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Subscribe • Advertise Tuesday, June 11, 2019 Volume 7 | Issue 113

STS Media Wants to Sell FreedomPop to Gain Boost Mobile Prepaid wireless carrier STS Media said it agreed to sell its FreedomPop brand to Red Pocket Mobile in order to place a bid on Sprint’s Boost Mobile. Sprint agreed to spin off Boost as it and T-Mobile work to get regulators to sign- off on their planned merger.

STS CEO Stephen Stokols said proceeds from the sale will be invested in technology and place STS in a better position to partner with other companies or private equity firms to pursue Boost. A source familiar with the deal told Reuters, the transaction is valued in the “high eight figures.”

STS is reportedly speaking with several private equity groups and at least one “facilities-based buyer,” meaning a telecom that owns physical network infrastructure. FreedomPop doesn’t own spectrum nor towers; it uses the AT&T and Sprint networks, according to the account. Continue Reading

White House Asks Congress to Delay Huawei Ban The White House Office of Management and Budget has asked Congress for more time to phase in a ban on federal contracts with companies that do business with Huawei.

Huawei has repeatedly denied it is controlled by the Chinese government, military or intelligence services. It has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government over the restrictions in the defense policy bill, Reuters reported.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), placed a broad ban on the use of federal money to purchase products from Huawei, citing national security concerns. It included a ban on direct federal purchases of Huawei equipment, which will take effect this year.

But now, the White House says the government needed two more years to work out rules for another part of the law, which requires third-party suppliers and contractors to restrict their purchases and use of Huawei equipment. “This is about ensuring that companies who do business with the U.S. government or receive federal grants and loans have time to extricate themselves from doing business with Huawei and other Chinese tech companies listed in the NDAA,” Jacob Wood, a spokesman for the White House OMB, said in a statement. Continue Reading

800+ CAF II Winning Bids Now Okayed for Fund Dispersal The FCC authorized Connect America Fund Phase II (Auction 903) support for 856 winning bids on Monday.

For each of the winning bids, the agency reviewed the long-form application information, including the letter(s) of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letter(s) from the long-form applicant’s legal counsel. The Commission will also soon post a state-level summary under the “Data” tab on the Auction 903 webpage.

The summary will provide for each long-form applicant, the total support amount over ten years and total number of locations that the long form applicant is being authorized for in each state. It will also list the total number of locations to which the authorized support recipient must offer the required voice and broadband services for each performance tier and latency in each state. The eligible census blocks included in the winning bids that are being authorized in each state are also included. Continue Reading

FCC Approves Funding for More CAF II Auction Winners The FCC Monday authorized $166.8 million in funding over the next decade to expand broadband to 60,850 unserved rural homes and businesses in 22 states. The money represents the second wave of support from last year’s Connect America Fund Phase II auction.

To obtain final authorization, providers must now submit a valid letter of credit from their bank and opinion letter(s) for each state where it has winning bids to the Universal Service Administrative Company. The submission must be made before 6 p.m. Eastern on June 21. Here’s a common error list concerning letters of credit.

Providers will begin receiving funding this month. “Providers will deploy gigabit-speed connections to the majority of locations for which funding is being authorized today, while nearly 8,000 homes and small businesses on Tribal lands will be getting fixed broadband service for the first time,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. Continue Reading

Virginia The Rural Tobacco Region OKs Phase Two for Broadband On Thursday, the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission approved a grant awarding $334,396 for Phase 2 of the county’s broadband initiative, according to the Gazette-Virginian.

Phase 2 of the Halifax County Broadband Initiative aims to bring affordable, high-speed broadband to 16,000 new rural homes and businesses across five counties.

Over the past two years, the Commission has invested in projects enabling over 47,000 underserved homes and businesses to access broadband. Regional wireless internet run by SCS Broadband, which is partnering with the county to build the network that will provide service to subscribers, will bridge the digital divide for rural Virginians.

J. T. Davis, chair of the Halifax County Board of Supervisors’ broadband committee, acknowledged the project is moving “very, very slow,” but added, “It will get done. We have laid the groundwork.”

June 10, 2019 at Close

Sprint Announces Successful Consent Solicitation To Its 7.0% Guarantee Notes Sprint Corporation, Inc. (SCI) disclosed the expiration and results of its previously announced solicitation and receipt of their 7.0 percent Guaranteed Notes due 2020 (CUSIP No. 852061AQ3 / ISIN No. USU84691AD30).

The Consent Solicitation was conducted in connection with Sprint's previously announced agreement to merge with a wholly-owned subsidiary of T-Mobile US, Inc., with Sprint surviving, after which S is expected to become a direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of T-Mobile USA, Inc., pursuant to that Business Combination Agreement, dated as of April 29, 2018, among T-Mobile, SoftBank Group Corp., Deutsche Telekom AG and the additional parties. Continue Reading

Arizona Oncology Professor and Fire Chief Give New Tower ‘Thumbs Up’ A cell tower erected last month on Golder Ranch Fire District property met with approval and backlash from various parties in Catalina, AZ, according to KVOA-TV. The monopole belongs to Verizon who approached the city about a potential site in 2017.

A clinical professor of Radiation Oncology at UC Davis, Gerald Bushberg, told KVOA-TV, “Now if there’s an accident or a lost child or whatever, there’s going to be more people that have better coverage to report something that doesn’t look quite right,” he said, adding that the signal is no more threatening than exposure to a microwave. “If you just think it’s all radiation, it might scare you,” Bushberg said.

Captain Adam Jarrold of the Golder Ranch Fire Department agrees with Bushberg, saying, “We thought it would be great for the community to increase the cell phone service simply because a lot of people don’t carry landlines anymore so their cell phones are the only way to access the 911 system.” Continue Reading

Massachusetts Charter Communications’ Network Is the Town’s "Only Hope" For Sandisfield, population 893, and one of the last towns lacking high-speed internet in Berkshire County, a plan to build a network that will bring broadband to 96 percent of homes and businesses is underway. The town Select Board voted unanimously last month to accept a proposal from Charter Communications, according to the Berkshire Eagle.

Charter Communications is asking for $2.6 million from the town and the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) to design and build the network, which it would own, operate and maintain. The MBI would pay Charter the town's $1.23 million share of Last Mile grant money, then cover 40 percent of the funding gap, equaling $551,000. The town then would owe $827,000, plus interest, all to be deducted from annual state aid until after the network is fully completed and operating, over a ten or 15-year period, reported the Eagle. Continue Reading

In-Building Wireless Congress Opens Session Programs Today in Las Vegas The In-Building Wireless Congress begins sessions today at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, covering a myriad of issues facing infrastructure developers in the 5G world.

Debra Mercier, Vice President of Business Development for Wireless Concepts International, a provider of custom scalable in-building systems will give the ‘welcome’ address and opening remarks. The conference runs through tomorrow. For more information go to: http://ibwcongress.com/. Sessions include:

In-Building Network Convergence: Strategies and Key Considerations Infrastructure Investment: Is Now the Right Time for Network-Related Capital Expenditure? Accelerating Densification with Network Sharing

Proteus Services Names New Vice President of Real Estate and Development Proteus Services, LLC announced yesterday that Lori Perez will become its Vice President of Real Estate and Development. Perez has 15 years of experience in the field of Real Estate, DAS and Small Cell.

During her time at Proteus, she has transitioned from site acquisition specialist to site acquisition manager.

“Lori is a leader who is driven to succeed and builds relationships that last. She finds ways to create new opportunities and keeps Proteus successful,” Proteus President Wanda Kielty said.

DOJ, Illegal Radio Station Reach Settlement The U.S. Attorney’s Office reached a settlement with Vasco Oburoni and Christian Praise International Church regarding a radio station in Worcester, MA that has been operating without an FCC license.

According to a consent decree filed Monday and subject to court approval, Oburoni and the church agree not to operate an unlicensed radio station in violation of the Communications Act of 1934. They also agree to surrender all of their broadcasting equipment, which could include a tower. In the event the FCC reasonably suspects that they have violated the Act, the Commission may inspect the premises and seize any equipment. Finally, if the FCC determines the defendants have operated an unlicensed station in violation of the settlement, the defendants must pay a $75,000 fine.

According to the signed consent decree, Oburoni and the church admitted they operated an unlicensed radio broadcast station in Worcester, on frequency 97.1 MHz, and previously operated an unlicensed radio station on frequency 102.3 MHz. The FCC issued multiple warnings to the illegal operators and issued a forfeiture order in the amount of $15,000. Oburoni agreed to a payment plan, but later began broadcasting again without a license on a different frequency. The FCC received complaints, including from a licensed broadcaster that the unlicensed station was interfering with licensed radio signals.

Building Permits 6-2-19 to 6-8-19 San Antonio, TX (permit definition, amount, address, site definition, contractor)

Install a small cellular site, $46,000, 5494 Babcock Road Rooftop, Rory Smith Install a small cellular site, $46,000, 8102 Callaghan Road Rooftop, Rory Smith Crown Castle Sprint Clearwire $25,000, 6085 Babcock Road, Gary Edenburn Cell Tower Modification: adding new equipment, $25,000,1968 Austin Hwy Gary Edenburn Install a new wireless telecom facility, $85,000, 9504 IH 10, E Timoth Caletka New wireless telecommunication facility, $85,000, 2117 Rodriguez Road, Sherry Huebinger Cell tower modification, $10,000 7750 Olde Village Drive, Tessa Derry Cell tower modification, $10,000 9360 SE LOOP 410, Tessa Derry

Source: City of San Antonio

Jacksonville, FL

Sprint, 1200 Riverplace Blvd., contractor is Atlantic Tower Services Inc., cell tower equipment upgrade, $65,000. Source: Jacksonville Daily Record

TowerXchange Meetup Americas 2019 Details Agenda For July 9-10 In four weeks, the TowerXchange Meetup Americas will be back in Boca Raton, gathering the very best from the CALA telecom infrastructure industry and here is a sneak peek of what you can expect during the two-day event, taking place July 9-10 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club.

For the first time at the event, infrastructure experts and decision makers from the key regional MNOs will be discussing their strategies, operational challenges and requirements. The plenary panel discussion held on day one will bring together Telefónica, Telecom Argentina and Entel Chile to further explore collaboration opportunities between operators, towercos and vendors. New for this year’s event, the Meetup with include Closed-Door session meetings and vendor briefings.

Click here to check the latest agenda. To get more information on tickets and attending the event click here. Use the code: TXAM19INSIDETOWERS when registering. Continue Reading

InSite Wireless Group LLC: Broadcast Sales Executive

This position markets all existing tower assets and potential tower builds to prospective broadcast customers within the United States. In this role, you will work with all areas of the company and customers to support the company's rapid growth. Responsibilities include:

Expands, develops, and maintains broadcast customer relationships through a variety of networks including but not limited to equipment manufacturers, industry vendors, engineering organizations, and broadcast license owners. Identifies and proactively seeks new business analyzing existing competition and changing technology deployed by broadcasters. Serves as a key contact for the customer, effectively handling all customer related issues.

For a full list of qualifications, click here. To learn more or apply, email Sonia Kough.

GPD Group: Telecom Business Development Leader

GPD Group is currently seeking a Business Development Leader to develop and manage all aspects of the sales process from prospecting, pre-positioning, onboarding, and maintaining long- term client relationships within their Telecom practice. Click here to learn more.

Tower Power Group: Tower Painter

Tower Power Group is currently seeking Tower Painters, with 2 positions available for work in the Continental US. Travel and accommodations are paid, Rate is $30.00/hour (+ DOE). Job is Seasonal. Must be able to work in US (Citizen or Permanent Resident). Email or call: (902) 430-2914 for information.

Three hand-painted, 4-sided, rooftop screenwalls in Calgary, AB built by Raycap | STEALTH. Email your tower shots or upload them here. Please be sure to include the tower location. Remember to follow us on Instagram!

Managing Editor: Jim Fryer Washington Bureau Chief: Leslie Stimson Reporter: Keara M. Piekanski Contributing Analyst: John Celentano Marketing & Advertising: Megan Reed Creative & Advertising: Cara Aston Advertising & Classifieds: Phil Cook

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