Duke Energy Goes to Court Over FCC Pole Attachment Decision

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

UPDATE Inside Towers reported earlier this month the FCC stood by a 2021 decision concerning a pole attachment rate dispute between Duke Energy and AT&T. The agency denied Duke’s request for a review of the earlier decision. Now, Duke Energy has asked a federal appeals court to intervene. Specifically, Duke asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to review the Commission’s decision, saying it was “adversely affected” by certain parts of the order. In its petition reviewed by Inside Towers, Duke says parts of the order “exceed or are inconsistent with the FCC’s jurisdiction and statutory authority” and “are arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion or otherwise contrary to law.” Duke is asking the court to “hold unlawful, vacate, enjoin, and/or set aside portions of the Order.” Neither the FCC nor AT&T commented, according to Communications Litigation Today. The dispute between the powerco and AT&T concerned rates that Duke charged the telecom for attaching to its utility poles in the Carolinas. The Commission denied requests from Duke and AT&T to review portions of the decision. The Commissioners upheld an earlier Enforcement Bureau decision that found the rates AT&T paid under a Joint Use Agreement were “unjust and unreasonable.” It ordered the powerco to charge a lower rate, Inside Towers reported.

FCC Bans Telecom Gear That Poses Security Threat

The FCC now prohibits communications equipment deemed to pose a national security risk from being authorized for importation or sale in the United States. This is the latest step by the Commission to protect telecom communications networks.  

The new rules apply to future generations of equipment identified on the Covered List published by the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. The Covered List includes communications equipment produced by Huawei Technologies, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, and Dahua Technology (and their subsidiaries and affiliates).

“The FCC is committed to protecting our national security by ensuring that untrustworthy communications equipment is not authorized for use within our borders, and we are continuing that work here,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “These new rules are an important part of our ongoing actions to protect the American people from national security threats involving telecommunications.”

Africa’s Buoyant Tower Business

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

Africa is an attractive market for independent tower operators for several reasons. First, there is a big and growing demand for wireless communications. The population of sub-Saharan Africa is big, estimated by the UN at around 1.2 billion people, growing at 2-3 percent a year. Yet, wireless penetration is only around 25 percent, according to recent MNO subscriber tallies. Second, post-pandemic, mobile connectivity is becoming increasingly important for personal, commercial, and public safety communications, especially in rural areas outside the major cities where wireline networks do not reach. Moreover, smartphone usage proportionally is still low but is growing rapidly with the demand for digital services such as mobile financial transactions. For instance, Vodacom M-pesa and Airtel Mobile Money financial services generate billions of wireless transactions in micro-loans and money transfers each year. For the quarter ending September 30, Africa’s largest multinational mobile network operators - Airtel, MTN, and Vodacom - all showed year-over-year service revenue growth in mid-single to low double-digit percentage range. Continue Reading

The Wireless Infrastructure Industry Sets a Bountiful Table

By Jim Fryer, Inside Towers Managing Editor

While we all take time this week to give thanks where it’s due…family, friends, health… the editorial staff at Inside Towers would like to express our appreciation for the privilege of covering this industry. Taking into account its performance over the last few years, with COVID, natural disasters, economic headwinds and the usual political tempest, the wireless infrastructure industry not only survived but, re-tooled, adjusted and, in many cases, thrived.  One of the things that continues to amaze me is the sense of community in the industry. For a global provider of products and services operating on many levels, there is still a “small town” mentality when it comes to its largess in times of catastrophic events such as hurricanes and wildfires, with tragic losses both on site and off, or the nurturing and encouragement given to its newcomers. We thank you for letting us be the “town crier” in that regard. Continue Reading

Qatar Scores Big with 5G Network at World Cup

By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor

As the FIFA World Cup kicked off over the weekend, Qatar was wired up and ready with 5G technology. Throngs of fans engaging in the premier global football event will benefit from access to peak gigabit speeds provided by Vodafone Qatar and Ooredoo Qatar. The whole country, however, has benefited from increased investment in wireless communications infrastructure. Mid-band spectrum has also been allocated making high-speed internet possible. The story of how the country came to have a healthy cellular duopoly began four years ago when the government purchased a controlling share of Vodafone through the state-backed Qatar Foundation. The new owners employed a turnaround strategy that improved the operator’s reach, network performance, revenue growth, and customer acquisition rates, according to VanillaPlus. Continue Reading

Response Mostly Positive to FCC’s New National Broadband Maps

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

UPDATE As the FCC promised, it released an initial version of its updated broadband maps on November 18. The pre-production maps display specific location-level information about broadband services available throughout the country. Both the Commission and broadband associations call them “significantly improved” maps compared to the census block level data previously collected.  An accurate map is key as the NTIA prepares to disperse broadband deployment allocations to states by its goal of June 30. Congress mandated that NTIA use the FCC’s updated maps to distribute some $65 billion in broadband deployment grants to avoid over-building. Continue Reading

FCC Hears Network Resiliency Improving After Storms

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

Experts speaking at an FCC hearing on ways to improve wireless resiliency through better coordination with the power sector during disasters agree communication between the two groups has improved over the past few years. But they say more can be done. Liberty Mobile CEO in Puerto Rico Najo Khoury said in contrast to Hurricane Maria, which was a Category Five storm in 2017, and had a devastating wind and water impact, Hurricane Fiona was a Category One and the damage came from unprecedented rainfall. “The network did not experience significant damage from wind or rain. Nevertheless we incurred [$12 million] in increased costs due to widespread and prolonged power outages which prevented customers from using our resources,” he said. Continue Reading

Nokia, TPG Telecom Set 5G Uplink Speed Record in Australia

By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor

Nokia and TPG Telecom demonstrated a 5G uplink speed of 2 Gbps using Nokia’s commercial AirScale Radio together with TPG Telecom’s 26 GHz spectrum at the Nokia 5G Futures Lab in Sydney, Australia. The record was set yesterday using a 5G device powered by a Snapdragon® X65 5G Modem-RF System featuring fourth-generation Qualcomm QTM545 mmWave antenna modules. Nokia used Carrier Aggregation technology to achieve a 400 MHz channel using four component carriers of 100 MHz each. The demonstration also used Nokia’s 5G Core to provide the speed, intelligence, and security. The record was set almost a year to the day after Nokia and University of Technology Sydney opened the 5G Futures Lab in the UTS Tech Lab facilities. Continue Reading

Airline Industry Asks for Delay Around 5G Retrofit

UPDATE Major U.S. airlines working on retrofitting radio altimeters due to potential interference from 5G C-band wireless services are now asking for an extension, reported Reuters. According to a statement made by the aviation industry on Tuesday, airlines cannot fully meet deadlines to complete upgrades and urged Washington for a grace period through the end of 2023.

Several airlines and their manufacturers, including American, Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, aviation unions, and others, signed a letter backing the FAA's extension request. According to the letter sent to the White House, global supply chain issues mean "air carriers will likely be unable to fully meet either the December 2022 deadlines for smaller regional aircraft and many large transports or the July 2023 retrofit deadline." Continue Reading 

AWS Establishes Lead in Cloud Services, Wins Government Contract

By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor

The hyperscale edge compute market is now looking to be a three-horse race with one a few lengths in the lead. The market leaders — Amazon Web Services, Microsoft’s Azure, and Google Cloud — accounted for 76 percent of their home market in the third quarter, according to Synergy Research Group. Inside those numbers, AWS has a significant lead with 34 percent of the market, followed by Microsoft Azure at 21 percent and Google Cloud at 11 percent, according to John Dinsdale, chief analyst at Synergy. However, third quarter revenue results show AWS in second with sales of $20.54 billion, which was a 27.4 percent year-over-year and a 4.1 percent quarter-over-quarter increase, according to Benzinga. In first, Microsoft Azure saw its cloud revenue rise 24 percent year-over-year to $25.7 billion. A distant third, Google Cloud booked $6.87 billion in revenue, up 37.6 percent year-over-year and 9.4 percent quarter-to-quarter, but suffered an operating loss of $699 million. Continue Reading

Majority of Florida Cell Sites Working After Nicole

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

The amount of cell sites out of service in Florida following Hurricane Nicole remained static at 0.9 percent on Friday. That’s according to the FCC’s Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS). Out of a total of 11,450 sites, 103 were out of service. That compares to 100 the day before. Fifty-seven had no power, 33 had data transport issues and 10 were damaged. Another 112 sites were operating on backup power. Continue Reading

Thankful For Our Freedoms, Thankful for the Vets Who Helped Protect Them

By Kevin Kennedy, President, CEO, Warriors4Wireless, Major General, U.S Air Force- Ret.

I have had the privilege of wearing a uniform for 36 of my 66 years of life, so please recognize I see the world through this lens of experience—one grounded in faith and service. Across 36 years in uniform, I have experienced life in 39 countries. My conclusion from this survey is I see no other nation so blessed by God with personal freedoms, life opportunities, and a society which enables a daily choice to leverage the former in pursuit of the latter. So, what does love of country and appreciation for a U.S. citizen’s way of life have to do with Veteran’s Day? Everything! Continue Reading

Senate Results Impacting Telecom

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

Control of both chambers of Congress remained up for grabs Wednesday afternoon following the midterm elections, with both the House and the Senate too close to call, though a GOP takeover of the House appears imminent. Senate results remained unfinalized in Arizona, Nevada and Georgia. Republicans need to win two of those three to claim a majority, notes CNN. The Georgia Senate race will go to a runoff on December 6. Inside Towers breaks down the results for the committee that governs telecom matters and oversees the FCC. Continue Reading

T-Mobile Considers Fiber Network Options

T-Mobile US (NASDAQ: TMUS) is exploring options to create a fiber-optic network, either through a joint venture or a commercial partnership, according to sources familiar with the discussions. The company is working with Citigroup to find partners to build a fiber network targeting the home-broadband market that will require several billion dollars of investment, said the sources. The joint-venture could be worth $4 billion and T-Mobile could chip in on a part of that, reports Bloomberg.  Terms aren’t finalized and could still change. The discussions with potential joint venture investors are preliminary and it’s possible no transaction will be reached. Representatives for T-Mobile and Citigroup declined comment. Continue Reading

India’s 5G Tower Site Rollout Soars

By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor

Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, combined, are adding 5G sites at a breakneck pace of around 3,500 sites per week, according to the Economic Times of India. That’s not all. The publication says the telcos want to increase site additions to 9,000-10,000 per week, some time in the next three to four months. And we thought DISH Wireless was rolling out quickly at 1,000 sites a month!  If the Indian deployment number seems high, remember the promise made by Indian multi-billionaire and owner of Reliance Jio Mukesh Ambani in August to spend $25 billion dollars to cover the country in 5G by the end of 2023. Continue Reading

DigitalBridge Performs Across All Fronts

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

DigitalBridge Group (NYSE: DBRG) continues to revamp and simplify its digital infrastructure business. The company’s business segments are showing growth, despite macroeconomic headwinds. Its Operating segment with balance sheet investments in DataBank and Vantage Stabilized Data Centers reported consolidated revenues of $225 million, up 16 percent YoY and Adjusted EBITDA of $91 million, a 13 percent increase from 3Q21. Growth was spurred by additions of a Houston data center at DataBank and the opening of the Vantage SDC’s CA-22 data center in Santa Clara, as Inside Towers reported.  DataBank operates 69 data centers in 26 edge markets in the U.S. In the quarter, DigitalBridge closed the first stage of its DataBank recapitalization, sold a 35 percent equity interest for $1.5 billion and reduced its ownership to 13 percent. This transaction allows DigitalBridge to move DataBank off its balance sheet and into the Investment Management portfolio. This step is part of DigitalBridge’s capital formation and investment simplification strategy. It expects a similar move with Vantage SDC as it attracts investment capital from various sources. Continue Reading

FCC to Create Space Bureau

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

The FCC is creating a Space Bureau. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the move to a Satellite Industry Association meeting on Thursday. She said the growth of satellite broadband internet plays a big part in why the agency is making the move. “Ninety-eight percent of all satellite launches in 2021 were deployed into low-earth orbit to provide internet connectivity back here on Earth. They can help advance the FCC’s goals to connect everyone, everywhere,” Rosenworcel said. “More than that, the success of these low-earth orbit communications satellites could be seen as an early litmus test for the broader commercialization of space.” Continue Reading

DISH Network Reports Third Quarter 2022 Financial Results

DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) yesterday reported revenue totaling $4.10 billion for the quarter ending September 30, 2022, compared to $4.45 billion for the corresponding period in 2021. The company said it has 10,000 5G sites deployed and it continues to build out at a pace of 1,000 per month.

The company said it is committed to building a facilities-based 5G broadband network capable of serving increasingly larger portions of the U.S. population at different deadlines, including 20 percent of the U.S. population by June 2022, and 70 percent of the U.S. population by June 2023. If by June 2023, DISH is offering 5G broadband service to at least 50 percent of the U.S. population but less than 70 percent of the U.S. population, the 70 percent June 2023 deadline will be extended automatically to June 2025. The company said it may be subject to certain penalties if the deadline is not met, however. 

DISH also announced that it plans to offer approximately $2 billion aggregate principal amount of its senior secured notes. The net proceeds of the offering are intended to be used for general corporate purposes, including the buildout of wireless infrastructure. The $2 billion is intended to fund the company through the 70 percent milestone in June 2023. Continue Reading

SBA Communications Responds to MNO Tenant Demand

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

SBA Communications (NASDAQ: SBAC) reported 3Q22 results that beat the company’s own estimates. Jeff Stoops, SBA President and CEO comments, “The third quarter exceeded almost all expectations and benefited from the significant level of wireless deployment activity by our carrier customers. Notwithstanding the broader challenging macroeconomic environment, our business was extremely busy, and we were able to again increase our full year outlook across all key metrics.” While there was some M&A activity in the quarter, SBA’s customer network deployments are driving its results. Site leasing revenues reached $587.3 million, up 10 percent YoY. The domestic market represents 76 percent of SBA’s total site leasing revenues. The big four carriers - AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and DISH – represented over 94 percent of total incremental domestic leasing revenue signed up during the quarter. T-Mobile, SBA’s single largest customer, accounted for nearly one-third of global site leasing revenues. Part of SBA’s upside is due to less churn than expected with the timing of some of T-Mobile’s merger-related site decommissioning that will shift into 2023. Continue Reading

SBA Communications Reports Third Quarter 2022 Results

SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: SBAC) yesterday reported results for the quarter ended September 30, 2022.

“We produced great results in the third quarter, exceeding consensus and our own estimates,” stated Jeffrey Stoops, President and CEO. “Our results evidence the high levels of wireless deployment across our markets, driven mostly by 5G domestically and 4G in our international markets. Wireless carrier activity was, and remains, robust across most of our markets. We believe activity will remain strong into 2023 and perhaps beyond, given the size and scope of our customers’ 5G deployment plans."

Highlights of the third quarter include:

• Net income of $99.8 million or $0.91 per share
• AFFO per share increased 15.1 percent over the prior year period on a constant currency basis
• Total revenue of $675.6 million, representing a 14.6 percent growth over the prior year period Continue Reading