NATE to NTIA: Make Broadband Deployment Money Tech-Neutral

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

In comments submitted to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on Friday, NATE: the Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, asked that broadband deployment projects be technology neutral – including both fixed wireless and wireline technologies. NTIA is tasked with dispersing $48 billion in broadband deployment funds contained in the infrastructure law. The money allocated to NTIA will be used to deploy broadband to unserved and underserved locations, create more low-cost broadband service options, deploy middle mile infrastructure, and address digital equity and inclusion needs in communities. The infrastructure law includes funds for: the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program, and the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program. Continue Reading

Crown Castle’s Big Small Cell Play

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business EditorCrown Castle International (NYSE: CCI) has just completed what CCI’s President and CEO Jay Brown referred to in the company’s 4Q21 earnings call as a “tremendous year … as our customers began upgrading their existing cell sites as part of the first phase of the 5G buildout in the U.S.”

He adds, “We expect elevated levels of tower leasing to continue this year and believe we will once again lead the industry with the highest U.S. tower revenue growth in 2022. In addition, we secured commitments for more than 50,000 new small cell nodes during the last twelve months, which equates to approximately 70 percent of the total small cells we booked in our history prior to 2021. As a result, we now have approximately 55,000 small cell nodes on air and more than 60,000 committed or under construction in our backlog.” Continue Reading

Verizon Projects Wireless CapEx Slowdown as 5G Network Builds Stabilize

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

Verizon’s (NYSE: VZ) big bet on C-band spectrum is about to pay off. The company went live on January 19, with cell sites using mid-band C-band (3.7-3.98 GHz) spectrum in the top 46 U.S. markets or partial economic areas (PEAs) as the FCC designates them. With this deployment, Verizon provides its 5G Ultra-Wideband (UWB) service to around 95 million people, nearly 30 percent of the U.S. population, in millions of homes in more than 1,700 cities. Verizon’s deployment completes Phase I of the Auction 107 fulfillment requirements. The 280 MHz of C-band spectrum allocated for 5G was made available in 20 MHz blocks (5 A-Blocks, 5 B-Blocks and 4 C-Blocks). The A-Block holders, namely Verizon with 60 MHz of A1, A2 and A3 blocks and AT&T with 40 MHz of A4 and A5 blocks, were required to activate those licenses in the top 46 PEAs by December 5, 2021. The remaining A-, B-, and C-Block licenses held by all winning bidders must be activated by December 5, 2023. Continue Reading

Governor Orders 100 Towers for Vermont

UPDATE As part of the $116 million construction grant program to bring access to underserved areas of Vermont, the state’s governor announced that $51 million would be allocated to build 100 new cell towers. WCAX-TV reported the Vermont Public Service Department is working to pinpoint which areas of the state would benefit most from the new infrastructure. 

According to one resident, despite living in the most populous county in the state (South Burlington), service has always been poor and has not improved in 18 years. Alison Fitzgerald, a physician, says sometimes she doesn't get pages due to poor service, or her calls drop. “It leaves me very stuck either standing right next to a window talking to a patient or another doctor,” Fitzgerald said. Continue Reading

Just Another Day In Space: SpaceX Launches 40 Starlink Satellites

On Tuesday, January 18, SpaceX launched 40 more Starlink satellites into space from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. According to Metro, this brings the total to more than 2,000 satellites in orbit for SpaceX.

“1,469 Starlink satellites active. 272 moving to operational orbits. Laser links activate soon,” SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

This mission was the third this year and the 36th in Starlink history. The SpaceX Falcon 9 launched the satellites roughly 15 minutes after reaching orbit and successfully landed on the SpaceX drone ship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida. The Metro reported that this was the tenth landing for Falcon 9, having completed other Starlink missions, plus launching satellites for the U.S. military and Turkey.  

The company has regulatory approval to launch more than 12,000 Starlinks to provide space-based commercial internet access to customers around the globe, reported the Metro. SpaceX also plans to launch an additional 30,000 satellites, according to paperwork filed with the International Telecommunication Union.

Military Investigating C-Band 5G Risks to Its Aircraft Altimeters

By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor

Commercial airlines are not the only ones concerned about the roll out of 5G in the C-band. The military voiced its misgivings before the spectrum auction was even held and has been testing to see if 5G might affect radar altimeters since at least last spring, according to Defense News. These tests, which may take months to complete, will add clarity to the issue of altimeter interference from 5G in the C-band. “At the center of the controversy is whether the deployment of 5G networks…in the C-band will interfere with radar altimeters used by military, civilian and commercial aircraft and helicopters,” Defense News reported. Continue Reading

5G Not a Problem for European Airlines, N’est-ce pas?

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

So, here’s the FCC-FAA argument over 5G on which Inside Towers has reported extensively. The FAA and major U.S. airlines have taken issue with the FCC allowing the wireless carriers to use C-band frequencies in the 3.7-4.2 GHz range, especially that portion allocated for 5G use in the 3.7-3.98 GHz frequency range.  Let’s be clear. This portion of the C-band is the only 5G frequency range in contention. There are no other interference or related safety issues with low-band (600/700/800 MHz), lower mid-band (AWS, 3.45-3.55 GHz, CBRS 3.55-3.7 GHz) or millimeter-wave frequencies well above 10 GHz. Continue Reading

NTIA Faces Historic Hurdles in Steering Broadband Funding

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

Now that the Senate confirmed tech attorney Alan Davidson last week as director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), all eyes are on the little agency tasked with overseeing the bulk of the $65 billion set aside by President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill for expanding internet access.  The agency will steer $48 billion in federal funding for broadband deployment, a sum that will test its capacity, note experts. The Washington Post asked two former NTIA chiefs, David Redl and Larry Irving, what they see as the biggest hurdles for Davidson and the agency’s upcoming agenda. Continue Reading

Carriers Poised to Launch 5G on C-Band Today, Skipping Some Towers

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief 

UPDATE AT&T and Verizon modified their plans to turn on 5G transmissions using their C-band licenses today. That’s in response to the last-minute plea on Monday from representatives of airlines and cargo shippers asking for a third pause.

The carriers on Tuesday agreed to temporarily defer turning on some wireless towers near key airports to avert a significant disruption to U.S. flights, reported Reuters. Details of the latest agreement were not disclosed, but airlines in recent days had proposed temporarily not deploying just under 10 percent of towers, or about 500, sources told Reuters. Nearly all but a handful of the impacted sites are Verizon towers.

Reuters characterized Verizon's 5G on C-band rollout plan as more aggressive than AT&T's. It’s significantly impacted by the Biden administration request to delay using some towers near airport runways, according to the account.

President Joe Biden hailed the agreement, saying it "will avoid potentially devastating disruptions to passenger travel, cargo operations, and our economic recovery, while allowing more than 90 percent of wireless tower deployment to occur as scheduled."

The carriers and the administration have agreed to work together to quickly address the issues and create a process to allow the remaining towers to be deployed. Continue Reading

Tillman Infrastructure Names Suruchi Ahuja as CEO

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

Tillman Infrastructure (TI), a tower and telecom infrastructure company with over 1,000 sites around the U.S., has named Suruchi Ahuja as Chief Executive Officer, effective on January 1. William “Bill” Hague, who previously held the role, is being appointed Vice Chairman. In his new role, Hague will assist the board in TI’s aggressive growth plans in the U.S. In an exclusive interview with Inside Towers, Ahuja elaborated on several aspects of TI’s growth prospects. Since TI announced its 1,000th tower a year ago (see, Tillman Infrastructure Builds Its 1,000th Tower), the company added several hundred towers in 2021. With a committed construction pipeline of several thousand towers, TI expects to grow rapidly. “Our current line of sight is two to three times growth in a couple of years,” she says. Continue Reading

Virginia Monopine Finally Gets OK’d at Historic Site After Two Year Process

By Jim Fryer, Inside Towers Managing Editor

Source: nps.gov Anthony Smith, President of Blue Ridge Towers and the Booker T. Washington National Monument Site   A proposal for a monopine to service the Booker T. Washington National Monument in Hardy, VA, was approved last week by the Franklin County Planning Commission after two years of review. Blue Ridge Towers’ President Anthony Smith, got the nod from the Commission although  final clearance will come this week following a vote by the Franklin County Board of Supervisors, according to the Roanoke Times. “This tower will serve both the state-funded broadband initiative in the Commonwealth of Virginia as well as Verizon wireless as the anchor tenant,” Smith told Inside Towers. Smith said his company had been in negotiations with the FCC and the State Historic Preservation Office over its impact on the park which houses the cabin where Booker T. Washington was born into slavery in 1856. After the Civil War, Washington became the first principal of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial School. Later as an adviser, author and orator, historians would rank him as the most influential African American of his era. Continue Reading

FAA Seeks to Minimize Delays But Issues Almost 1,500 Flight Limits for 5G

UPDATE  The FAA announced yesterday it has issued 1,462 orders that limit flight operations across the U.S., but added it has made progress reducing possible flight disruptions from 5G services due for take off on January 19. According to Bloomberg, the FAA said it hopes to provide information soon on the percentage of aircraft that will be subject to the restrictions. Notices to airmen (NOTAMs) were released by the agency at midnight on Thursday that detailed new prohibitions. Industry observers said it is one of the largest issuings of NOTAMs on record and are being handed out to roughly two dozen large airports as well as regions slated to host upcoming 5G services. 

The FAA in a statement said it “has made progress to safely reduce the risk of delays and cancellations as wireless companies share more data and manufacturer altimeter testing results arrive.” Continue Reading

T-Mobile Plans Even Faster 2022 Network Buildout

By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor

T-Mobile continues to set goals only to exceed them. The carrier covered more than 210 million people nationwide with its Ultra Capacity 5G by year end 2021, which exceeded its goal of 200 million, Peter Osvaldik, EVP & CFO, T-Mobile US Inc., said during the online Citi AppsEconomy Conference 2022 last week. The pace of deployment will only get faster in the coming year, he added. “This machine that Neville [Ray, President of Technology] and team have going, it's absolutely going to be something that we're tremendously focused on and accelerating the pace as much as possible in 2022, given the competitive advantage that it creates for us,” Osvaldik. Continue Reading

Senate Votes on NTIA Nominee

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

The Senate voted Tuesday 60-31 to confirm Alan Davidson to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. He was expected to sail through after the senior body voted Monday night 64-30 to limit debate. Davidson’s confirmation is key because the agency will oversee about $48 billion for deploying broadband to underserved populations and boosting digital equity, directed by last year’s infrastructure bill. (The agency is seeking input about how to implement the program, Inside Towers reported.) Continue Reading

FCC Takes the Wraps Off Affordable Broadband Rule

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel issued a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Friday for the $14.2 billion Affordable Connectivity Program; it’s based on directives in the infrastructure bill signed into law in mid-November. The program provides broadband service credits of up to $30 per month for eligible households and up to $75 a month for households on tribal lands. It also provides households a one-time payment of $100 to go toward certain connected devices, such as a computer or tablet. The draft rule explains how the additional $14.2 billion provided in the infrastructure bill would be used to transition a temporary COVID-era initiative into a longer-term broadband affordability program, notes Politico. Continue Reading

Supreme Court Weighs in on Vaccine Mandate

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

The Supreme Court on Friday weighed in on whether a vaccine-related mandate from the administration governing large businesses can move forward, putting on display both the national divide over COVID-19 vaccination and highlighting the latest surge, driven by the Omicron variant. While most of the conservative justices sounded sympathetic to business interests and Republican-led states trying to block the rule, liberal justices sounded floored at the arguments that the rule should be stopped, noted Politico. The broad mandate, from the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) division, requires employers with 100 or more employees to ensure that their workers are vaccinated or tested weekly and wear masks at work. Business owners and Republican state attorneys general sued to block the rule and the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in that challenge. "There were three quarters of a million new cases yesterday. That’s 10 times as many as when OSHA put this rule in," Justice Stephen Breyer, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, said. Noting that most hospitals are almost full, he said: “I would find it unbelievable that it could be in the public interest to suddenly stop these vaccinations." Continue Reading

Top 10: AT&T, Verizon Hold Firm on C-Band 5G Rollout

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

Tensions rose ahead of today’s planned launch by AT&T and Verizon of new 5G service using the C-band licenses they won at FCC auction last year. The aviation industry has warned that the 5G rollout could cause chaos for U.S. air travel — in the midst of continuing pandemic-related flight cancellations.  On Sunday, AT&T CEO John Stankey and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg rejected a New Year’s Eve plea from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the FAA to delay the launch by no more than two weeks, reported Reuters. The air travel regulators said they would use that time to identify priority airports, notify flights, and line up alternate methods of compliance, noted The Verge. Continue Reading

T-Mobile and Crown Castle Ink Long-Term Tower and Small Cell Deal

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

T-Mobile US (NASDAQ: TMUS) and Crown Castle International (NYSE: CCI) yesterday announced a new 12-year agreement to support the continued build-out of T-Mobile's nationwide 5G network with increased access to Crown Castle's towers and small cell locations. The agreement is strategic to both companies. It enables T-Mobile to further expand its nationwide 5G network while also realizing financial synergies following its merger with Sprint. In the process, Crown Castle will garner new long-term tower and small cell revenues. “T-Mobile’s expanded alliance with long-term partner Crown Castle will fuel acceleration of our nationwide network build and provide synergies that we can further invest into that build,” said Neville Ray, T-Mobile President of Technology. “This agreement is another integral piece of T-Mobile’s ongoing efforts to rapidly expand what is already America’s largest 5G network.” Continue Reading

DISH names John Swieringa President and COO of DISH Wireless

DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) yesterday named John Swieringa as President and Chief Operating Officer of DISH Wireless. Swieringa will be responsible for all operational aspects of DISH's wireless business including the deployment and management of DISH's virtualized, O-RAN 5G broadband network. Swieringa also will continue to head DISH's retail wireless business, and oversee day-to-day wireless activities.

Swieringa joined DISH in 2007, and has served in various roles during his tenure with the company. He previously served as EVP and Group President of Retail Wireless where he was responsible for all aspects of DISH’s Retail Wireless business, including strategy, operations, sales and customer service for DISH’s retail wireless brands, including Boost Mobile. He also has served as EVP of Operations, overseeing DISH’s In Home Services organization (which conducts residential and commercial installations), as well as the company’s Customer Service, Billing, Information Technology and Manufacturing & Distribution functions. Prior to that, he was the company’s SVP & Chief Information Officer, responsible for enterprise information technology strategy and operations. Continue Reading

AT&T, Verizon’s Second Delay to 5G Operations on C-Band Garners Biden Praise

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau ChiefPresident Joe Biden on Tuesday praised the decision by AT&T and Verizon to delay 5G operations on C-band spectrum, saying doing so will ensure there won’t be disruptions in air operations over the next two weeks. The president thanked AT&T and Verizon, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for reaching an agreement as the result of many negotiations over the past several weeks.

Verizon and AT&T previously agreed to delay 5G operations on C-band for one month, which ran out yesterday. Most recently, they said they were holding firm to the January 5 start date, Inside Towers reported.
 
On Monday night, following pressure from the White House and the airline industry over concerns the deployment would cause flight delays and interruptions, they changed course, and agreed to a second delay, according to The Hill. The 5G deployment is now set to take place on January 19. Continue Reading

AT&T, Verizon Hold Firm on C-Band 5G Rollout

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

Tensions rose ahead of today’s planned launch by AT&T and Verizon of new 5G service using the C-band licenses they won at FCC auction last year. The aviation industry has warned that the 5G rollout could cause chaos for U.S. air travel — in the midst of continuing pandemic-related flight cancellations.  On Sunday, AT&T CEO John Stankey and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg rejected a New Year’s Eve prea from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the FAA to delay the launch by no more than two weeks, reported Reuters. The air travel regulators said they would use that time to identify priority airports, notify flights, and line up alternate methods of compliance, noted The Verge. Continue Reading

A Year on the Rebound

By Jim Fryer Inside Towers Managing Editor

Quite a year, wasn’t it? Our industry not only “rode the tiger” of the pandemic, post election stress and it’s unwanted cousin, political upheaval, but of a market roiling in opportunities both lost and found. Through the “sturm und drang” of it all, we’ve come out on the other side more COVID-savvy, certainly, but more resilient and, in my opinion, more generous and accepting of what we all have suffered through and survived collectively. Our market is the envy of so many others that had to make radical changes, deep cuts, and painful decisions affecting other lives. We all have friends and relatives in those fields, academics, restaurants, hospitality, healthcare who may not even be in them anymore. So while we shake our heads as we look back on this wild and wooly ride we’ve been given, we need to prepare ourselves for more turbulence ahead while anticipating the myriad opportunities the wireless infrastructure market will surely throw our way this year. The editors of Inside Towers have put together some thoughts on what we just witnessed and what might be ahead. With Leslie, John and Sharpe, the best editorial talent in this space ever assembled (maybe I‘m a little prejudiced), we will do our best to keep you informed and aware of what is happening on a daily basis. That is our privilege and our honor, and one we take seriously. We rely on you, our readers, to help keep us informed, let us know what we missed, and give us the occasional tip on what might be ahead. We’ll jump down this rabbit hole together and see what the Mad Hatter called 2022 has in store.