Drone use for towers gets integration committee
The National Association of Tower Erectors announced the establishment of an Unmanned Aerial Systems Committee. In layman’s terms; drones. The new committee will monitor both the trends and regulatory environment related to the fast-growing drone industry. It will use the information to inform NATE members, and the wireless infrastructure industry as a whole, on best practices when implementing this technology into their tower repair, maintenance, inspection and construction strategy.
The committee will consist of the following members:
- Greg Emerick (Sentera; licensed pilot)
- Jim Goldwater (Bob Lawrence & Associates)
- John Paul Jones (Tower & Turbine Technologies; licensed pilot)
- Phil Larsen (HAZON Solutions; UAV pilot and student pilot)
- Jimmy Miller (MillerCo; licensed pilot)
- Todd Schlekeway (NATE)
“I believe that implementing the use of drones and remote sensors in tower operations will ultimately provide benefits to NATE members and the industry by improving safety and operational efficiencies,” Sentera’s Emerick said. “NATE has again demonstrated that it is an influential thought leader on an important topic,” he elaborated.
This new committee has already been busy, participating in recent National Telecommunications Information Administration stakeholder meetings concerning drone technology and intends to keep an open dialogue with everyone involved in the space, including the Federal Aviation Administration, policymakers, regulators and others, and then report its findings to the wireless industry and NATE.
Latin American tower strategy
On this week’s episode of Cell Tower News, experts discuss differing strategies on how to exploit the emerging Latin American tower market.
Speakers:
- Jose Sola (Mexico Tower Partners)
- Maria Scotti (Torrecom)
- Chahram Zolfaghari (Brazilian Tower Company)
- Dagan Kasavana (Phoenix Tower International)
- Jonathan Atkin (RBC Capital Markets)
Tower news quickies
• California approves ‘shot clock’ for tower applications
• Chinese mobile operators transfer assets to China Tower
• What does it mean to underbid?
• Trick or Treat, a cell tower REIT
Regional / local tower news
- Baker City, Oregon, planners deny Verizon’s requests for two 100-foot-tall cell towers
- Court rules against cell tower company in Muskogee, Okla.
- AT&T seeks East Lyme, Conn., site for replacement cell tower
- New cell tower not yet turned on in New Canaan, Conn.
- Developers add antennas to fix cell service in high-rises in New York City
- Shelter Island, N.Y., Fire Commission signs cell tower pact
- 150-foot cell tower in Mahwah, N.J., to rise another 20
- Summit County, Colo., pursues broadband ballot measure after AT&T pulls cell tower plans
- Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce questions safety of cell tower
- Digicel brings in mobile cell tower for Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Bermuda
