Cell Tower News: Battery theft caught on camera

Smile, you’re on camera

Cell tower battery theft is becoming an increasingly common occurrence. This time the crime took place in Warren, Mich. According to local police, the cell tower site thefts started occurring in July and were believed to be perpetrated by a single individual. However, this time the criminal has slipped, allowing himself to be caught on camera. According to police, the neighboring business’ security camera wasn’t functioning/positioned properly and happened to be filming the scene when the man was in the act of stealing between 6,000 pounds and 7,000 pounds of batteries.

In the footage, a white male in his late 20s can be seen pulling his gold GMC up to the tower site and loading up batteries. The man enters the tower area with no problem, which leads investigators to believe that he is a former tower worker with prior knowledge of the site. While it’s hard to make out the face, the camera did catch the license plate number, so police say they’ve identified the culprit and are in the process of apprehending him right now. There is no information at this time whether this has disrupted service at the tower or who the owner of the tower is.

Los Angeles continues quake-proof tower talk

This week the mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, spoke at the 2015 Great California ShakeOut Breakfast Leadership Summit. The focus of the event was on safety and steps to become prepared for the next big California earthquake. Highlights include a new app called “Temblor” that lets you calculate the cost of earthquake damage to your home, as well as talk of reinforcing cell phone towers in the area be quake-resistant.

RCR Wireless Newsfirst reported on this back in May when the Los Angeles City Council had a unanimous vote agreeing that all area cell towers must be built to the same seismic safety standards that police and fire departments. However, if the tentative nature of the mayor’s words are any indication, these quake-proof towers are still in the planning stages at this point.

“I think we could have them last the entire time, even in a big quake, if in the next two years we’re able to build out the plans that we have,” said Garcetti. “Still, you shouldn’t depend on it, you should have a plan.”

Precision drones in the tower industry

On this week’s episode of Cell Tower News, host Joey Jackson talks with Nathan Schuett, CEO of Prenav, about the applications of precision drones in the tower industry and looks at how the company’s drone technology works.

Mein tower kampf

Ok, so here’s a little bit of humor for the end of your week. The World War II movie “Downfall” is notorious for Internet memes about Hitler reacting to any number of topics and it’s done to pretty hilarious effect. Well now the tower industry is no exception. Enjoy: