Hotshot Crews”

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Wednesday, August 8, 2018 Volume 6 | Issue 154

APCO Interview FirstNet Unveils Emergency Drop Kit to “Hotshot Crews”

AT&T has been deploying Band 14 public safety spectrum as part of its FirstNet build. Band 14 has been added to more than 2,500 tower sites, with an additional 10,000 sites to be added by year-end, Ryan Fields-Spack Director, Public Safety Strategies, FirstNet tells Inside Towers from the show floor of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials show in Las Vegas.

One of the items on display as a proof of concept is an Emergency Drop Kit, a collaboration of FirstNet, AT&T and Sonim. The kit is designed to be carried by first responders into disaster areas that trucks can’t immediately drive into, like where a “hotshot crew” is fighting wildfires, says Fields-Spack. Incident commanders will be able to drop in the kits for rapid connectivity to FirstNet. FirstNet is in booth 836 at this week’s APCO 2018 Conference & Expo, which runs through today. Continue Reading

Canada North of the Border, 150,000 Skilled Tradespeople Will Make 5G a Reality In a recent report, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) estimates the implementation of 5G will create more than 150,000 short-term jobs — including construction positions — between 2020 and 2026. Companies will invest an estimated $26 billion to bring the networks to functionality, reported the Daily Commercial News.

Canada’s current cellular network is supported by approximately 33,000 macro towers over 200 feet tall. CWTA estimates a 5G rollout will require many more precisely located small cell sites, an estimated 273,000, that will cover areas of only 50 to 100 feet in diameter and will be affixed to lamp posts and utility poles. The CWTA said they still have not settled on a suitable permitting process to streamline their installation.

According to Rikin Thakker, a member of the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) Innovation and Technology Council and vice-president of telecommunications and spectrum policy at the U.S. Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council, “The first iteration of 5G is being built on the backbone of 4G. We refer to this first phase of 5G as the non-standalone standard, with U.S. providers set to begin marketing their services as early as next year.” Continue Reading

Analyst Says Shakeout May Be Looming For Small Contractors UPDATE The recent coverage of delayed payments between major telco operators and contractors has sparked observations from market analysts. Jennifer Fritzsche, Managing Director of Wells Fargo’s Equity Research Group, cited one of the “trade rag” stories on the issue in her Sunday client write up: “The article indicated some of the contractors doing work for the big telcos are facing pressure because the payments are not coming as fast as hoped.”

If this is truly the case, Fritzsche said, “it is going to be hard for some of these smaller new infrastructure companies (towers and E&C players come to mind) to weather that type of storm. Chasing payments often takes away from core focus,” Fritzsche wrote, noting that small infrastructure companies probably don’t have huge departments devoted to collecting accounts receivables. Still wondering if the issue is a trend, Fritzsche says it may be a longer term positive for the overall competitive environment. Simply put – a shakeout could eventually be seen — especially if rates continue to go higher and the cost of borrowing becomes a headwind, according to her line of thinking.

“To quote one of [our] favorite private tower contacts, the public’s tower cos (and E&C cos) just need to act like the Greek hero Odysseus who ordered his sailors to tie him up to the mast so he could not jump into the sea and meet the Sirens,” wrote Fritzsche. “He avoided biting on the temptation around him and the ship sailed past danger. Stating the obvious, if the little guys are getting the work but not getting paid in a timely fashion, that is a tough road to hoe. Seems like waiting it out and avoiding that pricing temptation is indeed the right strategy.”

Massachusetts SBA Restores “Flagpole” For Flying Old Glory East Harwich’s new memorial park is being planned with a flagpole cell tower as the centerpiece. Site plan paperwork has already been filed by Town Administrator Christopher Clark, reported The Cape Cod Chronicle.

SBA Communications Inc. leases the cell tower site and has done some desperately needed repairs to the existing flagpole structure. According to Department of Public Works Director Lincoln Hooper, there have been problems with the halyards for the flag getting caught on sections of the cell tower and complaints about the absence of a flag at times.

But now the flag’s back up and Hooper said, “SBA, Inc. is trying to appease us.” Hooper added that the work on the park surrounding the flagpole tower is estimated to begin in the fall.

T-Mobile Kicks Off Wireless Future Tour T-Mobile put a wireless future demonstration lab on a tractor trailer that’s going cross- country. The carrier says its new Tech Experience is an innovation center built inside the company’s Launch Pad. The lab is where T-Mobile engineers are working to develop, refinine and introduce next-generation wireless technologies, including LTE Advanced, 5G and IoT - technology that relies on small cells and macro towers.

The Tech Experience brings 5G to life with real world demonstrations and hands-on interactive experiences. Connected drones demonstrate how they’ll play a crucial role in emergencies and change home delivery. Through interactive displays, smart cities show how they’ll become safer, cleaner and more efficient. Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR & VR) demos portray how they’ll change the way we communicate.

The nationwide tour kicked off from Bellevue, WA, and will include dozens of stops in cities across the country over the next 12 months. Follow the truck on social media by searching for #TMobileTechTruck.

The Impact of Return Loss on Base Station Coverage in Mobile Networks

Each operator has its own specifications for feed system performance and ultimately the crew doing the installation must meet the operator’s specifications. When site performance does not meet the specified requirements, it is up to the operator to determine whether an exception can be made or whether the specification is essential. The information contained in this paper is intended to help operators make this decision based on a stronger understanding of the coverage impact. Click here to view the white paper.

August 7, 2018 at Close

Register for NATE Webinar on Getting Veterans Involved in Wireless On Wednesday, August 22, at 10 a.m. C.D.T., Warriors4Wireless President/CEO Kevin Kennedy will conduct a live NATE webinar entitled “How W4W and the Wireless Industry Can Team Up to Help Veterans.”

This session with Kevin Kennedy will provide an overview of how:

Over 1,200 veterans successfully transitioned into wireless industry careers since 2014. Over 50 industry hiring partners obtain contact information for interested and skilled veterans free of charge. In 2018, 100 percent of climbing veterans trained, received job offers within 35 days. The Veterans’ GI Bill investment into tower technician training means hiring superb entry level technicians. Click here to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Dielectric Adds Second Shift to Handle Spike in Repack Antenna Demand Dielectric is working to ensure there’s enough new broadcast antennas for tower climbers to attach to TV towers as stations are repacked into new spectrum channels. Increased demand from customers who need antennas and RF systems to meet spectrum repack requirements led manufacturer Dielectric to add a second shift. The company has made two appointments to expand its workforce and production capacity.

RF specialist Henry Fries joined the company as manager of RF Systems and Products. Dielectric also appointed Chuck Thompson as production supervisor for the second production shift. Fries comes to Dielectric from Comark Communications. He’ll help Dielectric design and develop new RF components, such as combiners for shared antennas, and passive RF systems. He will also focus on improving design workflows, as well as the documentation and manufacturing of Dielectric’s standard and custom RF product lines as the company looks beyond the repack to explore opportunities to expand its customer base beyond broadcast, including scientific and industrial applications.

Chuck Thompson comes to Dielectric with experience in logistics, operations and manufacturing management, having held senior positions at Noranda Aluminum and Donaldson Company. “My goal for the second shift is to not only produce more product, but to work as a team with the day shift by providing organizational support that helps them increase their operational efficiency,” Thompson said.

Florida Thousand-Foot Radio Tower WCWJ Dismantled

What was once the tallest man-made structure in northeast Florida is coming down one 20-foot section at a time. Last week a tower crew began dismantling WCWJ-TV's 996-foot tower on Hogan Road in Jacksonville, FL. The structure was built in 1966, when the station signed on as WJKS. The tower suffered deterioration over the past half century, and according to WJXT/WCWJ Chief Engineer James Lowery, was unable to hold the weight of the new digital antennas. Structural upgrades were needed before it could be safely be taken down. The tower is expected to be completely dismantled by the end of this week.

Italy Has Seven Players in Its 5G Auction Seven companies will participate in the country’s upcoming 5G spectrum auction near the end of September, Italy’s Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) announced. They are: Telecom Italia, Vodafone Italia, Iliad Italia, Wind Tre, Fastweb, Linkem and Open Fiber.

The auction is projected to raise €2.5 billion with licenses in the 649 MHz to 790 MHz; 3.6 GHz to 3.8 GHz; and 26.5 GHz to 27.5 GHz frequencies up for grabs, with the auction designed to create new entrants focused on boosting infrastructure in the market as well as making 5G-suitable spectrum available.

“Winners” are allowed to acquire up to three blocks of 2x5 MHz in the 700 MHz band, formerly occupied by broadcasters. An operator with 10 MHz in both the 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands can acquire two blocks, according to Mobile World Live.

AT&T Gives EOCs More Control Over Network Resources The AT&T FirstNet team is establishing a Response Operations Program to support the rollout of FirstNet’s deployable assets (like a Cell on Wheels, for example) with the National Incident Management System. “We wanted to work with states and municipalities to align with them on how they manage resources,” Ryan Fields-Spack Director, Public Safety Strategies, FirstNet tells Inside Towers from the show floor of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials show in Las Vegas (see item number one).

The AT&T FirstNet team is working to meet with every state to tailor the program to their distinct needs. During incidents, dedicated liaisons will be available to provide 24/7 support to the state Emergency Operations Centers. Liaisons will serve as the primary link between public safety and their FirstNet resources, coordinating across federal, state, local and tribal agencies. “Rather than having someone call an 800 number,” this way, “we can send assets where they are needed most,” says Fields-Spack, whether deploying network assets or expediting network restoration.

Hurricane Season is Here: Are You Ready? By Leticia Latino-van Splunteren, CEO of Neptuno USA Here we are, a month into 2018 hurricane season, and we have already seen storm activity. If 2018 is anything like 2017, we should brace ourselves.

It is hard to imagine that this season could be worse than last season, which was unprecedented in the massive destruction it left behind. There were 17 named storms, 10 consecutive hurricanes and six major hurricanes. Maria and Irma both reached Category 5 status quickly, while Jose fell short but rated a still very destructive Category 4 level.

According to comments filed with the FCC earlier this year, Wireless Infrastructure Association member companies withstood the 2017 hurricane season with little lasting damage to wireless infrastructure, but not all companies were so well prepared. While a significant number of people were impacted by the loss of wireless service during and immediately following the hurricanes, network redundancies largely ensured that outages in the U.S. were isolated and service was restored quickly in affected areas.

According to the FCC’s outage data in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, during Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, virtually all wireless service was restored to the affected disaster areas within one week. However, other nations in the Caribbean Basin experienced additional challenges in service restoration, and service disruptions persist in some of those areas. Continue Reading

Recent Releases Latest posting from the FCC 8/6/18 Click Here

Mobile World Congress Americas is Around the Corner

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Goldendale, WA contributed by Michael Montague. Email your tower shots or upload them here. Please be sure to include the tower location. Remember to follow us on Instagram!

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