As FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr wraps up his Great Plains tour of broadband deployments this week, he climbed a nearly 50-foot communications tower yesterday in full safety gear. The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE), National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) and Sioux Falls Tower & Communications, hosted Carr on an industry training and climbing experience site visit held at the company’s new corporate headquarters and training center in Sioux Falls, SD.
During the event, management and workers from NATE member Sioux Falls Tower & Communications spoke with Carr about the work the company conducts on a daily basis involving safely building, maintaining and deploying communications tower sites and related wireless infrastructure. NWSA-accredited practical examiners, who are licensed to administer the organization’s field-based assessments leading to worker certification, updated Carr on the industry’s training requirements and the process by which workers obtain NWSA certification credentials.
Carr was fitted with the appropriate fall protection equipment and climbed the outdoor tower; Prior, he climbed a 20-foot tall indoor training tower at the new Sioux Falls Tower & Communication facility, under the watchful guidance of the company’s trainers. Company President/CEO Craig Snyder said it was great to provide Carr with a tour and speak with him “about the safety and quality benefits associated with the NWSA’s national worker certification programs.”
“NATE appreciates Commissioner Carr and his colleagues who serve on the Commission for their commitment and willingness to get out in the field and receive these hands-on, tangible experiences,” stated Executive Director Todd Schlekeway. “Commissioner Carr’s climbs serve to reinforce the prominent role that highly-skilled tower technicians play every day to safely deploy infrastructure and enable connectivity in the United States and beyond,” he added.
As part of his tour of broadband deployments in the Great Plains, Carr toured the facility and warehouse of NATE member Sabre Industries, Inc. in Sioux City, IA on Wednesday. Sabre deploys DAS and small cells. To see more photos from Carr’s industry training and climbing experience, as well as his Sabre tour, go to NATE’s Instagram, Twitter and Facebook pages via the links on the NATE website.
Published June 1, 2018
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