NATE Unite celebrates 20th anniversary

This week was the 20th anniversary of the National Association of Tower Erectors’ conference NATE Unite. This annual event sees people from all over come together to discuss the wireless infrastructure industry. In recent years, the focus has become safety, especially tower-climber safety. This year’s keynote speaker was none other than former Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin. Watch as NATE Executive Director Todd Schlekeway discuss what the 20th anniversary of NATE Unite holds and why he chose Palin as the keynote speaker.

At the event, the Wireless Industry Safety Task Force announced the formation of the National Wireless Safety Alliance. “What it will do is standardize the different work categories in the industry through assessment and certification and make it uniform,” according to Schlekeway. Watch him talk about this announcement here:

It wasn’t all meetings and talks, however. The Tower Family Foundation hosted an auction at the event, the proceeds of which went to help tower climbers who have been injured or to the families of those killed on the job. The foundation discusses the auction here:

Video says much more than words can, so hopefully these great videos from Joey Jackson give you some insight into this important industry event. For the entire playlist of videos taken at NATE, click here.

Just for fun, watch as Glen Bedgood of ENSA North America shows RCR Wireless News how a rope access harness helps keep tower climbers safe.

Police love of simulated cell towers obstructs justice

This week Tallahassee, Fla., police decided their secrecy was worth more than bringing criminals to justice. The latest insult to justice and government transparency occurred when two men who robbed a drug dealer at gunpoint – using BB guns – which should have been an open and shut case. Under Florida law, that is considered robbery with a deadly weapon, with at least four years in prison as the punishment.

However, it came to light during the proceedings that police used simulated cell towers to track the criminals. This raised legality and privacy questions, prompting the judge to demand the police show the court this StingRay technology. The police were so against showing the court how they track criminals, not wanting their spying methods to become public, that they accepted a plea bargain. The criminals then got probation instead.

There’s many weird issues with this case, including defending a robbed drug dealer and the use of BB guns to even attempt to rob. However, one thing is certain: the audacity of those police who refused to share the way they are potentially tracking criminals. Where do you draw the line? What constitutes a suspect worthy of being spied on? The fact that they are allowed to hide this, even in a court of law, is troublesome. Expect further contention and possible future legislation or court decisions based around the legality of fake cell towers in years to come.