Will We See You in 2014?

Earlier this week, hundreds of people across the United States and even a few from across the pond visited Hollywood, Florida to attend the PCIA’s 2013 Wireless Infrastructure Show. Our team at Inside Towers had a great time, learning a lot about what’s going on within the industry and meeting some wonderful people.

The Wireless Infrastructure Association, announced that the Wireless Infrastructure Show, the premier industry event focusing on the companies, equipment and technologies that enable next-generation wireless, will move to the spring beginning in 2014. The event will take place May 19-22, 2014 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, Florida. We hope to see you all there to talk more about the issues and trends facing the wireless industry.

“The Wireless Infrastructure Show continues to grow in size and scope, reflecting the increasingly broad array of businesses that are active in expanding wireless networks—from carriers and OEMs to chip manufacturers, Wi-Fi providers and end-users. We are committed to doing whatever it takes to maintain that growth by providing an unparalleled opportunity for industry players to connect at a meaningful, world-class springtime event,” said Jonathan Adelstein, PCIA President & Chief Executive Officer.

Who attends? 

40% - Infrastructure Providers


20% - Carriers


20% - Professional Services


10% - Financial


10% - Others

PCIA’s Tower CEO Roundtable Provided Great Insights Into The Industry

The tower industry is expanding quickly in order to keep up with the demand for mobile and broadband technology. Wednesday October 9^th the PCIA’s 2013 Wireless Infrastructure Show gathered the four CEO’s from the major tower companies in the United States. Benjamin Moreland was appointed President and CEO of Crown Castle International in July 2008. Jeffrey Stoops is President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of SBA Communications Corporation. He has been CEO since January 1, 2002. Steven Marshall was named Executive Vice President and President, U.S. Tower Division of American Tower in March 2009. Marc C. Ganzi was the Chief Executive Officer of Global Tower Partners.

These men came together to discuss their thoughts on the future of wireless and the state of the industry. John Adelstein, president of the PCIA, moderated the roundtable and started off asking American Tower’s CEO about their acquirement of Global Tower Partners. “We are absolutely delighted. We are very pleased. They have really great assets and when you combing those with American Tower’s assets we have over 50,000 communications sites,” Marshall said. “We welcome the many members of the team from across the nation to the American Tower team.”

With American Tower’s acquisition of Global Tower Partner’s, Marc Ganzi referred to his current position as “unemployed.” However, Ganzi noted that they have a portfolio of towers in Mexico that they need to get back to work on by building up and buying assets. “Mexico is a market that is growing and it’s a market with a lot of promise,” Ganzi said.

Having all of these CEO’s gathered at the same convention allowed Adelstein to ask them about their opinions regarding the efforts of the PCIA and whether or not they are making a difference in the industry. PCIA has a dedicated Government Relations staff that represents our members' interests at all levels of government by educating key policy-makers about the critical role wireless infrastructure plays in our nation's communications network.

Ganzi remarked that, “It’s no longer NIMBY (Not in My Backyard), it’s YIMBY (Yes in My Backyard). People are now saying, ‘I work at home and I need to be connected.’ It’s part of the fabric of how we connect to our families and I think that’s been a mind shift at the local level. We exist to help accelerate the build out and reduce cost. To me, that’s why we worked hard on the hill to get that legislation passed.”

Jeff Stoops of SBA Communications believes that, “On the federal side we’re in pretty good shape. On the state side, there’s always room to improve.”

PCIA and other wireless organizations have been working hard to decrease barriers that make it difficult for the wireless infrastructure to be built. Their efforts are starting to pay off with the federal government restriction the reasons state and local governments can give to veto a tower proposal. 

Wireless Infrastructure Investment Will Boost Economic Activity & Create Jobs

Today, PCIA—The Wireless Infrastructure Association released a study conducted by the Information Age Economics projected private investment in wireless infrastructure over the next five days will generate as much as $1.2 trillion in economic growth and create 1.2 million new jobs. The wireless industry is growing every day, especially since the deployment of the 4G LTE networks.

In a press release, the PCIA explained that, “the report evaluates the economic and job-creation impacts generated by projected wireless infrastructure investments between $34 billion to $36 billion per year over the next five years. These investments will yield several other benefits:

• Between $863 billion and $1.2 trillion in cumulative economic development over the next five years, a 606 percent increase over the total amount the wireless industry will invest.
• A 2.2 percent increase in GDP by 2017.
• A direct impact of $85 billion to $87 billion of economic growth per year over the next five years, for up to a 0.5 percent improvement to GDP per year.
• The creation of over 28,000 jobs in 2017 and over 122,000 jobs in the next 5 years in the wireless infrastructure industry alone.”

Even though many people are hesitant to see the wireless industry grow for fear of more towers and change within the community, it’s necessary for our economic growth. “The simple truth is that a 2.2 percent increase in GDP and 1.2 million new jobs will not come about by magic,” said PCIA President & Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Adelstein. “They will only occur if, as a nation, we recognize the fundamental importance of having a robust, ubiquitous, and affordable wireless broadband network that meets the demands of the 21st Century economy.  This is as true for local zoning board members as it is for FCC Commissioners.”

The HetNet Forum Announces Speaker Lineup for HetNet Express on October 7th

The complete speaker lineup was announced last week for the upcoming HetNet Express on October 7^th, the one-day workshop held before the PCIA’s Wireless Infrastructure Show in Hollywood, Florida. This workshop will discuss how DAS and other small cells can bring wireless coverage and capacity to a specific venue. Below is the schedule provided by the HetNet Forum:

Schedule:

Noon – 12:45 p.m. Welcome Remarks and “Birds of a Feather” luncheon discussion

12:45 – 1:30 p.m. Keynote: The Future of HetNet

Soumen Ganguly, Director, Altman Vilandrie & Company

1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Panel Discussion: Top 10 things You Need to Know about DAS and Small Cells

Moderator: Marc Steinbach, Director of Capability Solutions, Fullerton Engineering Solutions

CJ Maier, South Area Planning Manager – Venues, DAS & Small Cell, Verizon Wireless

Jeff Cocking, Director, Engineering and Deployment, Goodman Networks

Bob Mahr, Director, Wireless Programs, KGP Logistics

Allen Dixon, National Channel Development Manager, Corning MobileAccess

2:30 – 3:00 p.m. Networking Break

3:00 – 3:45 p.m. Panel Discussion: Lessons from the Real World

Moderator: Pete Murray, Wireless Program Manager, CCI Systems

Ben Moebes, Global Account Director, Ruckus

Matt Hughes, Americas Mobility Sales & Business Development, Cisco

John Campbell, President, DAS Advisers

3:45 – 4:30 p.m. Joint Case Study: Crown Castle DAS Deployments in South Florida

Melissa Anderson, Government Relations Counsel, Crown Castle

Chad Rasmussen, Regional Director, Southeast, Crown Castle

Cameron Benson, Assistant City Manager, Miami Gardens

4:30 – 6:00 p.m. Networking Reception

Expanding Our Wireless Network Will Bring Many Benefits

If you go anywhere these days you’re bound to see people on their cell phones checking their social media sites, responding to emails, sending text messages, or even playing games. It might be obvious why having a broad wireless network is beneficial with so much demand for cellular service, but increased demand drives deployment and additional infrastructure construction.

The PCIA created a presentation to explain the benefits of expanding our wireless network, stating that:

• Consumers, businesses, and first responders rely extensively on wireless services.
•  Wireless services facilitate local economic growth and stability.
• Wireless broadband is rapidly becoming a true competitive service to wireline broadband, resulting in greater choices and lower prices for end users.
• As the number of wireless service providers with high coverage and capacity in a given area increase, users’ access to competitive service offerings at competitive prices also increases.

The demand for wireless has been growing since the introduction of the cell phone and over 24% of U.S. households have substituted landline telephone services with mobile service (Stephen J. Blumberg & Julian V. Luke, CDC, Wireless Substitution). Because the demand is increasing so rapidly, the deployment of these networks is creating jobs and stimulating economic growth. Bringing better access to these wireless networks also benefits the public safety responders for cities and states.

“First responders require robust high-speed wireless communications to deliver voice, video, and data services to save lives, prevent and solve crimes, and fight fires. A majority of public safety agencies across the country utilize wireless broadband services for critical activities such as dispatching, connecting to law enforcement databases while in the field, and emergency alerting. Wireless services improve response times and enhance safety by ensuring lines of communication with dispatch and mission command,” the PCIA explains.

Along with public safety benefits, wireless networks also provide benefits to businesses and the economy. “Wireless service and infrastructure providers made over $10.5 billion in incremental capital expenditures in 2008.  Wireless broadband will generate an anticipated $860 billion in gross domestic product gains over the next ten years.

The wireless industry is growing faster than ever and many of the major cellular companies are expanding their networks to include the latest 4G LTE technology to provide their customers with better service. AT&T alone has expanded their 4G LTE network into 400 markets reaching nearly 240 million people. Their build is expected to be completed by the summer of 2014. But the rapid deployments of these networks have caused a spike in job openings in the wireless tower industry. As technology changes, there will be a need for more workers, which will benefit the economy and the newer technology will help businesses and the government operate more successfully. 

Wireless Infrastructure Show Announces Keynote Speakers

PCIA’s Wireless Infrastructure Show is fast approaching and yesterday the keynote lineup was announced. The Wireless Infrastructure Show is the industry’s premier event focusing on the companies, equipment and technologies that enable next-generation wireless. The conference is held in Hollywood, Florida from October 7^th – 10^th.

“Sprint’s Stephen Bye, CTO and Senior Vice President of Technology Development & Corporate Strategy; Boingo Wireless President Nick Hulse; and Krish Prabhu, President & CEO of AT&T Labs, will each deliver a keynote address during the event’s opening general session on October 8. Bill D’Agostino, Jr., General Manager of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) will keynote the October 9 general session.

Other special sessions include a panel discussion exploring business and policy considerations of the ‘connected car,’ the ‘View from the Top’ CEO roundtable and a panel on LTE Advanced. Concurrent sessions in four distinct tracks will explore the evolution of the HetNet (heterogeneous networks), business and financial issues, regulatory and policy developments and the impact of LTE,” according to the PCIA’s press release.

Inside Towers will be attending the Wireless Infrastructure show, so be certain to register for the event at http://www.wirelessinfrastructureshow.com and come see us! 

Industry Representative Urge FCC To Recognize Value Of Small Cells

The PCIA released a press release discussing the efforts of industry leaders trying to convince the FCC to streamline the deployment of DAS and other small cells. “At an afternoon Capitol Hill briefing sponsored by PCIA’s HetNet Forum, Jonathan Adelstein, president and chief executive officer of PCIA, noted that the FCC is considering launching a rulemaking to make it easier for companies to deploy DAS and other small cell facilities,” shared PCIA’s press release.

Currently, the regulations treat small cells the same way as towers, or macro cells. Small cells are going to be crucial if planned nationwide commercial and public safety LTE deployments are going to be successful. Small cells are low-powered radio access nodes that are used to provide in-building and outdoor wireless service. Mobile operators use these small cells as a way to extend their service coverage or increase the network capacity.  

Mark Your Calendars For The Wireless Infrastructure Show

The 2013 Wireless Infrastructure Show will be held on October 7-10 in Hollywood, Florida. This is a convention where you can network, gain insight, generate buzz, or focus on trade show exhibits.

The Wireless Infrastructure Show answers the questions: Who attends?

More than 2,000 thought leaders and industry innovators from across the entire wireless infrastructure ecosystem and nearly 100 exhibitors attend the Wireless Infrastructure Show. Network with infrastructure owners and operators, carriers, investment community representatives, government officials, equipment manufacturers and service providers.

Past participants include representatives from Qualcomm, American Tower, Crown Castle, AT&T, Bank of American Merrill Lynch, Sprint, JP Morgan, Black & Vetch, Ericsson, T-Mobile, BB&T Atlantic Risk Management, and Intel. This is the premier industry event that focuses on companies, equipment, and technologies that will enable the next generation of wireless. You can register for this event by clicking here. Mark your calendars and make sure to attend this event held by the PCIA!