Deutsche Telekom Takes Open RAN Plunge

By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor

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Deutsche Telekom is celebrating its first Open RAN deployment in Germany, partnering with Nokia, Fujitsu and Mavenir among others. Customers in the Neubrandenburg area will receive 2G, 4G and 5G services from the deployment in the ‘brownfield’ network environment of Telekom Deutschland. “Open RAN has matured over the last months in both stability and performance, which has given us the confidence for an initial commercial deployment. Together with Nokia, Mavenir and other ecosystem partners, we will use our collaboration as the springboard to accelerate Open RAN development and create a path to deployment at scale,” says Abdu Mudesir, Deutsche Telekom Group CTO & CTO Germany. Continue Reading

FCC Aims to Foster Satellite-Mobile Cooperation

 

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

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Inside Towers has reported on numerous satellite and mobile service carriers teaming up to provide satellite-delivered cell phone service to consumers. Now, the FCC wants to make it easier for such companies to accomplish this. The Commission plans to vote next month on proposed rules to encourage more cooperation between satellite operators and carriers to ensure wireless service is available in remote, unserved or underserved areas. Commission authorization would let satellite operators use flexible-use spectrum allocated to terrestrial services. Continue Reading

American Tower’s 2022 Performance Sets Stage for Continuing Growth

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

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American Tower (NYSE: AMT) reported solid results for full-year 2022, to set the stage for continued growth for the next several years. Property revenues grew nearly 15 percent to $10.5 billion including organic tenant billings growth of 7 percent. AMT’s leasing demand is being driven by growth across its tower and data center portfolios. This growth is partially offset by a reserve taken against slow payments from Indian mobile network operator, Vodafone Idea, which is working through a difficult financial situation. Adjusted EBITDA was up 11 percent to $6.6 billion and AFFO came in at $4.5 billion, up almost 6 percent year-to-year. AMT’s global tower count grew 2 percent YoY to 223,055 at year-end 2022. India is the company’s largest market accounting for 35 percent of the total. Africa and Latin America make up another one-third. Its home U.S. & Canada market accounts for 19 percent of the total sites but drives 48 percent of total property revenues. Continue Reading

Stoops to Step Down as SBA CEO in ‘23 Succeeded by Brendan Cavanagh

SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: SBAC) announced this week that Jeff Stoops will retire from his positions as President and Chief Executive Officer on December 31, 2023. SBA’s Board of Directors has appointed Brendan Cavanagh, SBA’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, to succeed Stoops as President and CEO, at which time Cavanagh shall also be appointed to the company’s Board of Directors. Stoops shall remain on the company’s Board of Directors, and upon his retirement shall assume the position of non-executive Chairman of the Board. Steven Bernstein, SBA’s founder and current Chairman of the Board of Directors, will continue to serve on the Board, and Jack Langer will continue in his role as lead independent director. SBA said it intends to appoint its next Chief Financial Officer later this year. Continue Reading

Commerce Department Report Critical of FirstNet Reinvestments

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

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A report has come to light from the Department of Commerce Office of the Inspector General that says FirstNet could not demonstrate investment decisions were the best use of reinvestment funds or maximized benefits to public safety. The 29-page report, which came out in November, is one of a series covering FirstNet’s reinvestment process. “Our audit objective was to determine whether FirstNet Authority’s process for reinvesting fee payments is effective and consistent with established practices, procedures and regulations,” wrote Arthur Scott, Jr., Assistant Inspector General for Audit and Evaluation. Many of the financial figures were redacted to protect proprietary AT&T information. Continue Reading

Rosenworcel Assures Senators Next Version of Broadband Maps Will Improve

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

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FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told 13 senators the next version of the agency’s broadband location maps will fix “most, if not all,” discrepancies. She was responding to concerns that “significant flaws in the draft maps recently released by the FCC further underline the need for a robust challenge process,” according to a letter the lawmakers sent to Rosenworcel and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson. The senators asked the agencies for more time for state and local governments, Tribal nations, and consumers to provide input and challenge the maps. They sought at least a 60-day extension, until March 14. Continue Reading

UScellular Towers a Bright Spot Amid Flat Wireless Performance

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

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UScellular’s (NYSE: USM) tower segment continued to show steady progress even as the company reported flat year-over-year results in its wireless services business. In its 4Q earnings call, the company reported wireless service revenues for full-year 2022 were $3.1 billion, flat with 2021 level. Adjusted EBITDA declined 9 percent YoY to $952 million. Most of the soft performance was attributed to reduced net adds, moves to premium plans among fewer customers, reduced roaming charges and increased involuntary churn. Nonetheless, ARPU and ARPA both increased 3-4 percent YoY reflecting the migration to higher priced calling plans. The Chicago-based company operates in parts of 21 states covering 32 million people mainly in small towns and rural communities in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Pacific Northwest, and northern California. At the end of 2022, UScellular had 5 million postpaid and prepaid connections. Continue Reading

FCC Helps Domestic Abuse Survivors Gain Safe, Affordable Connectivity

 

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

The FCC voted Thursday to implement key provisions in the Safe Connections Act to support survivors of domestic abuse and related crimes, seeking to keep connections with friends, family, and support networks. The proposed rules would help survivors obtain separate phone lines from shared accounts that include their abusers and protect the privacy of calls made by survivors to domestic abuse hotlines. They also include providing support for victims who suffer financial hardship through the agency’s affordability programs.  During the meeting, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the wireless industry will join with the National Domestic Violence Hotline to launch a “Partnership to Support Survivors.” The carriers involved include “the largest providers of wireless service,” said the Chairwoman. Continue Reading

Rip & Replace Funding Shortfall Gets Notice in Senate and House

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

The FCC’s Rip & Replace Reimbursement program was briefly discussed during Gigi Sohn’s Senate confirmation on Tuesday. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) noted that Sohn previously discussed innovative broadband solutions. He said providers in the Upper Peninsula of his state are “being held hostage” by the program’s more than $3 billion shortfall. Peters asked Sohn if she would commit to working with the Hill and broadband providers on the problem. Sohn said “yes,” and added that she recently met with members of the Rural Wireless Association (RWA), “who talked to me about their invoices not getting paid.” Continue Reading

Data Center Growth Outlook is Cloudy

Demand for data center space continues to reach new heights as digital services pervade daily consumer and business activities. Data center leasing surged in 2022 to 2,250 megawatts (MW) of power in North America, following a previous high point of 950 MW in 2021, according to datacenterHawk. Now, the data center sector may face headwinds in trying to keep pace with demand for power and land in 2023, amid longer delivery timelines and shortages in key markets, Data Center Frontier posted in a recent blog.

Throughout 2022, hyperscale operators aggressively locked down capacity for long-term cloud services growth even as data center capacity construction is slowed by supply chain disruptions. Nonetheless, demand remains strong with hyperscale single leases averaging over 70 MW, and more data center lease transactions across a broader base of customers from enterprise to financial, gaming, and tech companies. Continue Reading

Cellular Mapping Exposes Coverage Gaps

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

Think about this. Almost every day, the U.S. Postal Service delivers mail to over 163 million addresses covering every state, city, and town in the country. No other organization even comes close. That reach provides a unique framework for measuring the strength of cellular signals at or around these addresses. Ranlytics, a tech firm based outside Sydney, Australia, has developed RF measuring products and a methodology for assessing cellular signal strength at any given location. Ranlytics has partnered with the USPS in a first test in the Seattle, WA area. The results are promising, according to the company, and the firm hopes to expand the activity nationwide. Continue Reading

Foreign Airlines Say FAA Underestimated 5G Retrofit Costs

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

Proposed U.S. requirements to retrofit airplane altimeters to ensure they are not susceptible to 5G wireless interference could cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars more than the FAA estimated, the world's biggest airline trade body told the agency last week. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) represents more than 100 foreign carriers that fly to and from the United States. It said in comments to the FAA that Inside Towers obtained, the costs could be $637 million, not the $26 million estimated by the agency. The association notes that FAA estimates do not include the 3,240 foreign carriers facing the July 1, 2023, deadline for aircraft that would need to be modified to avoid radio altimeter interference. The IATA believes the costs for the 6,000 planes already retrofitted and non-U.S. registered planes that will be impacted should be included in the total. Continue Reading

WISPA Paper: NTIA’s Fiber Bias Could Raise BEAD Costs by Billions

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

The Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) renewed its call Thursday for NTIA to change its qualifications for what companies receive BEAD grant funds. In a new research paper commissioned by WISPA released Thursday, Dr. William Lehr, a telecommunications and internet industry economist and consultant, says NTIA's technological bias toward fiber could raise BEAD costs by tens of billions of dollars and drag out deployment. “Prioritizing fiber projects over other broadband technologies represents a significant departure from the sound regulatory principle of technological neutrality,” states Lehr. This bias “could increase costs by upwards of $30 to $60 billion depending on the distribution of fiber deployment costs for the unserved locations.” Continue Reading

T-Mobile Network’s New Normal

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

It’s been quite a ride for the Un-carrier. T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) says its 2022 performance was its best ever. Compared to 2021, full-year 2022 wireless service revenues were up 5 percent to $61.3 billion and core adjusted EBITDA increased 12 percent to $26.4 billion. Capital expenditures jumped 13 percent year-over-year to nearly $14 billion for its 5G buildout and integration of the Sprint network. The company says its network integration efforts are now complete and that 2022 represented its peak capex year.  Looking back, Sprint Corporation and T-Mobile US announced their agreement to merge on April 29, 2018. After a two-year regulatory and financial approvals process, the merger closed on April 1, 2020, with the combined entity operating as T-Mobile. Continue Reading

AT&T Seeks Federal Court Help on Pole Attachment Dispute

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

UPDATE AT&T has gone to federal court over an FCC decision last November that said the carrier’s not entitled to as low an attachment rate from Duke Energy Progress poles than other telecommunications attachers. The Commissioners made the original decision in 2021. Both AT&T and Duke appealed for different reasons. Last November, the agency decided that AT&T paid too much to Duke to access the utility poles in North and South Carolina under a Joint User Agreement (JUA) between the two companies.   The FCC ordered Duke to charge a lower rate in compliance with the Commission’s 2011 and 2018 pole attachment orders. The exact figure was not made public and redacted from the document, Inside Towers reported. Continue Reading

Senators Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Streamline USDA Broadband Programs

Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), ranking member and chairman, respectively, of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Deb Fischer (R-NE) reintroduced the Rural Internet Improvement Act. The legislation would merge USDA’s Rural e-Connectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect) with USDA’s traditional broadband loan and grant program.

Supporters say it would bolster USDA Rural Development broadband programs and ensure their funding is being targeted to rural areas that need it the most. For example, it would limit ReConnect funding to areas where at least 90 percent of households lack access to broadband. Continue Reading

WWLL: Straight Talk About Women in Wireless (Part 1 of 2)

By Martha DeGrasse, Inside Towers Contributing Analyst

Wireless professionals had the opportunity to learn from some of the most successful women in the industry at the Women’s Wireless Leadership Luncheon (WWLL), hosted in Washington, D.C. by The Wireless Infrastructure Association Foundation on February 1.  Keynote speaker Mignon Clyburn, former Acting Chair of the FCC, encouraged the audience to recognize Black History Month and Women’s History Month by remembering the women who paved the way for today’s leaders. “Those who came before us deserved the seats that we’re in,” she said. “We’re projecting what they could not.” The FCC and FTC are both now chaired by women, as are the House and Senate Commerce Committees, noted WIA President and CEO Patrick Halley. The progress women have made on the national stage is reflected in the wireless industry, where large public companies as well as smaller contractors and vendors are promoting female leaders. Continue Reading

Metro Connect USA Closes on a Productive Note

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

UPDATE On Tuesday, Jennifer Fritzsche of Greenhill moderated a panel comprising executives from DigitalBridge, Mox Networks, Uniti Fiber, and Verizon Partner Solutions who tackled the topic: “How can we accelerate 10G to the tower nationwide?” With data traffic projected to double every two to three years from increasing mobile data-intensive use cases, there is a growing need for higher capacity backhaul to the tower. The common 1 Gbps fiber backhaul connection is sufficient capacity for current usage. A 10 Gbps connection would provide growth capacity but also requires updates in the network core to support the higher volume of diverse data traffic from each tower. The panel concluded that a collaborative effort is needed among MNOs, fiber companies and tower operators to facilitate network wide 10G implementation. The Wednesday program featured an opening keynote address from April McClain-Delaney, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). She underscored the need for digital infrastructure expansion nationwide as a way to close the digital divide and to enhance America’s international competitiveness, and how the U.S. government funding is enabling that expansion. McClain-Delaney highlighted the various available digital infrastructure funding programs, and the U.S $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, as Inside Towers reported. She encouraged the audience to take advantage of those funding programs as a way to facilitate widespread broadband deployment. Continue Reading

T-Mobile Announces Quarterly and 2022 Annual Earnings

T-Mobile announced its quarterly and annual earnings yesterday, saying it achieved a huge milestone by substantially completing the Sprint network decommissioning in Q3 2022, less than 2.5 years post-merger closing, and more than a year ahead of the original merger plan. The company expects to substantially complete its integration by the end of 2023. 

"With record postpaid accounts and customer net adds that translated into industry-leading postpaid service revenue and cash flow growth, T-Mobile absolutely smashed 2022 by once again focusing on putting customers first,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. “In true Un-carrier fashion, we have no plans to slow down in 2023. Now that we are being recognized as not only the 5G leader but the clear overall network leader in the U.S., our differentiated and sustainable growth strategy is opening up even bigger pathways for our future!" Continue Reading