NATE Unveils New Brand Logo and Association Tagline WIA Awarded
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Click here for the online version. This e-mail was created for [email protected] Subscribe • Advertise Thursday, February 20, 2020 Volume 8 | Issue 34 NATE Unveils New Brand Logo and Association Tagline As part of the Association’s 25th year anniversary milestone, NATE yesterday unveiled a new logo and descriptor tag-line designed to honor the organization's past and capture its future in the rapidly evolving communications infrastructure industry. Effective immediately, the organization will be referred to as NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association. The Association made the announcement by debuting a NATE Brand Launch Video during the NATE UNITE 2020 Awards & Sponsorship Recognition Luncheon in Raleigh, NC. The new NATE logo includes a custom-colored blue-green text with bright accents and is designed to represent technology, communication, connectivity and the future. The logo also includes a custom shape in the form of an A in NATE with associated graphics that represent the three grades of deployment work: above grade, at grade, and below grade. Continue Reading WIA Awarded $6 Million DOL Grant to Train 5G Workforce The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) announced yesterday that the U.S. Department of Labor awarded it a $6 million grant to expand apprenticeship in the telecommunications industry. The grant program, Apprenticeship: Closing the Skills Gap, is designed to support large-scale expansions of apprenticeship. In partnership with the Power & Communication Contractors Association (PCCA), the grant will be used to train a 5G workforce, an integral part of winning the global race to 5G. Five institutions of higher education have already committed as technical partner schools. The nearly $6 million grant is supplemented by over $9 million in matching support from industry, including cash and in-kind contributions from WIA, PCCA, Ditch Witch, FS3, and participating employers, for a total commitment to apprenticeship of $15 million in a public-private partnership. The grant will provide the necessary funding to design curricula and deliver training to develop qualified applicants for placement in middle- to high-skilled jobs nationwide that will accelerate 5G deployment for America’s 5G Apprenticeship Initiative. The program will be led by WIA and delivered through the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship (TIRAP) program, of which WIA is the national sponsor. TIRAP is a public-private partnership with the Department of Labor (DOL) that is the first and only multi-employer apprenticeship effort focused on developing the 5G workforce. Continue Reading Tower Talks Inside Towers Talks to NATE Chairman Jimmy Miller at NATE UNITE 2020 With the news that the NATE changed part of its name and branding (see above), Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief Leslie Stimson spoke with Jimmy Miller on our Tower Talks podcast. Miller is NATE Chairman and president and chief executive officer of MillerCo in Gulfport, MS. The re-branding is part of a larger NATE effort to attract young people to the tower workforce and better explain what tower workers do, Miller told Inside Towers, during NATE UNITE 2020 in Raleigh, NC. Listen to this podcast on our website, Spotify or iTunes. Roanoke Valley Ponders How To Get Connected The Virginia towns of Roanoke and Salem have joined with the counties of Roanoke and Botetourt to find ways to bring reliable internet access to the region. According to the Roanoke Times, the newly formed Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority (RVBA) plans to tackle connectivity in a way that the group describes as "game-changing." The RVBA already supports a fiber optic network in the more metropolitan service areas within their boundaries. Many RVBA members are committed to expanding the current cabled network across the region. “When you partner with the RVBA, you’re bringing fiber to your home. You’re also helping us reach other homes we couldn’t reach otherwise,” stated enthusiastic RVBA spokesperson Jennifer Eddy. Continue Reading MS Fiber Build Combines Broadband, Utility Upgrade C Spire and Entergy Mississippi have completed an $11 million fiber infrastructure project in Mississippi. It spans more than 300 miles over 15 counties, according to Broadband Technology Report. The final segment involved digging 40 feet under a reservoir to connect a 6,585-foot section. The reservoir is the state’s largest drinking water source. The fiber expansion will enable C Spire to provide broadband to rural areas. It will also modernize Entergy’s grid by enhancing the communication systems that connect the utility’s facilities, substations, offices and radio sites. Entergy provides electric service for about 445,000 customers in 45 counties. More than 4,000 homes and over 1,000 businesses are within 500 feet of the fiber-optic lines. Continue Reading February 19, 2020 at Close DISH Network Reports Q4, Year-End Results: Now the Hard Part Starts DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) reported revenue totaling $3.24 billion for the quarter ending December 31, 2019, compared to $3.31 billion for the corresponding period in 2018. Net income attributable to DISH Network totaled $389 million for the fourth quarter 2019, compared to $337 million from the year-ago quarter. Diluted earnings per share were $0.69 for the fourth quarter, compared to $0.64 per share during the same period of 2018. Analysts held back on their enthusiasm. Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson said his firm has always been skeptical about DISH’s claims that they can build a network for just $10B. “Sure, virtualization will help significantly reduce Dish’s cost of equipment. But here’s the rub. Equipment is only 20 percent or so of the cost of building a network,” Moffett said. “The rest - labor, tower leases, powering, zoning and siting, and backhaul - doesn’t benefit from virtualization. The costly part of building any network isn’t equipment, it’s public works. Verizon and AT&T have each spent something like $200B over the past decade on building their networks,” he said. Moffett said both are now considerably virtualized and each spends more on annual maintenance, on networks that are already built, than DISH is planning to spend on building a network from scratch. “DISH currently has about 600 people on its wireless team,” Moffett said. “Verizon currently has 600 people working on small cell zoning.” Continue Reading SBA Communications CFO to Speak at Raymond James SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: SBAC) announced that Brendan Cavanagh, Chief Financial Officer, is scheduled to speak at the Raymond James forty-first Annual Institutional Investors Conference on Monday, March 2, at 4:35 p.m. ET. This conference will be at The JW Marriott Grande Lakes in Orlando, FL. The audio presentation for SBA can be accessed by visiting www.sbasite.com. SBA will be announcing their fourth quarter earnings on Thursday. Raycap Expands Small Cell Offerings With Acquisition of Apelio International provider of telecommunications infrastructure solutions, Raycap, acquired New Jersey-based Apelio Innovative Industries, LLC., a manufacturer of telecommunication network accessories and electrical switchgear. The move bolsters Raycap’s engineering and manufacturing capabilities in the United States and expands its product offering for the small cell 5G telecom market. Apelio is a manufacturer of telecommunication shrouds, pole toppers, antenna mounts, ground based telecom cabinets and other highly engineered network components and works closely with telecom infrastructure providers. Raycap’s acquisition follows their recent addition of Stealth Concealment Solutions, which provides fully integrated small cell poles and groundbreaking RF and 5G friendly concealments via its patent pending Invisiwave technology. “We are very excited about the opportunities this acquisition by Raycap opens up for Apelio,” said Michael Zelenko, General Manager of Raycap | Apelio Innovative Industries. “Raycap’s global reach and resources will enhance our existing capabilities, including engineering, product development, sales, and more. This means we can market and deliver enhanced products and more quickly expand market share in the concealed small cell infrastructure market,” he said. New York It Takes Two to Tango in the Adirondacks Two back-to-back cellular towers disguised as evergreens were approved by the Adirondack Park Agency at its February meeting, a move that will bring better coverage to the hamlet and camps of Raquette Lake, NY as well as to a notorious dead zone in the Route 28 corridor. Hailed as one of the crown jewels of the Adirondack Park, Raquette Lake spans over 100 miles of pine-covered shoreline along New York State Route 28, a well-known wireless dead zone. In an announcement made on February 17, by the Adirondack Park Agency (APA), two cell towers are slated to be sited next to one another to provide better coverage for the village, camps of Raquette Lake, and the highly traveled Route 28 corridor. T-Mobile and AT&T will each occupy a tower. According to The Adirondack Explorer, APA analyst Virginia Yamrick said that "two towers were deemed by the staff to be better than one, because a single pole would have to be slightly higher to accommodate both carriers, and would stand out more." Continue Reading WIA Announces Stephen Keegan as Associate Counsel, Government Affairs The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) announced Tuesday that Stephen Keegan has been named Associate Counsel, Government Affairs. Keegan has served as a Law Clerk at WIA for the past six months. “We are pleased that Stephen is continuing his career at WIA to work toward policies that drive swift deployment of next-generation wireless networks. He has been astute in coordinating state and federal legislative issues, as well as regulatory issues, and he was instrumental in drafting comments for WIA’s Section 6409 petitions,” said WIA Vice President, Government and Public Affairs Matt Mandel. “Stephen will continue to work with WIA members on their legislative and regulatory priorities. I know that Stephen will bring success for the industry.” Keegan holds a Juris Doctor from American University Washington College of Law.