NATE Board members and other leaders were in Washington, D.C. this week for the Wireless Hall of Fame event, and while they were in town they made time to visit with their congressional offices.
NATE representatives spoke with congressional staff primarily about supply chain and workforce issues, NATE Director of Government Relations Todd Washam told Inside Towers. “But we also had some great conversations about the positive impact drones have in our industry and some small business issues,” he noted.
Supply chain challenges “are causing price increases and delivery delays for equipment and material, including service vehicles, steel, antenna pipe and chipsets. Unless we address these issues quickly, the historic levels of funding for broadband projects appropriated by Congress in the past two years will not deploy the broadband services that Congress has intended,” NATE says in its legislative priorities statement.
It notes the cost of steel for manufacturing towers is up sharply and lead times for delivery have almost doubled. “For example, 2” galvanized antenna pipe was $3.89 per foot one year ago; today it is $7.01 per foot and steel mounts that used to ship within 2-3 days are now taking 6-8 weeks to ship,” states NATE.
Some makes and models of fiber optic cabling have long lead times, forcing providers to switch to other more expensive alternatives. There is also a huge shortage and delay on delivery for the fiber trunks, according to NATE.
Lead times for new crew trucks are out as far as 9-12 months with prices climbing each month. Used truck pricing is up sharply due to lack of new truck inventory. Contractors are having to hold onto their equipment longer and even truck repair shops are experiencing longer lead times.
Board member attendees included: Jimmy Miller, MillerCo. Inc. Gulfport, MS; Jessica and Dean Cobb, MDTS, Ortonville, MI; Jim Tracy, Legacy Telecommunications, Seattle, WA; Jon Eastman and Mike Fowler, VIKOR, Sioux Falls, SD. NATE President/CEO Todd Schlekeway, Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Goldwater, and Washam accompanied the members.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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