|
|
| |
UBS Global Media and Communications Conference
American Tower Zones In On Fiber and Franchise Rights |
Will 5G lead to more tower lease amendments? American Tower Corporation EVP/CFO and Treasurer Tom Bartlett says it could. Speaking Monday at the 45th annual UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, he said “Carriers are continually trying to improve the quality of their signal and add throughputs and radio heads.” He likened the change to an “analog to digital conversion.”
“More fiber is coming onto sites than ever before to ensure all the data being converted is actually transmitted outside the cell.” As carriers bring new spectrum online, they’re “putting bands together to increase the throughput freeway.” AMT is focused on being able to support those demands. Continue Reading |
|
| |
| Navy Makes Bases Safe Harbor for Wireless Development |
|
The Navy is working on a new policy to make it easier for wireless providers to access military bases and install small wireless networks to supply faster internet service to its employees, reported Federal News Radio.
Historically, it could take five or six years for a wireless carrier to access a military base, but the Navy has cut that time down to one year, so progress is underway, but improvements are still being made.
According to Thomas Kidd III, director of the Department of the Navy’s Strategic Spectrum, his team has been working on a version 2.0 of a memorandum regarding wireless providers and military bases that will fill in the gaps in the previous memo, which includes small cells. Continue Reading |
| |
| NY AG, Rosenworcel Call to Delay Net Neutrality Vote Over Fake Comments |
|
Inside Towers reported the Commission received over 21 million comments on the proposal to roll-back the re-classification of the internet as a utility. Based on an investigation by his office, Schneiderman said, as many as eight million fake comments may have been submitted, using computer-generated identities “that are clearly false,” and at least an additional one million comments using fake identities, including about 50,000 New Yorkers.
Last week his office set up a website asking citizens to check their comments with the Commission and let his office know if their identity was misused. In less than one week they received 3,000 responses, including residents who reported that names of the deceased and minors were used. Continue Reading |
| |
 |
|
|
| |
Lifeline Verifier Rollout Hits Snag |
|
The FCC postponed the launch of its national verifier for its Lifeline program to early 2018. Originally, six states were to initially roll out the program by year-end. The software is meant to verify that Lifeline phone and internet subscribers are really eligible for the subsidized service for low-income recipients. The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau announced on Monday the verifier must comply with federal laws concerning privacy and security. The Universal Service Administrative Company, which handles Lifeline for the Commission, told the agency the software has “unresolved potential vulnerabilities.”
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said of the delay: “Having a functioning National Verifier is critical to the success of the Lifeline program, but we cannot ignore our duty to safeguard consumers’ personal information. We must get this right.” Congress has been pressing the FCC to fix the Lifeline program, which, according to a GAO report, is plagued with waste, fraud and abuse, Inside Towers reported. |
| |
FCC Seeks to Speed Broadband Infrastructure Repairs After Hurricanes |
|
In its quest to ease wired broadband deployment, the FCC is asking for comment on a variety of issues. Chief among those is the question of how the Commission can expedite rebuilding and repairing broadband infrastructure after natural disasters, as areas are still recovering from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Concerned that unnecessarily burdensome government regulation may hinder rather than help recovery efforts, the Commission asks in a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking “whether there are targeted circumstances in which we can and should use our authority to preempt state or local laws that inhibit restoration of communications infrastructure.”
The agency also seeks comment on its proposal to streamline the approval process for applications seeking to grandfather data services with download/upload speeds of less than 25 Mbps/3 Mbps, so long as the applying carrier provides data services of equivalent quality at speeds of at least 25 Mbps/3 Mbps or higher throughout the affected service area. “We think that comparatively lower speed services are ripe for streamlined treatment when higher speed services are available,” the Commission says. It would like public input on different threshold speeds and costs.
Comments to WCB Docket 17-84 are due January 17, 2018. |
| |
 |
|
|
| |
 |
|
December 4, 2017 at Close
|
| |
| Hear Verizon, T-Mo, Sprint Execs This Week |
|
Two telecom executives are slated to speak at the UBS 45th Annual Global Media and Communications Conference in New York this week. Verizon Communications EVP/CFO Matt Ellis, is scheduled to speak today at 8 a.m. ET. His remarks will be webcast, with access instructions available on Verizon’s Investor Relations website.
Tomorrow, T-Mobile US, Inc. EVP/CFO J. Braxton Carter and COO Mike Sievert, will present and provide a business update at 8:45 a.m. ET. A live webcast of the event will be available on the Company’s Investor Relations website. An on-demand replay will be available shortly after the conclusion of the presentation.
On Thursday, Sprint CFO Tarek Robbiati is slated to speak at a different event--the Barclays Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference in San Francisco at 3 p.m. ET. A live audio webcast of this session will be available here. The replay will be available shortly after the presentation. |
| |
 |
|
|
| |
Verizon’s “Humanability” Campaign Highlights Technology’s “Good Works” |
|
It’s no secret that we’re reliant on our mobile devices and Verizon Wireless wants to remind us that they’re a key player in the business, but not just for connecting your calls, texts, and data with the nation. Verizon just released a new ad campaign during NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast titled “Humanability,” showcasing how the carrier helps businesses, people, and society accomplish many industry-changing good works, reported Marketing Daily.
“When people think of Verizon, they often view us as only a wireless carrier, but the reality is, technology is at the core of everything we do — helping to innovate in telematics, IoT, smart cities, healthcare, food safety and more,” Verizon CMO Diego Scotti, told Marketing Daily. “What we are doing with ‘Humanability’ is bringing the sum of all those parts of our businesses together under one umbrella, and showing how it impacts society — it's a purpose-driven approach that we're really proud of.” Continue Reading
 |
| |
American Tower Buys Parcel in PA for $162K |
|
Berks County, PA real estate transactions for December 3, 2017
Alsace Township: OW K2 Acquisition LLC to K2 Towers Reit LLC and American Tower Investments LLC, 3244 Pricetown Road, $163,392. Source: Reading Eagle |
| |
| APWireless Announces Its 4,000th Cell Site Lease Investment |
|
APWireless, a telecommunications site lease investment firm, recently reached a milestone, having invested in its 4,000th cell site lease.
In 2010, APWireless began investing in cell site leases in the United States. Since then, the company has expanded into Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. To date, APWireless has deployed more than $500 million in its cell site lease investment business.
Rather than purchasing physical wireless infrastructure, such as cell towers, APWireless invests in the cash rents paid by tower companies and carriers to landlords. Landlords receive a large, up-front cash payout in return for an assignment of their site lease. APWireless then turns around and offers tower companies and carriers financial and operational benefits.
“2018 will be our eighth successive year of growth,” said Eric Overman, chief executive officer of APWireless. |
| |
Africa
Angola Plans Rare Auction Open to Foreign Telecom Bidders |
|
Angola’s Ministry of Telecommunications Jose Carvalho da Rocha recently announced that a 45 percent stake in the country’s state-owned telecommunications company, Angola Telecom, will be sold during a rare auction, reported Bloomberg. The winning bidder will be able to offer fixed-line, mobile, internet and paid-television services, Rocha said.
Bloomberg reported that Joao Lourenco, Angola’s new President is shaking up the business environment in the oil-rich west African country to reduce the influence of his predecessor’s family and to encourage competition. The catalyst for the auction is to do just that. Angola Telecom competes with Unitel SA, controlled by Isabel dos Santos, the former president’s oldest daughter and Africa’s richest woman, from whom Lourenco is trying to distance himself and the government. The third operator is Movicel Telecomunicacoes Lda, which is also privately owned.
As for next steps, the rules of the telecommunications license tender will be available to investors by the end of the year, said Rocha. The tender is expected to take more than three months, he added. |
| |
 |
|
|
| |
Kentucky Wireless Association Sponsors Special Olympics Event |
|
Saturday, December 2, 2017, the Kentucky Wireless Association sponsored the Special Olympics of Kentucky State Bowling Tournament in Louisville, KY. The KWA gave $10,000 this year to support Special Olympics of KY.
Over 2,000 Special Olympians participated and the KWA Board along with several high schools were there in the Lanes Assisting with the Tournament. To learn more and donate to the Special Olympics of Kentucky |
| |
 Vertical Bridge is “Driving Telecom Connectivity” |
| By Keara M. Piekanski, Inside Towers |
 Vertical Bridge was founded in 2014 by industry leaders with a combined 100 years of experience in telecommunications. It’s the largest private owner and manager of communication infrastructure in the U.S. The company owns towers, rooftops, billboards, utility attachments and other site location assets, leasing them to telecom carriers nationwide.
Vertical Bridge has set out to work with carriers to make meaningful connections and advance new opportunities. According to Alex Gellman, CEO, and Co-Founder, “Relationships between the carriers and the tower companies seems to be contentious, so we seek to partner with tenants to form a strategic and positive relationship. At Vertical Bridge, we’re able to be nimble and accommodate daily requests from our carrier partners. Our motto is fast, friendly, and flexible.”
Vertical Bridge owns 4,000 towers, and manages 5,000 rooftops, and 45,000 billboards plus master leases 2,000 towers. One major differentiator for Vertical Bridge is their broadcast tower portfolio – the largest in the nation – including IHeartMedia, Inc. radio towers. The company has many towers in key locations and can lease them for radio, repack, and wireless purposes, including suitable locations for deploying edge data centers to enable edge computing. Continue Reading
 |
| |
 |
|
Claim or Create Your Listing
Tower-Pro.com, Inside Towers’ companion Buyer’s Guide, boasts over 3,500 listings in 130+ categories - all of which are relevant to the telecom and/or tower industry. Tower-Pro is a go-to resource for thousands of users each year. You can enhance your listing to make sure your company is noticed first. Below is a chart outlining the differences between a basic and enhanced listing. Seems like a no-brainer to us. An enhanced listing is a nominal $250 fee.
Search for and claim your listing, create a listing or enhance your listing today or contact us for assistance.
|
| |
Season’s Greetings Special |
|
Take advantage of this limited time offer to extend warm, season’s greetings to 8,400 of your wireless clients and peers:
Option 1: Banner Ad Duo
Two banner ad features. One will run before the Christmas holiday and the other will run during the first week of the new year.
Option 2: Christmas Card Feature
Run your company Christmas card in our newsletter. Don’t have one? We can make you one.
Yes, we can create the artwork for you at no charge! Reach out to your sales reps for more information on availability, artwork and pricing. |
| |
 Clark Nexsen - Structural Engineer |
 Clark Nexsen is a national architecture and engineering firm focused on creating innovative design solutions for U.S. and global clients. They are passionate about their work and are prominently ranked on numerous industry lists. Building Design + Construction ranks Clark Nexsen as a Top 20 architecture and engineering firm and has been named to the Architect 50 list of top U.S. firms for the past four years. Headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with 450 employees in office locations in Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas, they offer outstanding compensation, benefits, and growth opportunities in a positive work environment.
Clark Nexsen is currently looking to hire a Structural Engineer Graduate or EIT to join their Wireless Communications division in the Virginia Beach, VA office. Click here for more information.
Must apply online through corporate website. |
|
| |
| APC Towers - Positions Open |
 Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, APC Towers is a privately held owner, operator and developer of wireless communications infrastructure throughout the United States. APC Towers collaborates with wireless carriers to provide solutions to extend their coverage and capacity, ultimately enhancing their wireless networks. They are currently looking to hire for the following positions, click for more info:
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
Bucksport, ME contributed by Scott Smith.
Email your tower shots or upload them here. Please be sure to include the tower location.
Remember to follow us on Instagram!
|
| |
 |
|
Keep current throughout the day.
INSIDE TOWERS TOWER-PRO.COM
|
|
|
|
|
