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Friday, June 2, 2017 Volume 5 | Issue 108

FCC, OSHA Release Tower Climber Safety GuideUPDATE The FCC and OSHA released a new Tower Climber Safety guide. Access the29-page document here. “As more Americans use mobile devices to call, text and stream content, the safety ofworkers who maintain and construct communications towers is more critical than ever,”said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Assistant Deputy Secretary for Labor for OccupationalSafety and Health Dorothy Dougherty in a joint statement. “Every day, communicationstower workers face potential hazards that can be deadly if not performed safely, anddozens of fatalities have occurred over the past few years. Every tower climber death ispreventable.” The agencies have hosted workshops with input from industry stakeholders to identify andestablish accepted practices for performing communication towers work securely. Thisdocument is a collection of the best practices gathered from those workshops and fromtalks that continued afterwards. Continue Reading

FloridaThe Ten-Year “Battle of Indian River Shores” Can End Within 90 Days

After a decade spent arguing and waiting, a cell tower project can be finalized soon as a service provider signs ontothe project. The Indian River Shores Town Council has already approved construction of the tower behind the townhall, and is hoping construction will begin soon. A report from TCPalm.com, indicated Verizon Wireless isinterested, but has yet to sign a contract. A second service provider has expressed some interest, and townmanager Robbie Stabe hopes multiple carriers will choose to co-locate. Once installation begins, the tower can becompleted in less than 90 days. Datapath Tower is partnering with Vertical Bridge Holdings to build the tower. While Datapath is the main contact,Vertical Bridge had the marketing and carrier contacts needed for adding tenants. Datapath Tower President CurtJones wrote to Stabe concerning the joint venture. He shared, "The carriers concentrate most of their new sites withthe larger tower companies they do business daily with, and Vertical Bridge is now the fourth-largest in the country.”Once a carrier is under contract, construction will begin. Whichever carrier signs first, will receive the more desirableposition on the tower. AT&T Seeks New Tower ModelAs AT&T gets into 5G development and small cell deployment, what happens with its traditional towers? Finding thecurrent tower business model untenable, the carrier plans a three-prong approach: building its own towers, leasingspace on existing towers or going to third parties. AT&T Chief Strategy Officer and Group President of Technology and Operations John Donovan agrees with one ofhis colleagues who earlier this year declared the current tower model unsustainable. Speaking to the Cowen andCompany 45th Annual Technology, Media and Telecom Conference this week, Donovan characterized the currenttower model this way: “We rent an apartment and are charged every time” a new appliance is brought to the spaceand plugged in. “We’re after a model that is more like a real estate model based on square footage,” he said. That includes looking at alternative suppliers. Asked whether the carrier is getting back into the tower business, hesaid: “We’re good builders. We’re going to build.” The carrier has been in discussions with the major towercos for months and is optimistic it can negotiate and stillmeet its FirstNet buildout requirements, he said.

MontanaCemetery Tower Location Only Slightly Less Contested Than School SiteLast month, the Hamilton City Council approved a land lease agreement permitting Gold Creek Cellular, a MontanaLimited Partnership dba Verizon Wireless, to install a 60-foot, camouflaged tower with an equipment shelter andoutdoor generator at Riverview Cemetery, reported the Bitterroot Star. The tower construction is contingent uponthe company obtaining a conditional use permit from the Zoning Board of Adjustments. In August 2016, the company proposed a tower on land near the Hamilton School District next to the city’s RiverPark, which was met with stiff opposition.

At a May 2 city council meeting, residents also voiced their concerns regarding the cemetery site. Close to a dozenresidents spoke out, citing opposition to commercial activity, preserving the value of solace that might be disturbedby the sound of a generator, and concerns about general “disrespect” as it regards tower construction in or near acemetery. Residents also complained about the lack of notice regarding the tower project. Continue Reading Industry Praises New Tower Safety GuideBoth the National Association of Tower Erectors and the Wireless Infrastructure Association were quick to applaudthe FCC and OSHA for issuing the new tower safety guide (see top story) as was CommScope. NATE Executive Director Todd Schlekeway said the document will be another valuable resource for the wirelessand communications tower industry to reference and use to ensure that work is conducted in a safe and qualitymanner. NATE played a vital role in helping the federal agencies craft the document “by providing access to oursubject matter experts, existing safety resources and through our active participation speaking at two joint FCC-OSHA workshops on tower climber safety. The association believes it’s paramount that the agencies continue tocollaborate to host additional workshops and stay engaged with all layers of the wireless infrastructure chain toensure that workforce safety and quality remain the top priorities," added Schlekeway. Continue Reading

FCC to Consider Votes On ‘Blue Alerts,’ FirstNetUPDATE June is public safety month at the FCC and the agency has a couple of related items teed up for a voteat its next public meeting June 22. One concerns “Blue Alerts,” which can warn the public when there’s an imminentthreat against law enforcement and give consumers guidance on what to do. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai recently proposed authorizing a Blue Alert Code to the Emergency Alert Service. Theproposal could extend to wireless emergency alerts too, Inside Towers reported. If the item is approved, then theagency would seek public input on whether EAS and WEA are the right way to deliver them. Continue Reading TexasUniversity Tests “First Responder” DronesWhen disasters like tornadoes and hurricanes strike, they often take down the technology emergency workersdesperately need to keep in contact — cell phone service. Now a professor at the University of North Texas isworking to make sure those first responders can get that vital access through an airborne communication system,according to the UNT News. “We demonstrated a portable communication system that can be attached to a drone,” said Kamesh Namuduri, anassociate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at UNT. “The system, with just 250 milliwatt transmitpower, is capable of providing instant cellular coverage up to two kilometers during disaster relief operations. If thesystem is scaled with a 10 watt transmit power, the system can provide cellular coverage to the entire city ofDenton.” Continue Reading

LAST DAY!!!This is the last day our survey will be open! Trade five minutes of time (only 15 brief questions!) for anopportunity to win a $150 Amazon gift card. Access the survey here. One entry per subscriber. Thanks forbeing a part of our valued Tower Tribe!

June 1, 2017 at Close

American Tower Declares $0.64 DividendAmerican Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT) announced that its board of directors has declared its quarterly cashdistribution of $0.64 per share on shares of the Company’s common stock. The distribution is payable on July 14,2017 to such stockholders of record at the close of business on June 19, 2017. Crown CEO to Present at NAREIT Investor Forum on June 7Jay Brown, Crown Castle’s President and Chief Executive Officer, is scheduled to present on Wednesday, June 7,at 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time at REITWeek 2017: NAREIT’s Investor Forum. Brown’s presentation will be broadcastlive over the internet and is expected to last approximately 30 minutes. The audio webcast link and presentation forthe conference will be available on Crown Castle’s website where it will also be archived for replay. AT&T Is Slated to Speak at Baird Conference on June 8AT&T will webcast a presentation by Steve Hodges, AT&T senior vice president of business customer experienceand strategy, at the Baird Global Consumer, Technology and Services Conference in New York City on Thursday,June 8. The presentation is scheduled to begin at 10:15 a.m. Eastern. The webcast will be available live and forreplay at: AT&T Investor Relations.

IllinoisCity Opposes State Small Cell Bill, Sees Own Ordinance as a ModelA new critic of an Illinois small cell bill has resisted the measure. Earlier this week, the city of Aurora joined othermunicipalities across the state to publicly oppose SB 1451, which would take away some local zoning authority andregulatory powers from municipalities in the state, reports the Chicago Tribune. The city recently passed its own ordinance to regulate the siting of wireless equipment, which it believes should bethe standard for the rest of the state’s municipalities. The city spent a year working with carriers to address theinstallation of wireless infrastructure, particularly on city-owned utility poles in public rights-of-way. ContinueReading

OregonPortable Towers Ready for Pacific EclipseWhen the solar eclipse takes place on August 21, AT&T says it will be ready for the expected influx of thousands oftourists in the Pacific states. The carrier plans to use “Cells on Wheels” to ensure its customers maintain reliablecoverage. The Bulletin reports two COWs will be mobilized in Madras and Mitchell to cope with more wireless users and helpprovide reliable service to AT&T’s 3G and 4G LTE networks. Mike Maxwell, vice president of AT&T in the PacificNorthwest, said in a press release the carrier expects consumers to take lots of pictures and videos of the eclipse,and share them on social media.

Crown Is On The Move in AtlantaHines Properties announced that Crown Castle signed a 55,622 square-foot lease at 8000 Avalon, a 224,000square foot Class A office development in Atlanta, GA. John Heagy, Senior Managing Director of Hines said,"Crown Castle is expanding its presence in Atlanta, and we are honored that they picked 8000 Avalon as their newhome."

Custom Fabricator Keeps Antennas Under Wraps

Sky Hansen, Jr.(left), McKee Buxton and the “Super Shroud”

When your name is ‘Sky’ you better have a sharp eye on the horizon. Sky Hansen, Jr. of CommunicationsStructures and Solutions, lived up to that by working in the aerospace industry making radomes. Thatbackground helped in adding his products and services to the telecom market. “It let us create a lightweight andvery strong screening product with very good RF transparency,” Hansen said.

C.S.S. now focuses on creating custom RF transparent concealment for wireless antenna cell sites having started in1984, as a fabrication and pattern shop. “We have over 35 years of experience in composite tooling andfabrication,” Hansen said. “Our structures are designed, pre-assembled and painted to significantly reduceinstallation time in the field.”

One of Hansen’s latest products he represents is the “Super Shroud,” a concealment case for monopole androoftop antennas. “I work on R&D with them and go to the various shows to represent it. We also make some ofthe parts as a subcontractor,” he said.

“We have since grown, serving the wireless industry,” Hansen said. “ Our new location in Sumner, Washington hasgiven us good access to our customers and suppliers.” Continue Reading

WIA Launches New Education and Training Program for Wireless IndustryThe Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) announced the creation of the Telecommunications Education Center(TEC), a new program and online portal that aims to provide the wireless telecommunications industry with a seriesof education and training courses with the goal of building a stronger and more diverse workforce.

TEC (www.tec-online.org) aims to improve safety and quality, reduce costs of wireless infrastructure deploymentand address existing skills gaps to meet the needs of companies deploying next-generation network technologies.Subjects introduced in the initial phase of TEC courses will cover wireless fundamentals and include: Wireless 101;Macrocellular Infrastructure; Small Cells and DAS; WiFi; and 5G. TEC courses can be customized to meetorganization-specific onboarding, professional development and training needs. Continue Reading

Tower-Pro.com, Inside Towers’ companion Buyer’s Guide has over 3,500 listings in 130+ categories. Eachmonth we will be featuring one of our primary categories. This month, we’re highlighting Network Equipment &Services.

Should your company be in one of these categories?See if you’re listed and if you only have a basic listing, find out why you should upgrade here.

We will be randomly highlighting our enhanced listings in Inside Towers for added exposure.Email us with questions or for assistance.

Latest posting from the FCC 5/31/17

Bankruptcy Sale of Cell Tower Lease Location - 2230 Tierra Verde Road, Chula Vista, CA.

Sale to occur on June 29, 2017, 2:00 p.m., Dept. 3, US Bkrtcy Court 325 West F St., San Diego, CA.Purchase Price $308,000 – initial overbid $15,000 and thereafter increments of $5,000.Overbidder must deposit $61,200 as deposit no later than June 22, 2017 and provide proof of financial abilityto close transaction.

For complete, further information contact Gary Rudolph, 619-595-3225, email Rudolph@sullivanhill.com.

TXWA & NATE Summer Safety Seminar & Social June 8, 2017, Austin, TX

TXWA & NATE are hosting the Summer Safety Seminar & Social Networkingevent to be held at the Iron Cactus in Austin. TXWA has negotiated a discount atthe Hotel Indigo hotel, make your hotel reservation today as the hotel roomdiscount is only good through May 19! If you are interested in sponsoring the

event, contact: networking@txwa.org

To register or learn more about the agenda for the Summer Safety Seminar & Social Seminar, click here.

What is the Tallest Telecommunication Tower in the U.S. and Where is itLocated?Think you know the answer? Click here to find out!

Click image above to access the video.

"M.E.T. Tower photo near McCain valley, California. Featuring Bryant Kelly & Jake Haberman."Photo taken by Caleb Plainer and contributed via Instagram.

Keep current throughout the day.

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