Cell Tower News: Tip to prevent copper theft; brotherly tower opposition

by Jarad Matula May 16, 2014

written by Jarad Matula May 16, 2014

Welcome to this week’s edition of cell tower industry news, created by Jarad Matula and brought to you by Towercrews.net.
It’s been a quiet week in the tower industry leading up to PCIA’s Wireless Infrastructure Show. Since most companies have posted their first quarter earnings already, they’re probably saving up the big announcements for the show.
Tower pits brothers against one another
A new Verizon cell tower in Hempfield, Pennsylvania has brother fighting against brother in a way that hasn’t been seen since Lincoln was in office. Okay, so that’s probably an exaggeration but here’s the deal: one brother signed a lease for the wireless giant to build a tower on his land. The problem is, while it may be on his land, the tower would be in direct view from the front of his brother’s house. The brother who’s opposing the tower has many in the community supporting him, with signs speaking against the tower all over town. On top of all of that the tower would only be 300 feet from an elementary school. Verizon says they’re just complying with FCC mandates to fill in coverage gaps. The issue is still ongoing, and whether it’s created awkward silences at weekend family BBQs has not been determined.
Copper theft prevention tip
LBA Group has posted a quick blog providing a smart, low-cost tip to help tower owners prevent copper thefts on wireless sites. According to the post, “frustrated at losing copper, the cell tech replaced all the #2 grounding conductors with new ones. They were slid first into ½” EMT conduit, and a crimping tool was applied every foot or so. This made the copper virtually impossible to pull out, even if the protected conductor was cut away. Silicone caulk was squeezed into the open conduit end to keep out water. It doesn’t look pretty, but sure will discourage the bad guys!”
Inside Towers buys Tower-Pro.com
Inside Towers, one of the best tower-dedicated websites out there, has bought tower industry directory website Tower-Pro.com. According to one of the co-founders of Inside Towers, “Tower-Pro.com integrates very well into the Inside Towers business model. We cater to the executives in the tower industry, tower owners, tower climbers, and everyone in between. This is just another step to becoming the leading provider for useful information and news on the booming tower industry.” Whether Tower-Pro.com will continue to exist in its current state or eventually become rolled into the Inside Towers website has yet to be revealed, but keep your eyes peeled for further updates.
Watch the evolution of cell towers
Tower company Calzavara has posted a very impressive video showing the evolution of the cell tower, as well as their own innovations in helping minimize environmental impact and disguising the towers as other things. Watch it here: