China Tower to build 1 million towers
Wait, who is this incredibly ambitious company looking to bring so many new towers? China Tower is a new company created by the three largest carriers in China: China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom. Combining like a Voltron of connectivity, the new company hopes to build all of these new towers in the next two years. They certainly have the money to back this new venture, with asset value hovering around $16 billion – all three of the carriers will use the towers. This effort is so that the carriers can continue to focus on their own activities and let the new company focus on construction, maintenance and operation of the towers. Hmm, building towers that are shared equally among all the carriers in mutual benefit? Sounds to me like the influence of a certain political ideology …
It sounds like there’s a lot of tower work to be done over the next two years, so maybe now’s the time to take that trip to China. Just get a work visa, learn Mandarin, and you’re all set!
RCR talked about this story and more in our new morning news show, check it out here:
American Tower enjoys the shopping season
It’s that season where everyone lightens their wallet with heavy spending in anticipation of Christmas, and it seems tower companies are no exception. While all of us are fighting each other over televisions and such on Black Friday, American Tower is giving itself the gift of … more towers. The company has announced a string of buys and intents to purchase. First was the news that American Tower is expanding in Brazil, purchasing more than 6,400 towers belonging to Telecom Italia’s TIM Cellular. Deciding not to stop there, the company hopped over to Africa with its wallet, agreeing to buy Bharti Airtel’s Nigerian towers for a little over $1 billion. Then American Tower continued globetrotting to Southeast Asia, where it reportedly has intent to purchase 51% of Viom, an Indian company controlled by Tata Teleservices. But before you think they’re somewhat diversifying, keep in mind the end goal is to merge Viom’s  42,000 towers with the 12,000 towers it already owns in the country.
Hanging by a moment
In the Chicago area, firefighters rescued a tower climber dangling 150 feet in the air. Two workers were doing routine maintenance when one lost his footing and fell. Thankfully, the man was wearing a harness and appropriate safety gear. This gear saved this man’s life! Firefighters arrived on the scene shortly afterward with an aerial ladder rig, scooping him up and into a ladder basket, carrying him to safety.
Strengthening towers
There’s a new product capable of providing extra structural integrity to existing towers and monopoles. Called Pilemedic, it is a laminate that is wrapped around the tower, creating a seamless shell. There’s two layers of carbon fabric and also the application of a layer of resin-soaked glass fabric. This isn’t some left-field operation either. The company behind this new innovation, QuakeWrap, is partnered with industry heavyweight Crown Castle in this ambitious new project. The best part in this reinforcement process is that the tower remains operational the entire time. For more information, watch this video:
Regional/local tower news
Deputies searching for suspects who stole cable from cellphone tower in Paintsville, Ky.
Alleged cell tower copper bandit captured in Florida
Cell tower near Thornbrook wins approval in Columbia, Mo.
Mt. Tabor, Ore. neighbors fight proposed cell tower
AT&T plans 150-ft 4G tower; GCI prepares 3G for Nome, Unalakleet in Alaska
Wire theft at cell tower in Johnson County, Ky.
Dropped call: T-Mobile halts bid for cell tower in Palos Park, Ill.
Some appealing school cell tower permit in Chubbuck, Idaho
This week’s edition of cell tower industry news is brought to you by Towercrews.net
