BROWSING: NATE
CCA, seven other orgs call for full rip-and-replace funding
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...
Need For Tower Workers With Todd Shlekeway
Listed 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...
NATE Unite 2018: NWSA continues to ramp up tower safety efforts
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...
NATE Unite 2018: Challenges for 5G
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,...
NATE Unite 2018: Focus on rural broadband, new build-outs keep tower industry busy
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,...
Telecom Tweets of the Week: Sprint, T-Mobile US CEOs among the most hated
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...
Could drones replace tower climbers?
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...
Cell Tower News: Fourth tower death this year a strong safety reminder
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...
Cell Tower News: Crown Castle acquires tower company
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...
Cell Tower News: 600 MHz auction timeline unrealistic to tower industry
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...
What does 5G mean for the tower industry?
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...
Cell Tower News: #ClimberConnection visualizes safety
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...
Cell Tower News: NATE Unite focuses on safety, looks to future
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...
NATE Unite 2016
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,...
Drones deliver data for cell tower industry
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...
NATE Unite preview
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...
Cell Tower News: First tower death of 2016
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...
Cell Tower News: FCC, NATE schedule 2016 tower training and workshops
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...
NATE Unmanned Aerial Systems Committee looks to prevent tragedies
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...
Broadcasters ask FCC to extend repacking deadline, cite tower crew shortage
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...
Tower industry mourns the death of an icon
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...
Cell Tower News: NATE forms drone integration committee
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...
Veteran Affairs’ GI Bill funds wireless workforce apprenticeships – Inside Telecom Careers Eps 14
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...
What’s new with NATE – Cell Tower News: episode 3
Cell Tower News is brought to you by the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE).
On this episode of Cell Tower News, RCR Wireless News Editor and Production Manager Joey Jackson is joined by Todd Schlekeway, Executive Director of the National Association of Tower Erectors to...