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Subscribe • Advertise Friday, November 13, 2020Volume 8 | Issue 222

Public Safety Groups Oppose CTIA’s Request for More Time on Vertical E911By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau ChiefSeven public-safety organizations banded together to oppose CTIA’s request for more time for carriers to comply withtimelines laid out in the FCC’s latest update for E911 location accuracy requirements. The update concerns verticallocation data transmitted to first responders during emergency calls. CTIA told the agency that COVID has upended the anticipated timelines. “Recently adopted and evolving governmentrestrictions and building access limitations have delayed testing necessary to determine whether any technology canbe validated for compliance with the sixth R&O’s requirements,” said CTIA in its Petition for Reconsideration.Continue Reading

WisconsinFrom Sixteen Towers to Six to Zero: CEO Pulls Revised Tower ProposalOn November 5, Bug Tussel CEO Steve Schneider announced the withdrawal of a tower proposal presented toCrawford County. According to SW News, the latest proposal of five to six towers was a scaled-down version of anoriginal plan to build 16 towers; now, that number rests at zero.

The project was intended to utilize a broadband internet grant by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. Thetowers aimed to provide broadband access to residents and students studying from home during the pandemic,reported SW News. Continue Reading UScellular Network Modernization and 5G Plan On Track By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor With new leadership, a refreshed corporate image, and buoyed by solid profits in 3Q20, United States CellularCorporation (NYSE: USM) is enthusiastic about its network modernization and 5G build plans.

The Chicago, Illinois-based company operates in parts of 21 states covering 31 million people mainly in small townsand rural communities in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Pacific Northwest, and northern California. At the endof 3Q20, USM had five million postpaid and prepaid connections.The company reported modest top-line gains.Wireless service revenues reached $775 million, up 3 percent from 2Q20 but flat with 3Q19.

With operating expense reductions and COVID-19-related cost deferrals, however, USM’s year-to-date net incomereached $227 million, up 98 percent over $115 million in the first nine months of 2019. Continue Reading

Virginia Advances Public Safety Communications Capabilities

Virginia’s first responders are getting a major boost in their wireless communications with the addition of FirstNetnetwork expansion taking place across the state.

New FirstNet cell sites have launched in the following four counties:

Carroll County: New sites are on the air, including Hillsville, at the intersection of US22 and Route 100, andLaurel Fork very close to U.S. 58.Fairfax County: A new site near the intersection of Franconia Road and South Van Dorn Street improvescoverage between the Beltway and Kingstowne Town Center.Floyd County: New sites are on the air in the county, including Copper Hill near Floyd Highway; Locust Grovearound Route 661; and a new site that improves coverage around Midkiff Road in Floyd.Patrick County: A new site north of Stuart provides coverage around U.S. 58, and another new site providescoverage around Route 747/Widow Drive in Meadows of Dan.Other purpose-built sites in Fairfax County, Prince William County and Alleghany County were announced lastyear.

Biden Taps Tech Staffers for Transition TeamPresident-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday named several policy experts to his transition team to help “ensure a smoothtransfer of power” and enable his administration to “hit the ground running,” reported Ars Technica.

More than 500 members were named, many from technology companies. It includes employees from Amazon, Dell,Dropbox and LinkedIn. Representatives from the philanthropic arms of three tech moguls are included as well: theChan Zuckerberg Initiative (Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (formerMicrosoft CEO Bill Gates) and Schmidt Ventures (former Google CEO Eric Schmidt).

Gene Kimmelman of the tech-focused non-profit Public Knowledge is part of the transition team for the Department ofJustice.

Those on the list are not promised jobs in the Biden administration, according to the account. Many are volunteers,and a large part of their job is to help Biden identify candidates for senior positions in the new government.

More than about 1,200 political appointees are needed. They’ll require Senate confirmation. Hundreds of other, lower-profile positions are filled by the president without Senate approval.

November 12, 2020 at Close

Verizon Sells $12 Billion in Bonds

Triggered by positive COVID-19 vaccine news, blue-chip companies have been active inselling off debt this week, according to Bloomberg. Verizon Communications was noexception, reportedly unloading $12 billion in bonds on Thursday. The sale is ranked as the

fifth largest transaction of the year by stock market analysts. The debt was sold in five parcels, with proceedsearmarked for spectrum costs and repayment of outstanding obligations, Bloomberg reported.

Having paid the FCC nearly $2 billion to secure 5G spectrum lease rights in September, Verizon is now expected toturn its sights on December’s upcoming C-band auction. Stock market analysts note VZ is “building their war chest.”

“When we add this to cash on the balance sheet,” said Jonathan Chaplin of New Street Research, “we estimate theyhave up to $24 billion available to spend on the C-Band auction. That is $4 billion more than the $19 billion weassumed they would spend. Verizon is going into the auction well-armed.”

MissouriAT&T Installing Seventy-One 5G Small Cells Around the CapeAT&T and Nexius are poised to install 71 small cells around Cape Girardeau (MO). The majority of poles (69) arebeing constructed in the city, while two devices are planned for the Missouri Department of Transportation rights-of-way, reported the Southeast Missourian. All poles will stand approximately 40-feet tall. Of the total number of poles planned, 59 will be wooden, and 18 willhave camouflage features, painted light gray.

The Missourian reported that Todd Richbourg, plan reviewer and site inspector for Cape Girardeau, looked at eachsite to determine which version of the pole should be installed. “If it was a residential neighborhood that doesn’t haveany above-ground utilities and doesn’t already have a bunch of wooden poles in the area, we requested them toinstall a camouflaged pole,” he said. “These poles are supposed to mimic our light poles. They’re not a 100 percentmatch, but they’re as close as AT&T could get them. That way, you won’t have a wooden pole in your front yardwhere there is not another wooden pole on the entire street.” Continue Reading LouisianaBaton Rouge Getting Tough on TowersResidents in the city-parish of Baton Rouge, LA have been struggling with the desire to embrace emergingtechnology while at the same time trying to minimize its impact on the landscape. Although the Metro Councilexamined the governing rules last year, an outcry from homeowners has them up for reconsideration, reports TheAdvocate.

If the latest set of ordinances are adopted at the council meeting later this month, additional restrictions will be placedon cell tower companies looking to operate in the area. Prior to construction, wireless providers would be required tosend notifications via first class mail to all homeowners and HOA's within 300 feet of a proposed cell site regardlessof its configuration. The notices would need to be mailed out within two days of the permit application, and the site inquestion would then be marked with a bright orange sign. An additional mailing would also need to go out to theMetro Council member overseeing that jurisdiction.

The revised version of the ordinances would also require the wireless provider to consider maps submitted by theHOA's noting their preferred locations for the pole’s construction. Homeowners may be unaware that the "best"aesthetic site might not be the one that provides the best coverage, according to The Advocate. Continue Reading

Global Mobile Association Spearheads 4G-5G Fixed Wireless Access ForumOn Wednesday, the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) announced a 4G-5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA)Forum to promote technology products and services, progress deployments, identify use cases, and drive globaladoption. The Economic Times reported that the forum would comprise chipset, module, terminal vendors, andtelecom industry professionals aiming to advance 4G and 5G FWA.

The founding members of the FWA Working Group include Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia, Samsung, and ZTE. TheEconomic Times reported that the forum would focus on sharing industry trends, advancing technical developments,improving technologies that drive wireless broadband solutions, enhancing collaboration between FWA suppliers(over 100 globally), and making available “broadband access to anyone, anywhere.”

According to Joe Barrett, President, Global Mobile Suppliers Association, “In a relatively short space of time, fixedwireless broadband access has become a mainstream service. Today we see hundreds of operators selling LTE-based fixed wireless access services around the world, and dozens more already live with 5G FWA services for homeor business broadband.”

TEP Expands Design Build Services to Canada

Over the past 23 years, Tower Engineering Professionals (TEP) has been steadily growing and evolving its servicesand adding disciplines to meet industry demand. Beginning with core engineering and inspection services formacrocell, the company has advanced to build a team of specialists who perform a multitude of services from siteacquisition to small cell. It now proudly supports 50 countries, with over 650 employees on staff, including 80professional engineers and over 200 certified climbers.

Brad Little started at TEP as in intern in 2006. He has climbed towers and the ranks, touching various divisions, andis currently leading the Construction group, TEP Design Build (TEP-DB), as Vice President.

Last September, TEP acquired Canadian firm, Pier Structural Engineering Corp., (P-SEC). P-SEC was based inWaterloo, ON, and handled structural engineering and inspections for telecom and broadcast clients.

“The cultural match between TEP and P-SEC provided a great opportunity for both companies to further expandwithout sacrificing the values of either company. We were excited to expand our service offerings to the Canadianmarket with the P-SEC team. The growth opportunities are even greater now that we have developed constructioncapabilities in the market. We are now able to offer our Canadian clients the same full-service turnkey approach thatour clients in the U.S. have come to know and appreciate,” said Little. Continue Reading

New Vertical Positioning App Called a “Turning Point For First Responders”

NextNav, a developer of 3D geolocation services, on Tuesday announced the availability of its software developmentkit (SDK) for the Pinnacle vertical positioning service on the FirstNet API Catalog – a curated catalog of public safetyapps. The software provides applications with highly accurate altitude data for real-time 3D location in multi-storybuildings, enhancing first responder safety, making decision making more efficient, and improving situationalawareness.

"NextNav's Pinnacle service is a turning point for first responders," said Scott Agnew, Assistant Vice President ofProduct Marketing, FirstNet Program at AT&T. "Dependable vertical location has always been a major operationalneed for first responders. This service will help save lives while greatly enhancing situational awareness. By makingthis SDK available on the FirstNet API Catalog, we are giving the developer community a head-start to develop field-ready apps in parallel with the network build-out." (See related story above.) Continue Reading

House Directs Federal Agencies to Preserve RecordsCommittee Chairs across the House of Representatives this week sent letters directing the White House and morethan 50 federal agencies — including the FCC — to comply with federal record-keeping laws and preserveinformation responsive to congressional subpoenas and investigations.

“As the 116th Congress and the Trump Administration approach the conclusion of our respective terms, we write toremind you that you and your employees, including all component agencies and offices, must comply with the recordpreservation obligations set forth in federal law and to remind you of [your obligation] and your agency’s ongoingobligations to preserve information relevant to congressional oversight,” the Chairs wrote. Continue Reading

USSI Global Launches C-Band Transition Service USSI Global provides customized network, broadcast and digital signage systemsand services worldwide. The firm launched a new C-band mitigation interferenceservice for broadcast and cable networks affected by the upcoming C-band repack.

Similar to the recent TV spectrum repack, the FCC initiative will clear the lower 300MHz of the C-band for 5G services, and reassign affected operators to theremaining 200 MHz by 2025. The auction process begins December 8, withrelocation deadlines in late 2021, 2023 and 2025.

USSI Global’s C-band mitigation interference service provides project managementservices from site inspection through installation and commissioning, includingsatellite systems and infrastructure modernization. The plan includes a team ofexperienced RF and satellite engineers for each project, along with a managedservices option that offloads network operation, monitoring and maintenance to

USSI Global technicians. The company will also offer a dedicated 24/7/365 call center to provide immediate responsefor troubleshooting and repairs. Continue Reading

WBA Declares WiFi 6 Is Ready for Carrier Network DeploymentWireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), the worldwide industry body dedicated to improving WiFi services andstandards, yesterday announced the conclusion of five trial deployments of WiFi 6 across diverse markets. Thedeployments show that WiFi 6, with wider channels up to 160 MHz, and capacity up to 9.6 Gbps (compared to 3.5Gbps in WiFi 5), can enable nearly three times faster gigabit data rates. The WBA claimed tests proved WiFi 6 can deliver better reliability, lower latency, more deterministic behavior, andbetter network efficiency, especially in environments with many connected devices. The Alliance predicted WiFi 6 will“help with congestion problems, increase densification of the network – helping to connect more devices, and enablenew use cases.” The trials covering a range of different verticals and deployment scenarios demonstrates the key capabilities of WiFi6 in live networks, establishing its readiness for carrier WiFi deployments around the world. This lays the foundationfor deployment of WiFi 6 in enterprises, homes, schools, transportation hubs, travellers and the Internet of Things(IoT). Continue Reading

Trudeau “Leaves” No Money On The Table In Broadband BudgetingCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday the addition of $750 million to the UniversalBroadband Fund to help connect Canadians to high-speed internet across the country. Yahoo Finance reported thatthe funds are topping off a $1 billion allocation announced last month. According to a press release, the investmentaims to connect 98 percent of Canadians by 2026, with a goal to connect 100 percent by 2030. “Good reliable internet isn’t a luxury. It’s a basic service, and it’s a service that every single Canadian deserves,”Trudeau said during a press conference. Yahoo Finance reported that several funding streams would make coordination between government departmentschallenging. According to Maryam Monsef, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural EconomicDevelopment, there are “a lot of cooks in this kitchen,” so the government is launching a tracker to show progressmoving forward. Continue Reading

Tower Trouble in Iowa for VZAbout 350 tower sites in the Dallas County (IA) area are experiencing technical difficulties, according to the PerryNews. The Dallas County Sheriff’s office confirmed, as of Wednesday night, many Verizon customers wereexperiencing problems sending and receiving calls and emergency services were hindered. Officials with Verizon saya “large fiber cut” has caused an interruption in service. The company disputed an earlier report that it had been“hacked.”

Citizens having trouble contacting emergency services through 911 in the Dallas County area can contact the DallasCounty Sheriff’s office directly at 515-993-4567. Citizens in the West Des Moines, Clive, Urbandale and Waukeeareas of Dallas County can call 515-222-3321 for emergency services.

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RF Engineer - Greenville, NC

LBA group is looking to hire an RF Engineer. The job is based out of Greenville, NC.Please contact Ben Cobb for more information or to apply.

A 250-foot tower outside the township of Grimesland, NC by Communications Tower Group.Email your tower shots or upload them here. Please be sure to include the tower location.

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