In this episode of 5G Talent Talk, Carrie Charles welcomes Jim Tracy, co-founder of Legacy Telecommunications, author, speaker, and host of "The Grampion" podcast. Jim shares his incredible journey from a small-town welder in rural Minnesota to a prominent figure in the telecommunications industry.
Jim...
Failure to fund the FCC rip-and-replace program fully will lead to service shutdowns: Letter to Congress
The Competitive Carriers Association and seven other organizations are calling upon Congress to fully fund the costs associated with removing and replacing the equipment from foreign vendors which has...
Listen to the podcast here
It’s a slow climb to train enough tower technicians. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr says the U.S. 5G rollout requires 20,000 of them. Unfortunately, that many technicians simply do not exist today. As a result, rollouts are stalling.
This week’s guest, Todd...
NASHVILLE, Tenn.--Members of the National Wireless Safety Alliance said that tower contractors may soon begin to see requirements from carriers that a percentage of their employees have NWSA certification -- possibly as soon as this year, according to NWSA board of governors members at...
NASHVILLE, Tenn.--There are numerous challenges ahead for 5G network deployments, as the next generation of wireless technology moves from the lab to field testing to commercial deployments over the next few years.
During a session at the National Association of Tower Erectors conference this week,...
NASHVILLE, Tenn.--A combination of government spending on rural broadband deployment and new network build-outs are keeping the tower industry busy, and that momentum is only expected to build as dense 5G network begin to emerge.
At the National Association of Tower Erectors show this week,...
Sprint beat T-Mobile US this week, but I don't think they'll be bragging about the circumstances any time soon. Marcelo Claure edged out John Legere as one of the most-hated CEOs in America, according to analysis done by crowdsourced analytics company Owler.
The two wireless...
Tower companies and carriers are using unmanned aerial vehicles, better known as drones, to photograph cell towers and even to transport equipment to the tower tops. The next step will come when drones actually carry robots that can install antennas and remote radio heads.
Drone...
After three months of safe climbing, the cell tower industry suffered three deaths in May. The latest fatality is a 19-year-old tower climber in Kentucky. While completing work for S&S Tower Services (no relation to S&S Communications), which was subcontracted by Appalachian Wireless, the...
Crown Castle acquiring Tower Development Corporation
Crown Castle announced the acquisition Tower Development Corporation, an American tower company that owns and operates 336 towers in both the United States and Puerto Rico. TDC was acquired for $461 million in cash. The towers average two tenants...
NAB, NATE frustrated over 'unrealistic' auction timeline
The 600 MHz incentive auction is now underway, but not everyone is happy about the auction timeline. In this highly anticipated auction, television spectrum will be reallocated and sold for use by mobile and wireless companies. Once all...
Key trends from NATE Unite 2016 including 5G and drones
LTE build outs are moving from the macro level to in-building coverage. As these new skills come into focus and carriers are still adding capacity and looking to 5G, the tower industry has a steady...
Striking new videos give tower safety a face
Safety. It's a word that's constantly stressed in the cell tower industry. Since being a tower climber is one of the world's most dangerous jobs, it only makes sense. But as many times as one hears about...
Safety and skill diversification the focus of this year's conference
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – The National Association of Tower Erectors' NATE Unite 2016 conference wrapped up this week in New Orleans with a continued focus on safety but also an eye toward the future. One of the...
The National Association of Tower Erectors' annual conference is always a good opportunity to take the tower industry's pulse, and this year attendees reported record turnouts in New Orleans despite the fact the Mobile World Congress event occurred at the same time in Barcelona,...
Drone operators from other industries look to cell towers for new business
The cell tower industry is just one of many that could be transformed by unmanned aerial systems, more commonly known as drones. Many of us think first of Amazon.com when we think of...
Next week the city that has rebuilt itself will host the builders, suppliers and tower owners who represent NATE, the National Association of Tower Erectors. As New Orleans welcomes more than 130 exhibitors and hundreds more attendees to NATE Unite 2016, the U.S. tower...
Tower tech falls to his death in Iowa
Not even a full week after a safety workshop in the nation's capitol that stressed the reduction in loss of life to tower climbers, the tower industry has its first tragic accident. It has been confirmed that 28-year...
FCC and NATE reveal training, workshop schedules for 2016
As 2015 comes to a close, most businesses are looking towards the new year, announcing plans and intentions for 2016. Both the Federal Communications Commission and National Association of Tower Erectors announced plans for tower-related education...
Unmanned aerial systems or drones as they are more commonly called are rapidly becoming more prevalent in all aspects of society from military to recreational to commercial use. On the commercial side, the tower industry is looking to the technology to make their business safer...
The National Association of Broadcasters is asking the Federal Communications Commission to extend its 39-month spectrum repacking deadline for up to 1,200 TV stations after next year’s TV spectrum incentive auction citing insufficient tower crews to complete the job in the given time frame.
“Commission...
The tower industry lost an influential figure in what is being called an elevator-related accident on a job site in Oklahoma City, Okla. Ernest “Ernie” Jones is being remember for the great impact he had on the tower industry designing towers and pioneering safety...
Drone use for towers gets integration committee
The National Association of Tower Erectors announced the establishment of an Unmanned Aerial Systems Committee. In layman's terms; drones. The new committee will monitor both the trends and regulatory environment related to the fast-growing drone industry. It will use...
Rosye Cloud, senior adviser of veteran employment for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, describes how veterans and employers can leverage the Veteran Affairs' GI Bill for the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program.
Veteran Affairs' GI Bill funds wireless workforce apprenticeships
The Veteran Affairs' GI Bill, when applied...
