Florida Governor Scott Says Verizon Slow in Recovery Efforts

Governor Rick Scott said more than 2,000 telecommunications professionals in 200 Communication Technician Repair Crew Strike Teams are fully mobilized in impacted counties, working to restore cellular service. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile deployed mobile cellular towers to provide service.  Scott has been touring and tweeting from the ravaged area since it was hit by the storm last week.
“At my direction, the Florida Highway Patrol has been working hand-in-hand with cellular service provider crews to get them access to service stations where repairs need to be made,” Scott said. “I also directed the Florida Department of Transportation to provide excavators, heavy loaders, and chainsaw crews to assist cellular service providers in quickly accessing sites in the Panhandle.”
While praising AT&T and the efforts made by the departments under his control, Scott was critical of Verizon, the company’s main competitor.  Inside Towers reported in yesterday’s issue, that Verizon has been slowed by damages done to fiber throughout the area. Verizon issued a statement saying they are experiencing, “unprecedented damage to our fiber, which is essential for our network,” adding that crews are working “around the clock” to re-establish service. Continue Reading

Repack Stretches Resources, And It’s Only Phase 1

From the broadcast perspective, tower crews and resources for the repack are getting tight. With winter approaching, experts predict they will have issues keeping the process of transitioning stations from their old channels to new ones moving. That’s based on Inside Towers’ interviews with broadcast engineers, engineering consultants, equipment suppliers and vendors at the IEEE Broadcast Technology Symposium Wednesday in Arlington, VA.

“I think there will be a handful of stations that don’t meet their Phase 1 deadline. We’ll probably see more problems as we get to Phase 2,” said Dennis Wallace, managing partner at engineering consulting firm Meintel, Sgrignoli & Wallace. “There’s just not enough resources on the tower side. Tower hands are moving from company to company based on who’s paying the most today. So you may have a tower company that bid a job based on this crew that they had at the time, and all of a sudden that labor is not available.”  

By November 30, Phase 1 stations need to be off their old channel and transmitting on their new channel. The testing period for Phase 2 stations begins on December 1 and ends at the end of April. If a Phase 1 station misses its deadline and is daisy-chained with other stations, either on the same channel or adjacent channels, there’s a domino effect, explained Wallace. “If they’re still operating on their existing channel, than those other stations can transition until that station moves,” he said. Continue Reading

NATE Hosts UAS Operations Demonstration

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) can provide different work for tower climbers. UAS inspections can save workers a climb and free them up for other tasks, said experts on-hand for a UAS demonstration Tuesday, organized by the National Tower Erectors Association. Four NATE member companies flew their UAS close to a 198-ft. Crown Castle tower in Gainesville, VA, just outside of the D.C. restricted airspace.

Using UAS for tower inspections can mean one-third fewer climbs need to be performed, Jim Goldwater, NATE Director of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, told Inside Towers. “Our job is to make sure our people get home safe,” said NATE Chairman Jim Tracy to the assembled crowd of 55-plus people. Using UAS or drones, means less risk for climbers from working at elevation, he said.
The four companies that flew drone aircraft were: ETAK Systems, Talon Aerolytics, Ehresmann Engineering, and B+T Group. All contract with Crown Castle for tower work. In addition to industry workers, officials from the FCC, FAA, OSHA and SBA attended the event. Continue Reading

Sharing C-Band for 5G is Tricky

 
Finding the best solution to re-configure the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz band was a hot topic at last week’s 7th Annual Americas Spectrum Management Conference.

“It is important for America to lead in 5G. Satellite operators defended the use of C-band for decades for program distribution. We understand regulators want to advance leadership in this band,” said SES SVP Global Advocacy Gerry Oberst during a panel. “The satellite sector heard this and is looking for ways to meet this challenge.”

The FCC’s proposal specifies the use of a consortium to undertake the technical and commercial implementation of the spectrum clearing process. SES is part of the recently-announced C-Band Alliance. Other members are Intelsat, Eutelsat and Telesat. The companies say they can implement a market-based proposal to clear spectrum, while protecting the quality and reliability of existing C-band services in the band. “We will engage in secondary market transactions within 36 months” of a final FCC order, said Oberst.  

“We believe secondary market transactions can be accomplished quickly. Our intention is to get spectrum out there as fast as possible,” said Oberst. Continue Reading

NPR Paints Grim Picture of Repack’s Impact on FMs

NPR agrees with the NAB’s assessment that a sliding scale to reimburse FMs forced off the air due to the TV repack is arbitrary and won’t work. It urged the agency to drop the plan. The public radio network also said the repack work has been disruptive, forcing at least one station off the air when a tower crew showed up unexpectedly, causing the station thousands of dollars in lost donations.
The Commission should make sure the reimbursement process for FMs co-located on TV towers affected by the TV channel repack is flexible. “There is no easy way to measure the significance of the service disruption caused when stations are forced off-air or required to broadcast at reduced power,” NPR told the FCC in filed comments. Without naming the towerco that showed up at one station with no notice, NPR said that “gave the station no chance to rig a temporary antenna, and forced the station off air for 11 days during a funding drive. This situation could have been avoided if the station had been able to secure alternative facilities in advance.” Continue Reading

Munis Vow Legal Action Against FCC Over Small Cells Order

Mayors of several cities vow to fight the FCC’s recent small cell order in court, arguing it’s an example of federal overreach.

Inside Towers reported before last week’s vote to ease small cell siting, that several localities were unhappy with the move to curb siting costs and speed paperwork to permit wireless infrastructure on publicly-owned land. Now, several localities, like Seattle, say they plan to sue. Others, like Portland, already have filed suit, ArsTechnica reported.

The order limits what localities can charge for permitting wireless infrastructure to be sited within a public right-of-way and sets timetables that localities must follow to make a decision on a permit. The FCC order suggests up-front application fees of $100 for each small cell and annual fees of up to $270 per small cell. Portland typically charges $3,000 per year for application fees, according to the Oregonian. Continue Reading

Siting Panel Says the Focus Is On Micro Not Macro Towers

 
“We will all be busy in the next year redecorating the street furniture.” That’s how Stephan Sloan, director at Media Services Group and session moderator, summed up the infrastructure panel at the 7th Annual Americas Spectrum Management Conference yesterday.

The impact of the FCC’s recent order to ease small cell siting on publicly-owned property dominated the discussion. 

Matthew Berry, Chief of Staff to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, said estimates show the U.S. needs to add an additional 800,000 cell sites by 2025 to enable 5G. To make this happen, he said, the agency realized its siting rules could no longer be tied to the needs of tall towers. But he made clear, “5G isn’t going to eliminate the need for tall towers.”

The new order “respects local control. All fees must be non-discriminatory and cost-based,” said Berry. Channeling Frank Sinatra, Berry said: “As far as infrastructure policy, I believe we’ll look at 2018 and say it was a very good year.”  Continue Reading