Chipmaker Warns Shortage Could Extend into Next Year

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau ChiefTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which says it’s the world’s largest contract chipmaker, says the global chip shortage is likely to continue, with tight production capacity for all types of chips. TSMC (NYSE: TSM) expects manufacturers to stock up more than usual on chips and other components after recent events disrupted the global supply chain, Chief Executive C.C. Wei said Thursday during its Q1 2022 quarterly earnings call, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, a semiconductor production hub, are the latest factors pressuring the global supply chain. TSMC’s suppliers are struggling with labor, component and chip constraints due to the pandemic, the company said. That includes its chipmaking equipment suppliers, which have had trouble delivering tools to TSMC since the beginning of this year, Wei said. Continue Reading

Tower Climbers at QualTek Petition for Union

Tower Climbers at QualTek filed a petition late last week with the National Labor Relations Board for a union election in Henderson, NV. The filing is for admittance into the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union. Inside Towers was sent an internally-circulated letter from the desk of Yonah Diamond, CWA’s Organizing Coordinator. 

“This is a huge deal,” Diamond told his members. “This will be the first shop that moves forward with winning formal union certification. Once they win their election, they will be able to sit down with the company and bargain their first collective bargaining agreement.”

Diamond said the CWA will be reaching out to QualTek management to give them a chance to address its tower workers, although, he said, the vote was “near unanimous.” 

A QualTek representative said the company would provide no comment on the announcement. Continue Reading

T-Mobile Sues Florida School Board Over 2.5 GHz Licenses

By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor

T-Mobile, through its subsidiary NSAC LLC, has sued the School Board of St. Lucie County, FL for breaching provisions of a spectrum lease agreement for frequencies in the Educational Broadcast Service at 2.5 GHz by attempting to sell them to another company. The school system holds two licenses to use eight channels of spectrum in the Fort Pierce, FL area. In November 2021, the Board informed NSAC that it had received an offer for the licenses from a third-party competitor to NSAC, WCO Spectrum LLC (WCO), for $6,795,000. Three months later, in February 2022, the Board informed NSAC that it had received another offer from WCO for $7,550,000. Continue Reading

Global Tower Company Rankings Update

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

Year-end 2021 tallies of independent tower companies around the world reflect the demand for wireless infrastructure as their carriers respond to secular tailwinds of mobile data demand, IoT and coverage in urban and rural markets. Tower counts among all companies have grown year-over-year in high single-digit or low double-digit range through organic growth, acquisitions, and build-to-suits.  Some acquisitions are from other tower companies but mainly from MNOs divesting passive tower assets to raise capital for network modernization and expansion. Towercos become the landlords while MNOs remain as tenants. Tower tenancies are in the 1-2 per tower range, higher in some markets like North America. Continue Reading

Deutsche Telekom Buys More T-Mobile US Shares for $2.4 Billion

Deutsche Telekom  (OTCMKTS:DTEGY) announced it has bought additional shares in T-Mobile US yesterday from Softbank for $2.4 billion. According to Reuters, the move brings CEO Tim Hoettges closer to his goal of securing direct control over the U.S. telecom operator. The acquisition of the 21.2 million shares was made via a call option that raises Deutsche Telekom's stake in T-Mobile US to 48.4 percent, the German company said on Wednesday.

In 2020, Deutsche Telekom agreed to pay Softbank a fixed price of $101.46 per T-Mobile US share for 11.8 million of the shares. The rest of the deal would be based on the stock's weighted average price. The average price for the deal was $113 per T-Mobile US share, compared with Tuesday's closing price of $131.44. Reuters said Deutsche Telekom used part of the roughly $4.3 billion it received from the sale of its T-Mobile Netherlands business to pay for the shares.

Beyond Greenwashing: Wireless Industry Leaders Choose Sustainability

By Martha DeGrasse, Inside Towers Contributing Analyst

Sustainability is quickly morphing from a compliance issue to a strategic advantage for companies across industries, including wireless. Employees, customers, and shareholders are all telling corporations to protect the planet, and they’re choosing to do business with those that listen. The home page of Verizon’s investor relations site features a 50-minute video on the company’s climate action focus, presented by CFO Matt Ellis. AT&T CEO John Stankey named sustainability ahead of equity, education and universal internet access when listing AT&T focus areas in his annual letter to shareholders. And T-Mobile US recently announced it has already offset 100 percent of its annual electricity use with investments in renewable energy. Continue Reading

Fixing “Rip & Replace” Funding Shortfall is Key Talk at CCA Show

 

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

CCA President/CEO Steve Berry talks to IT as the Mobile Carriers Show opened yesterday in Tampa   Sessions begin and the exhibit floor opens today at CCA’s Mobile Carriers Show in Tampa, FL. Tampa is a new location for the conference and pre-registration looks to be “one of the largest” since 2019, according to CCA President/CEO Steve Berry. The $3.7 billion funding shortfall for the “Rip & Replace” reimbursement program is a big topic to be discussed at several events, Berry tells Inside Towers in an interview from Tampa. CCA members have been to Capitol Hill, explaining to lawmakers why more money is needed for smaller carriers to remove untrusted gear from Huawei and ZTE while keeping their networks operational at the same time.  “We have a lot of support,” Berry says, hoping the House and Senate quickly find a way to get more funding passed. However, “We’re getting close to an election year, and there’s only a few vehicles” that would work for funding of this size, he explains. Failure to receive the rest of the needed funds would mean some small carriers will need to leave the business, Berry fears. Continue Reading