A recent letter from the FAA Office of Airport Safety and Standards has created an unsettling atmosphere in the tower lighting community. “This is a big deal,” one lighting executive told Inside Towers, wishing to remain off the record. Industry execs are concerned about the ramifications of the FAA invalidating the certification of lighting systems with non-OEM components.
Lawmakers on the Senate Commerce Committee hammered FCC Commissioners to think beyond what the agency is already doing to fix its broadband coverage maps.
Montana Democrat Jon Tester was potentially the most strident, saying: “The maps stink.” He’s not confident what the agency has planned, will work, he said during yesterday’s FCC oversight hearing.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and Wireless Edge are proposing the construction of a 170-foot tall tower to improve “critical public communication,” reported The Examiner. The project sparked a heated debate at a recent Town Board meeting.
Supervisor Richard Williams and Putnam County Legislator Ginny Nacerino opposed the first proposed site due to its proximity to a residential neighborhood. Williams and Nacerino countered with moving the tower back on Route 164 or constructing two smaller towers in an alternate location.
The Wireless Infrastructure Association is hard at work explaining to regulators that while it may appear to outsiders the industry is swimming in money, it’s actually not as data prices drop. The wireless industry is under financial pressure to pay for the buildout of 5G, explained WIA President/CEO Jonathan Adelstein during a regulatory update for members.
“There are some new business models people are looking at,” such as fixed wireless, he said.
In 2013, the Australian government proposed a “blackspot” program to ensure regional Australians had adequate mobile coverage. The program is not fully government funded, rather they’re contributing about 25 percent of tower costs, on average, and are encouraging telecoms, like Telstra and Vodafone, to co-invest. As of 2018, investment by all parties has reached $680 million, reported ABC News (the Australian Broadcasting Corp.).
Although 499 locations were funded in round one of the project, 89 remain unfinished, according to the Department of Communications.
