNITE 2020 educational session in Raleigh, North Carolina last Tuesday as well as during a dinner the following evening. Avetta was proactive during the conference to allay...
NATE Raleigh show was alight with donations to the Tower Family Foundation
The NATE UNITE 2020 conference last week in Raleigh, North Carolina showcased numerous companies that made donations to the Tower Family Foundation, a non-profit charitable support arm for tower workers injured or killed in an accident stemming from working...
Win $100 by guessing the number of attendees at NATE UNITE 2020’s record-breaking show
Step back Grapevine, Texas and make room for Raleigh, North Carolina as the host of NATE – The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association’s largest attended conference in the association’s 25-year history. The event ended today. Last year, a record was set...
NATE’s rebranding clearly captures additional wireless contracting skillsets employed today
As part of the Association’s 25th year anniversary milestone, NATE today unveiled a new logo and descriptor tag-line designed to honor the organizations proud past and capture its promising future in the rapidly evolving communications infrastructure industry. Effective immediately,...
Jim Miller and Ken Meador given top honors at NATE UNITE 2020 for their years of service
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association today honored Jim Miller, CEO of EasTex Tower, LLC and Executive Advisor of Enertech Holdings, LLC in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Ken Meador, former President of TWR Lighting, Inc. in Houston, Texas during...
NATE and Tower Family Foundation award their Ernie Jones Memorial Civil Engineering Scholarship
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association and Tower Family Foundation today jointly announced that Elijah Sullivan, a junior civil engineering student from Evansville, Indiana has been named as the 2020 recipient of the Ernie Jones Memorial Civil Engineering Scholarship...
Miller to remain at the helm of NATE with fellow execs Jones and Dougherty
NATE announced today that Board of Directors’ members Jimmy Miller, John Paul (JP) Jones and Kevin Dougherty were re-elected by their peers to serve on the Association’s Executive Committee for the upcoming year. The Association made the announcement on...
Mississippi gin pole failure crushes top-hand resulting in 2020’s first industry fatality
UPDATE – February 18, 2020: Wireless Estimator has learned that the tower tech that died February 7 in Lumberton, Mississippi was Jim Tinsley, 59, of Baxter, Kentucky. February 16, 2020 — A Kentucky tower technician passed away on Friday, Feb....
NATE’s quarter century show expected to be the best ever
Raleigh, North Carolina will host NATE UNITE 2020 beginning Monday as communications infrastructure contractors and suppliers come together to benefit from the association’s 25th conference and exposition, widely regarded as the premier wireless infrastructure show in the nation. Trying...
Readers question why Tennessee rescue required emergency services assistance
A Tuesday rescue of a tower tech in LaVergne, Tennessee ended successfully, but it started a slew of social media posts and emails to Wireless Estimator questioning why the individual could not have self-rescued himself or rely upon a co-worker bring...
Long-desired pain-free certs tracking is free and can be easily administered by NATE members
With the ever-changing and ever-increasing safety compliance needs of its members, the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) announced today the launch of a new system offering free certification tracking for the association’s member companies. The ABIS Solutions’ ProSys...
Under pressure from a cemetery and a potential burial candidate, AT&T folds in New Hampshire
AT&T has asked the Vermont Public Utilities Commission to dismiss a plan for a new 140-foot cell tower in the Village of Derby Line, Vermont, a Canadian border community, even though it appears that another hearing six weeks later could...
Mobile World Congress show canceled over virus concerns, reimbursements unknown
The world’s biggest wireless show, Mobile World Congress (MWC), is no longer taking place this year in Barcelona after the coronavirus threatened to throw MWC into turmoil. The GSM Association (GSMA), which organizes the show, has now canceled it....
Borghei, Chase and Vink appointed to guide Tower Family Foundation’s visibility and outreach
The Tower Family Foundation announced today appointments to the non-profit organization’s leadership team. Bernard Borghei and Eric Chase have been chosen to serve on the foundation’s Board of Directors and Monica Vink has been appointed to the organization’s Endowment...
Judge’s T-Mobile merger okay expected to boost construction spending
A federal judge today ruled in favor of T-Mobile’s takeover of Sprint in a deal that would combine the nation’s third- and fourth-largest wireless carriers and create a new telecommunications giant to take on rivals AT&T and Verizon. United...
CommScope joins growing list of companies canceling plans to attend Mobile World Congress 2020
CommScope has announced that the safety and well-being of their employees is a top priority and with the continued global threat of the Coronavirus, the company has made the decision to cancel their appearance at Mobile World Congress 2020...
DOJ says States thwarting T-Mobile deal disrupts U.S. merger policy as T-Mobile asks court to move forward
State officials will “wreak havoc” on companies’ ability to merge if they disagree with federal regulators and block deals on their own as 10 states are trying to do with the T-Mobile/Sprint marriage, the chief antitrust official of the...
NCCCO and NWSA launch new Telecommunications Tower Rigger Certification
The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) and the National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today the official launch of the Telecommunications Tower Rigger Level I (TTR-I) Certification Program. Established collaboratively between NCCCO and NWSA, the...
Third copper thief in a gang of five pleads guilty of stripping 80-plus towers
An Illinois man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge accusing him of shutting down power to more than 80 cellphone towers across Missouri and Illinois to steal copper from the sites. He was arrested in Pike County, Missouri...
FCC approves rules for 10-year $20 billion broadband expansion fund
The FCC voted this morning to approve the process for handing out $20 billion in subsidies to assist in closing the digital divide. Democrats on the commission, who dissented in part, were critical of the plan that has most...
New Jersey homeowner’s legal stand against a Verizon tower site collapses in his second appeal
An Alexandria Township, N.J. homeowner has lost his legal battle against Verizon placing cell antennas atop a power line tower adjacent to his property. Glenn Fodor, who lives on Route 579, appealed the approval of the township’s Land Use...
NATE weighs in regarding FAA’s digital license plates in the sky, requesting relief on 400′ limitation
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) has weighed in with their comments to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the agency’s notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that seeks to require the remote identification of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)...
Don’t thread or step (bolt) on me: Crown responds quickly to community’s tattered flag concern
The stars and stripes were flying whole again yesterday morning in Towamensing Township, Pennsylvania on a Crown Castle monopole after residents pressured the company to take down a tattered American flag that had been flying for months in the...
KATC tower crash: Pilot was troubled, erratic and tower lights were working
Scripps Broadcasting agreed to pay a $1.13 million fine to the FCC earlier this month for lighting violations on multiple tower structures. The settlement order adopted by the FCC started after an agency investigation began after a small plane...
American Tower’s revenues will tank in India if government fees create a carrier duopoly
India, once the darling of tower companies looking to expand their international footprint, is not where towercos might want to be today with the potential for a considerable tenancy drop if Vodafone Idea collapses under the weight of government...
Court to decide if City of Colorado Springs monopole can be beefed up by Vertical Bridge
Vertical Bridge Development, LLC has filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado for a ruling that the City of Colorado Springs is violating federal laws by not allowing the company to modify an...
Miller digs into obstacles of broadband deployment, providing solutions to U.S. Senate committee
National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) Chairman Jimmy Miller, President at MillerCo, Inc. in Gulfport, Mississippi, provided expert witness testimony at this morning’s U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. regarding “The 5G Workforce and Obstacles to Broadband...
All site acquisition eyes will be on a San Jose Diocese’s RF ‘study’
Most Christians’ beliefs are sacrosanct without evidence, but when it comes to technology over theology, some parents and parishioners of St. Christopher Catholic Church and school in San Jose, California want evidence that until proof is established that cell...
Pennsylvania techs shot at by a more than tipsy felon who is now behind bars after seven shots
A Pennsylvania man, reportedly intoxicated, was arrested by police after he returned to the scene of his alleged crime of firing gun shots at tower techs while they were working on a 400-foot guyed tower in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania. According...
NWSA announces dates, locations for first two Practical Examiner Accreditation Workshops of 2020
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) is encouraging industry employers, trainers and workers to register for the Telecommunications Tower Technician Practical Examiner Accreditation Program (PEAP) Workshops scheduled for March 24-26, 2020 in Mt Juliet, Tennessee, hosted by Comstar LLC,...
Ice is unkind to Nebraska 1,500-foot tower, causing it to collapse in Beaver Crossing
Service has been restored to the majority of Channel 10/11 viewers in Nebraska who lost signal when a KOLN tower collapsed early Saturday morning, but some over-the-air viewers may still be unable to receive their signal. The main KOLN...
Wireless Rooftop Deployment Training is being offered free
Registration is now open for a highly-sought after industry training session – Wireless Rooftop Deployment Training – that is free to all wireless infrastructure company employees. The training, provided by the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) is available at...
Macro towers, 20K more trained tower techs and new skill sets needed to roll out 5G says FCC
Although small cells and 5G were high on the list of topics during yesterday’s U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation’s hearing on Industries of the Future, FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly emphasized that 5G deployment requires more than...
Bill proposes over $1 billion to develop 5G alternatives to Huawei
A bipartisan group of leading national security Senators introduced a bill to encourage and support U.S. innovation in the race for 5G, providing over $1 billion to invest in Western-based alternatives to Chinese equipment providers Huawei and ZTE. Heavily subsidized...
Four dead after plane crashes into guyed tower in Southern Montana
Update: January 17, 2020 – KPVI ran a touching piece on the four men who died: Before deadly plane crash, sobriety brought 4 victims together. January 14, 2020 – Four Billings, Montana men were killed Saturday in a plane crash when...
Border Protection seeking your suggestions on how to protect a 320-foot tower with vulture-proof netting
Federal officials are asking the industry to rescue a Customs and Border Protection self-supporting tower that has been taken over by 300 vultures in Kingsville, Texas. They’ve issued a Request for Information (RFI) to obtain viable sources of supply,...
Scripps pays $1,130,000 to FCC to settle tower lighting issues
Scripps Broadcasting Holdings LLC has agreed to pay a $1,130,000 penalty to settle an FCC investigation into malfunctioning TV tower lights used to alert nearby airplanes. The settlement order adopted by the FCC concludes an agency investigation that began...
Ninth inning for T-Mobile merger begins Wednesday with closing arguments
Final arguments in the T-Mobile-Sprint merger lawsuit are slated for this Wednesday and it’s expected that U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero will issue a ruling in February. Last week, states suing to block the $26.5 billion mega merger said...
Tower Family Foundation, students and the Fallen Seven Harley rider fund benefit from NEWA tourney
The New England Wireless Association (NEWA) on Thursday presented the Tower Family Foundation with a generous donation to help fund their outreach programs. The foundation assists in providing financial assistance to family members of a severely injured, permanently disabled,...
Two bills presented, one for California backup power, another for power to Florida for siting
Two bills are being introduced, one in California for a mandatory backup power requirement and another in Florida that would allow for the state to bypass local governments for siting if public safety is at risk. After reviewing data...
Puerto Rico’s out of service towers expected to be operational by Sunday
Power is expected to be slowly restored to all homes in Puerto Rico over the coming days in the aftermath of a 6.4 magnitude earthquake that left many cell sites down yesterday with 31.7% out of service. Today, according...
3M issues advisory on its DBI-SALA EZ-Stop shock absorbing lanyard
3M is emphasizing that their EZ-Stop Lanyard portfolio remains safe to use as it meets all aspects of the relevant OSHA regulation (OSHA 29 CFR 1926.502), but they are issuing an advisory and not a recall. The company said...
FCC data assails Chicago Tribune’s cell phone RF concerns, possibly collapsing lawsuits
In August, the Chicago Tribune published test results indicating that several popular cell phones can emit radiation-causing exposure up to five times higher than current limits allow. The smart phone models were tested by an independent testing laboratory, RF...
Pure Safety Group recalls SRLs with stainless steel or web lifelines
Pure Safety Group (PSG) has issued an immediate recall and stop-use alert for its Guardian Fall Protection Self-Retracting Lifelines that use a stainless steel or web lifeline. “A small number of SRLs were identified as noncompliant with ANSI Z359.14-14 and must...
T-Mobile axing its projects led a baker’s dozen top news stories during 2019
The top stories in 2019, according to Wireless Estimator readership analytics, followed previous years’ subject matter favorites based upon the site’s in depth and exclusive articles as well as its comprehensive coverage of industry fatalities. T-Mobile’s unexpected new build...
Fatal falls from heights are at a five year low, but not for the nation’s tower techs
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) has released its Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Report for 2018, and OSHA and media have been heralding the marked 14% decrease from 2017 of fatal falls to a lower level totaling 615,...
Two tower workers on the mend after 30-foot fall from Pennsylvania tower
Two unnamed men were injured this afternoon when the tower they were working on in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania collapsed. According to multiple news reports the men were taken to a hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries...
Tower Family Foundation awarded $295K to climbers in 2019 and needs your support
The Tower Family Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is encouraging all wireless industry companies and stakeholders to make an end of year tax-deductible donation to the organization prior to December 31, 2019. All contributions to the Tower Family Foundation...
Vertical Bridge closes out the year with record-breaking philanthropy funding driven by employees
Vertical Bridge REIT, LLC, the largest private owner and operator of communications infrastructure in the United States, has announced that, with its matched employee donations, it has donated more than $1.5 million to charitable organizations in 2019. This is the...
A dangling upside-down tower tech in Alabama leads Fast-Forward Friday news
GUY SNAPS HURLING TOWER TECH 40 FEET UP AN ALABAMA TOWER A tower tech last Friday dangled 40-feet in the air upside-down when a guy wire snapped while he was on the ground catapulting him upwards on the tower....
Four NATE Directors re-elected as Cobb joins Board for the first time
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today released the results of their 2020 Board of Directors election. The Association announced that Jimmy Miller, President of MillerCo, Inc. in Gulfport, Mississippi; John Paul Jones, President of Tower & Turbine...
FCC gives 5G a green light as the agency maintains existing RF exposure limits
Following proposed modifications to its radio frequency (RF) exposure rules originally released in 2013, and to allay concerns about 5G transmitters and devices, the FCC has released a decision maintaining existing allowable RF exposure limits while simplifying the process...
Having saved more lives than he ever knew, Winton ‘Dub’ Wilcox Jr. passes at age 74
Simply said, what Guglielmo Marconi did for radio, Winton (Dub) Wilcox Jr. achieved for climber safety as he took a cottage industry with loosely knit safety practices to a heightened professional awareness to save tower techs’ lives through his...
American Tower and SBA’s tower source in Brazil has now become their key competitor
For many years, both SBA Communications and American Tower Corp. have eyed Brazil as an excellent country to buy and build wireless infrastructure to serve the world’s fifth-largest country with 210 million people. Adding to their portfolios, in...
FCC scraps 4G subsidy program and plans to dole out $9 billion for 5G in rural areas
The FCC said yesterday that it plans to scrap a $4.5 billion subsidy program for 4G LTE in rural areas and in its place launch a $9 billion fund to bring 5G wireless to hard to reach parts of...
Toppling a 500-foot structure, ice isn’t nice to a Nebraska tower
A weekend winter blizzard in Chadron, Nebraska that included freezing rain and heavy snow powered by 50-60 mph winds, collapsed a 500-foot guyed tower owned by Eagle Communications, Inc., headquartered in Hays, Kansas The Saturday storm knocked out Eagle’s...
NATE member Petrilla to serve on Department of State’s International Telecommunications Advisory Committee
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) announced today that Jesse Petrilla has been selected to serve on the U.S. Department of State’s International Telecommunications Advisory Committee (ITAC). The purpose of the ITAC is to advise the Department of...
SBA gets an unwanted assist from Mother Nature in Pennsylvania tower swap-out
In 2017, SBA Towers II, LLC petitioned the Ferguson Township, Pennsylvania Board of Supervisors to replace an existing 181-foot self-supporting tower located at 200 Jackson Trail in the Rothrock State Forest. SBA entered into a ground lease in 1995...
This Thanksgiving consider recognizing wireless industry volunteers’ year-round efforts
For more than 15 years, Wireless Estimator has been privileged to reach your computer screen or smartphone every day, providing information and advocacy to an industry that we are proud to serve. For that, we are thankful. More importantly,...
Crazy lady opens fire on two tower techs working on a Crown Castle North Carolina tower
Two tower techs working on a 290-foot Crown Castle guyed tower in Taylorsville, North Carolina were targets of choice for a deranged 61-year-old woman who began shooting at them with a 22-caliber revolver. Thankfully, her aim was just as...
Employer of inexperienced 1099 tower tech who died Saturday was laden with OSHA violations
Neither OSHA nor Oktibbeha County authorities have released the employer’s name of 43-year-old John Wayne Womack of Mountain View, Arkansas who passed away on Saturday after falling from a 348-foot self-supporting tower that was being erected in Longview, Mississippi,...
Crosby warning workers to take out of service certain 7/8” shackles
The Crosby Group has determined the listed 7/8” shackles above may have a condition that can reduce the ultimate load capacity from the published catalog values. The shackle bow may have a previously undetected defect, and continued use may...
Pai chooses public auction for C-band spectrum as Intelsat sinks
The FCC is ready to start a public auction for C-band spectrum with the objective of developing 5G wireless connectivity in the mid-band spectrum, according to an announcement today from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. Pai made his plans clear...
Arkansas tech dies in Mississippi during erection of 348-foot self-supporting tower
An Arkansas tower technician died Saturday after he fell approximately 80 feet from a self-supporting tower being constructed in Mississippi. It was the eighth industry fatality this year. Oktibbeha County Coroner Michael Hunt identified the deceased as 43-year-old John...
Afraid of having its contractors fail or bolt, Sprint introduces its ‘Same Day Pay’ financing program
Stating that it was concerned that it might not be able to maintain 5G construction crews, Sprint has unveiled its all-new ‘Same Day Pay’ financing program, providing day-of compensation to its 5G network builders and suppliers by shortening administrative overhead and...
Mexican telecom battle broadens at the border over 700 MHz interference
Thousands of Verizon customers, from El Paso, Texas to San Diego, California, are still fighting to get decent coverage that is being blocked after Mexican wholesaler Altán Redes introduced service three months ago In August, Mexican-based Altán Redes launched...
‘Pay to play’ Avetta has industry’s contractors concerned about it becoming a monopoly
Concerns about the time, expense and frustration of contractors that are forced to use client onboarding companies such as BROWZ and Avetta surfaced on January 30, 2019, when Wireless Estimator released the survey results of financial and administrative roadblocks set up...