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Thursday, April 20, 2017 Volume 5 | Issue 78
Inside Towers Interview with Vertical Bridge CEO Alex GellmanAuction Came Up Short Due to ‘Sharpened’ Demand by Carriers
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
Why did the nearly $20 billion in gross revenues from the FCC’s incentive auctioncome in at around half of what had been originally predicted by a myriad ofanalysts? Timing and the evolution of the carrier’s needs, according to one expert.
FCC officials told reporters last week the auction had been in the works for fiveyears under four different Commission chairmen, beginning with JuliusGenachowski. In between then and now, “there’s been an evolution” of howcarriers want to use their spectrum for next-gen services, Vertical Bridge co-founder and CEO Alex Gellman told Inside Towers in an exclusive interview.
“If this auction had happened five years ago there would have been more demand,” he said, adding the last twoauctions “sharpened” the carriers’ thoughts. While 600 MHz repack spectrum works great for rural areas and isgood for building out a network, “it doesn’t work as well for ‘dense demand’” and carriers now want higherfrequencies for 5G. Continue Reading
Pai Says Verizon, Corning Fiber Deal is “Heralding a Densified 5GNetwork”FCC Chairman Ajit Pai praised the news this week that Verizon has agreed to buy at least $1 billion in optical fiberfrom Corning. Under the agreement both companies announced, Corning will manufacture and Verizon will buy upto 12.4 million miles of fiber each year from 2018 through 2020, with a minimum purchase commitment of $1.05billion.
The deal “heralds the construction of ‘densified’ 5G networks that will benefit American consumers,” said Pai. “It willcreate thousands of high-quality jobs building and laying fiber.”
The deal coincides with the FCC’s goal of closing the digital divide, added the chairman. He noted the Commissionhas taken action to promote spending on broadband deployment and will vote on additional proposals today to“unleash major capital expenditures on next-generation networks.” Continue Reading Second Annual Wireless West Conference Kicks Off in San Diego
Yesterday marked the start of the 2nd Annual Wireless West Conference, held in Downtown San Diego.
The conference started with a touching tribute to John Zitting, founder and president ofTruNorthe. The amount of Orange Ribbons worn by attendees at the conference are a clearindicator of John’s influence within the wireless industry, and how strongly he will be missed bythe members of our field. A fund has been set up at: www.rememberthezittings.com.
The opening Keynote speaker was Henry Bzeih, Managing Director of Kia's Connected &Mobility Division speaking on the future of connected cars and the wireless industry. “This isonly the second time I’ve spoken with members of the wireless industry, but I am certain thatconversations and gatherings like this will become much more likely over the coming years,”Bzeih said. “What is really growing is connection between vehicles and the outside world.
There is a lot of work to be had in the infrastructure of communication in V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle) connectivity. Justimagine the level of synchronicity required by each autonomous vehicle on the road to make sure they do not runinto each other,” he said. Continue Reading
Kentucky Derby May Feature COWs as AT&T and Mobilitie Add toNetwork More than just the horses and jockeys will be fast at this year’s Kentucky Derby. Thanks to AT&T and Mobilitie,attendees will experience quicker data speeds and improved coverage at the 143rd running of the famed horseracedue to recent DAS upgrades, according to a press release.
The upgrades will boost LTE capacity by more than 20 percent. It marks the fifth straight year the two companieshave teamed up to improve wireless coverage at Churchill Downs.
“Churchill Downs continues to host the highest-attending sporting event of the year. Hundreds of thousands ofvisitors attend. Our long-term partnership with Churchill Downs allows us the opportunity to operate and maintainone of the largest and most advanced wireless networks in sports,” Mobilitie president Christos Karmis said. Landa Lands Lightning Protection for Missiles Assignment
When you hear the words “missile defense,” your first thought is likely about asystem to protect us from incoming missiles, like the old Strategic DefenseInitiative and its successor programs (which are still in development to this day).
But there’s another important aspect of missile defense: protecting the missilesthemselves, from lightning strikes, for instance.
Mobile towers from Landa Mobile Systems were recently selected for that purposeby the United States Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency. After extensive testing, Landa’s patentedModel LMS106 HW portable telescopic lattice towers were deployed in the South Pacific. The Landa units werechosen for reliability, durability, and capability to hold up to the wind — rated to withstand up to 105 mph windspeed in unguyed deployment. Continue Reading
CommScope Partners with Smart Cities Council
“The United Nations estimates that 70 percent of the world population will be urbanby 2050, which means cities will need to have infrastructure in place to support‘supercity’ growth and densification,” said Morgan Kurk, chief technology officer at
CommScope. Today there are more than 250 smart cities projects in progress globally, according to NavigantResearch, and that number is expected to increase significantly over the next several years. CommScope, a global
leader in infrastructure solutions for communications networks, became a Lead Partner of the Smart Cities Councilto help transform cities and support the growth of digital technology and intelligent solutions.
“The goal of the Smart Cities Council is to help city leaders create a vision, build an action plan and measure thesuccess of their smart city initiatives,” said Council Chairman Jesse Berst. “We are delighted to have CommScopeworking with us to help cities better understand the technologies that will enhance livability, workability andsustainability in their communities.”
From emergency response and transportation to citizen services and smart living, one of the critical needs citieshave today is a reliable communications network infrastructure to enable the integrated, cross-cutting technologiesthat comprise a smart city. RFS, International Towers Team Up for Repack
Tower systems, cable and antenna manufacturer Radio Frequency Systems (RFS)is partnering with licensed general contractor International Towers Incorporated (ITI)to offer turn-key equipment and installation solutions for broadcast owners
preparing for the repacking of television channels. The companies say the arrangement will enable broadcasters tobuy infrastructure products and installation services from a single supplier and guarantees that services will beavailable in conjunction with product delivery.
For more than 40 years, RFS has manufactured multi-channel broadband antennas and sees itself as a specialist inthe design and manufacture of multi-channel antenna and transmission systems. The company has madeinvestments to support broadcasters as they prepare for the spectrum repack. RFS offers broadcast products thatare frequency agile, polarization agile and future proof, including its SBB series of wideband slot antennas and PEPLite antennas, which provide low wind-load and allow operation on any channel within the full UHF band. RFS’ newRFStar™ UHF Slotted Array Antennas provide a simple option for single or dual channel fixed polarizationapplications, according to the manufacturer. Continue Reading
$150 for 15 Answers?Seems like a no-brainer! It's important to connect with our loyal subscribers. That's why Inside Towers periodicallyruns surveys. Trade five minutes of time for an opportunity to win a $150 Amazon gift card. Access the survey here.One entry per subscriber. Thanks for being a part of our valued Tower Tribe!
April 19, 2017 at Close
Verizon to Report Earnings TodayTo hear a live feed go to www.verizon.com/about/investors/ at 8:30 a.m. EST.
MissouriIndependence Residents Say ‘Show Me’ Another Place for That TowerThe the Midwest Genealogy Center in Independence, MO was full of local residents last Monday and they were fullof questions about the rapid deployment of three towers in their city. Mobilitie was at the other end of the questionstrying to satisfy their peaked curiosity, according to KMBZ Radio.
Two of the towers are sited along Lee's Summit Road and are obstructing the views some residents said.Independence Mayor Eileen Weir said because of state statutes, city officials have little say on where or whentowers are constructed.
"We certainly want the service to be available in our community," Weir told KMBZ. "We would just like somediscretion about where the placement of the towers would be, both on private and public property."
The Mayor said they're hoping to pass House Bill 656, giving municipalities more say in cell tower placement. Shesaid she hopes the bill is passed prior to the legislature adjourning in May.
Coax Nightmares Can Come True With Poor Pre-Planning
Jay Panozzo, CEO of MidAmerica Towers met face-to-face with a rat's nest of cableson the site pictured to the left last week. “Just finished up a tower mod, turning singleL's into 2L's,” Panozzo said. “Note the coax nightmare.”
“Fun fact,” Panozzo added, “it takes three hours per day (for an organized and safecrew) to do this modification - that's 108 man hours per section. Add coax time,mobilization, steel cost, per diem and special equipment and your talking around$35,000 for every 20' of tower which is over 500 percent of the tower's original cost. Mypoint is pre-planning is key, but it takes knowledge to know how to pre-plan.”
El SalvadorPhoenix Tower Takes Over Management of 202 Tower Sites From DigicelFlorida-based Phoenix Tower International (PTI), which owns and operates more than 1,400 towers and otherwireless sites throughout Latin America, the Caribbean and the U.S. has purchased ownership or managementrights to 202 tower sites from Digicel El Salvador. PTI CEO Dagan Kasavana said the acquisition was a “logicalexpansion of PTI’s operations as we are already a leading infrastructure provider for the major carriers operating inEl Salvador in other markets we do business in.”
USA GROUPS Appoints Eric Pogoda to Head Construction DivisionUSA GROUPS, Inc., yesterday announced that Eric Pogoda, former Senior Vice President for SmartLink, will joinUSA GROUPS as its President of the construction and maintenance division, USA COMSERV. Pogoda’sexperience includes stints with Crown Castle, Nextel and Sprint.
"I am especially honored and humbled by this opportunity. Representing the USA GROUPS brand and reputation forquality, execution and service to the communications industry is a unique responsibility" said Pogoda. "I lookforward to continuing the tradition of excellence, and most importantly, working with our dedicated team to deliverobvious value to our customers which will enable us to guide USA COMSERV into the future," he added. Former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell Goes to Mobile Future
Former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell is the new chief public policy advisor for MobileFuture, an association comprised of tech and communications companies and non-profitorganizations working to support investment and innovation in the wireless sector. Theappointment is effective immediately, according to the association. Members readers willrecognize include Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, Cisco, Ericsson, Qualcomm, Rivada Networks,Samsung and Verizon.
Most recently, McDowell has been a partner and co-leader of the global communicationspractice at Cooley LLP, where his portfolio includes telecommunications, media and technology
matters. As an FCC commissioner, McDowell championed public policy that promoted consumer choice andfostered competition.
McDowell was first appointed to a seat on the FCC in 2006, by President George W. Bush. When he wasreappointed in 2009, he became the first Republican to be named to an independent agency by President BarackObama. Prior to joining the FCC, he was senior vice president of the Competitive Telecommunications Association. Former Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake Joins Wiley Rein Law FirmFormer FCC Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake has joined the Telecom, Media and Technology practice as consultingcounsel for law firm Wiley Rein. Lake was media bureau chief from 2009 to 2017, advising companies onregulatory, competition, intellectual property and trade issues. Previously, he was FCC coordinator for the digitaltelevision transition.
Wiley Rein, founded by former FCC Chairman Richard Wiley and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State forEconomic and Business Affairs Bert Wein, boasts one of the largest telecom, media and technology practices in thecountry, with over 60 attorneys and engineers working full-time in the practice.
MaineCell Tower Fund Buys the July 4th Fireworks..and Other Things For Jay,Maine
Vital statistic: Tower lease generates $176.5K for townThe annual town meeting in Jay, Maine next Tuesday will cover a lot of ground. An excerpt from whatis planned comes from the Daily Bulldog: “Additionally, several items previously included in the budgetwould instead be covered through the town's recreation fund, which currently includes $176,543 inmoney generated through a cell tower lease and a timber harvest of town-owned property. The
Spruce Mountain and Area Youth Sports insurances will be covered out of the Tower Fund, as they were last year,for $11,025 and $2,500, respectively. Additionally, the town's $12,000 share of the Livermore Falls-based SummerRecreation program will come out of this fund, as well as $2,000 for fireworks on July 4. Also included is a $4,655appropriation to Spruce Mountain Ski Club to go toward the purchase of a wide-track snow machine capable ofresponding to emergencies.”
The Inside Towers database shows one tower in Jay, Maine. It is owned by SBA.
Healthcare Industry Receives $1.6B in VC Funding for WirelessInfrastructureIn Q1 2017, $1.6 billion in Venture Capital (VC) funding went to digital health and IT, the second highest quarterever, according to the Mercom Capital Report as reported by hitinfrastructure.com. This recent VC funding for thedigital health sector nearly doubled IT capital since Q4 2016 creating a positive impact for companies providing DASand small cell services to the medical community.
“Digital Health funding is off to a fast start this year and there was no visible ‘Trump effect’ on investments in thesector, at least in the first quarter, and publicly-traded Digital Health companies actually fared much better in Q1than last year,” Mercom Capital Group CEO and Co-Founder Raj Prabhu said. Continue Reading
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Florida Wireless Association Networking Happy HourMay 4 - Tampa, FLJackson's Bistro Bar 610 South Harbor Island Boulevard, 33602 - The event will be in the outdoor patio bar from5:00 p.m. until... It's going to be Tampa hot so please feel free to dress casual!
TMT Finance AfricaMay 24 - London, England
Features 25 session and 70 speakers on telecom and tech investment opportunities in Africa. Participatingcompanies include, American Tower, Helios Towers, Eaton Towers, Orange, Microsoft, Google and Africa mobileNetworks. At the Hilton Hotel, Tower Bridge, London. Click here for more information.
Yesterday's tweet from Wireless West. Who is at the Wireless West Conference again today? We are. Contact us to meet up!
Inside Towers Classifieds PromotionAre you trying to fill a role quickly? When you post a job listing with Inside Towers your reach is exponential. Yourlisting will be posted:
In the Inside Towers daily newsletter, read by 8,250+ wireless infrastructure professionalsOn the Inside Towers website - Our year over year web sessions increased 122% in 2016On Inside Towers' and Tower-Pro's social media accounts which combined, have over 12,700 followersTo relevant, exclusive social media groups (i.e. Tower Climber groups on LinkedIn and Facebook)
Check out our simplified process here. For a limited time only, get $50 off your first classified ad.Contact us for more information.
Tower-Pro.com, Inside Towers’ companion Buyer’s Guide has over 3,500 listings in 130+ categories. Each monthwe will be featuring one of our primary categories. This month, we’re highlighting Business Services. Within thiscategory are subcategories:
Should your company be in this category?See if you’re listed and if you only have a basic listing, find out why you should upgrade here.
We will be randomly highlighting our enhanced listings in Inside Towers for added exposure.Email us with questions or for assistance.
Recent window replacement by STEALTH® in Henrico, VA.You'd never know what's hiding behind these eight frosted RF transparent beauties.
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