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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. 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 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. Prior to WIA, he held internships at the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, Comcast, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Telecommunications Industry Association.

Connected Cities Discussed at NATE UNITE Panelists during “Smart Connected Cities” at NATE UNITE 2020 on Wednesday discussed how cellular, IoT, drone and fiber technologies are being applied across transportation, public safety and other city services.

Terry Yates of the city of Cary, NC said his team just finished integrating storm water sensors. The information is transmitted over AT&T’s FirstNet to the city. He manages public safety tower sites. “Through standardization, our regional partners can see the data. For us, smart cities is all about partnerships and integrations.”

Mike Barts is with the Wireless Research Center of North Carolina. It performs R&D and has Ericsson-donated equipment to use in an eventual 5G platform. His group plans to incorporate drones into its work. “We were experiencing interference in our LMR system.” They drove around with spectrum analyzers, trying to find the source of the interference. With a helicopter, they found it in ten minutes, he said.

Miller and Meador Honored at NATE UNITE 2020 Awards Recognition Luncheon NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association today honored Jim Miller, CEO of EasTex Tower, LLC and Executive Advisor of Enertech Holdings, LLC in Springs, Colorado, and Ken Meador, former President of TWR Lighting, Inc. in Houston, Texas during the Awards & Sponsor Recognition Luncheon at NATE UNITE 2020.

Jim Miller was honored as the recipient of the Bill Carlson Lifetime Service Award. This prestigious award recognizes an individual who has made a significant and long-term contribution to the success of the NATE mission and has served the Association continually for a minimum of 15 years. Continue Reading

SAC Wireless Shows Support for the Tower Family Foundation

This week at NATE UNITE, SAC Wireless presented a check to the Tower Family Foundation for $15,000. Pictured above (left to right) are Todd Schleckeway, NATE; Wade Collins, Flash Technology; Eric Chase, Enertech; Ross Kruchten, SAC Wireless; Jim Tracy, Legacy Telecommunications; Jonathan McKinley, SAC Wireless; William Goldman, GME Supply; Victor Drouin, Green Mountain Communications, Jim Coleman, AT&T; Paula Nurnberg, NATE; and Tim Otto, SAC Wireless.

SAC Wireless offers a complete portfolio of self-performing services to support major network builds, 5G LTE upgrades and indoor/outdoor small cell and distributed antenna systems (DAS) deployments.

The Tower Family Foundation provides financial assistance to family members of a severely injured, permanently disabled, or deceased tower worker injured or killed in an accident stemming from working at heights on communication structures or other on the job related activities that tower workers are involved in on a daily basis.

Post Merger Optimism Prevails Among Towercos Now that the federal appeals court has blocked the lawsuit filed by several states against the T-Mobile – Sprint merger, towerco executives in Raleigh, NC at NATE UNITE 2020 are optimistic dollars will flow to the companies.

CTI Towers CEO Tony Peduto said during a panel titled: “The View From the Top,” on Wednesday, a big question is when deployment would begin. Still, he noted: “The good thing is leasing should start.” He believes DISH will deploy but still unknown is “will they truly be a fourth carrier?” He predicts T-Mo-Sprint leasing will start late in the second or third quarter.

APC Towers President/CEO Danny Agresta believes it will take a couple of quarters to transition. He agrees with Peduto’s thinking about DISH, noting they have about 400 open positions listed on their website. “Charlie [Ergen] must have done a really good job in the court to convince them they’ll really deploy this spectrum.”

Carolina West Wireless CEO Slayton Stewart predicts DISH will “put up 50-60 thousand sites nationwide in the next five to seven years. That’s a pretty big task.” His company is ready to help deploy that infrastructure, he added.

NAB Addresses Virus Concerns But Says the Show is On For April 18-22 The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), organizer of NAB Show, affirmed the 2020 NAB Show is set to take place as planned, April 18 – 22, in . The association is closely monitoring COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus, and is prepared to devote whatever resources necessary to ensure a safe and productive NAB Show experience.

NAB Show is the premier event driving the evolution of media and entertainment. It is an engine for commerce and a critical launchpad for products and services expected to revolutionize the business. The convention’s 1,600 exhibitors and 90,000 attendees rely on the annual NAB Show to raise their profile and meet business goals. Continue Reading

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Managing Editor: Jim Fryer Washington Bureau Chief: Leslie Stimson Business Editor: John Celentano Reporter: Keara M. Piekanski Marketing & Advertising: Megan Reed Creative & Advertising: Cara Aston Advertising: Phil Cook Keep current throughout the day.

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